A woman from Dallas, Texas, faces up to life if prison if she is convicted on charges she damaged more than $300,000 worth of art at the end of a first date. The damaged art, owned by a prominent Houston attorney, includes two paintings by famed artist Andy Warhol.
Harris County prosecutors charged Lindy Lou Layman with a first-degree felony after attorney Tony Buzbee complained she poured wine on his Warhol paintings and shattered two $20,000 sculptures by throwing them across the room, according to a criminal complaint obtained from Harris County District Clerk Chris Daniel’s office by Breitbart Texas.
If the 29-year-old Laymen is convicted, the penalty for the first-degree charge of criminal mischief could range from five years up to life in prison. The case is charged as a first-degree felony due to the value of the damaged art.
Laymen appeared before Texas District Judge Kelli Johnson on Tuesday for a hearing on probable cause.
Prosecutors from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Layman was on a first date with Buzbee, the Houston Chronicle reported. Toward the end of the date, Layman allegedly became intoxicated and refused to leave the high profile attorney’s home. She allegedly “threw liquid on the paintings and threw the sculptures.”
The Dallas woman’s attorney, Justin Keiter, told reporters “Our side has the rest of the story.” He said he would save that story for the court.
He continued, “We certainly disagree with Mr. Buzbee’s rendition of the facts when he spoke to the media and we disagree with what was said in probable cause court.”
Layman remains free on a bond of $300,000. While on bond, she is prohibited from consuming alcohol or using drugs. She is also ordered not to contact Buzbee, the Houston newspaper reported.
Buzbee is a well-known Houston attorney who defended then-Governor Rick Perry after he was charged by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office with abuse of power. That case was eventually dismissed after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered the charges dropped, Breitbart Texas reported. Perry now serves in the Trump Administration as Secretary of Energy.
Source: breitbart.com
