Police: Woman Arrested for Urinating Inside Durham Business

A Hartford woman is accused of urinating on a carpet inside a Durham liquor store earlier this month, according to state police.

Kathleen Maldonado, 34, of 427 Garden Street, was arrested Wednesday and charged with third degree criminal mischief and second degree breach of peace.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, state police were contacted by the owner of Durham Wine and Spirits on the morning of Saturday, July 6. The owner notified police of her suspicion that a female customer had purposely urinated on a carpet while buying beer at the store the previous evening. 

The store owner told police that a woman, later identified as Maldonado, entered the liquor store wearing a bathing suit and was accompanied by two other people, a man and a woman.

Maldonado was in the process of buying a 12-pack of beer when she asked the store owner if the business had a public bathroom, the report says. When she was told no, Maldonado began whispering to the other woman and started laughing, according to the report.

The store owner became suspicious of the pair’s behavior and reviewed surveillance video of the incident, at which time she discovered that Maldonado had urinated on a carpet in front of the cash register, the report says.

Police were able to identify Maldonado using the credit card she used to purchase the beer, but when confronted about the incident she was initially evasive and defensive, according to police.

When told the incident was captured on video surveillance, Maldonado admitted that she’d urinated on herself due to a bladder problem, the report says.  

Maldonado told police she was embarrassed when asked why she did not inform the store owner about the incident. Instead, police say, she was captured on video surveillance smiling.

Maldonado admitted to police that she was intoxicated at the time of the incident and had stopped at the liquor store on her way back from Hammonassett Beach State Park.

She later refused, however, to provide police with a written statement regarding the incident, commenting several times, “I don’t know if I can do this,” according to the report.

Maldonado was held on $2,500 bond. She’s due in court Aug. 23.