Woman Charged with Damaging Truck Parked on Her Property

A 35-year-old town of Port Washington woman is facing charges after she allegedly damaged a man’s truck parked at her residence because she wanted off of her property.

Samantha N. Ritenour was charged in Ozaukee County Circuit Court on Tuesday with one count of criminal damage to property. If convicted, she faces up to nine months in prison and $10,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

On July 23, Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputies were called to Ritenour’s home in the 2600 block of Highway C when a man reported his 1994 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck had been damaged. The man said his brother came the night before to move the truck, but noticed a tire was flat so he left so he could come back the next day with a new tire.

Both men came the next day and found three tires had been cut, the driver’s side mirror was broken off the truck, two dents were in the driver’s side door, a window visor was snapped off, the tailgate was taken off the truck and put in the bed and someone had opened the sliding rear window and poured something on the subwoofer inside.

The men said they suspected Ritenour in the damage because she went to see the man the night before while he was staying at New Castle Rehabilitation Center in Mequon, but she was turned away by staff and began to send the man text messages about the truck being taken away or damaged.

While talking with a deputy, Ritenour said she had wanted the truck gone for quite some time and was intoxicated the night before. She said she dented the door while trying to smash out a window and opened the sliding door, but had no idea where the other damage came from.

Ritenour will make her initial appearance in court Oct. 3.