RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) – A probationer with a Kim Kardashian fixation is accused of terrorizing a Lake Mathews family at their home.
Nicholas Scott Costanza, 25, of Lake Mathews was arrested by Riverside County Bureau of Investigations personnel Friday following a months-long investigation stemming from his alleged targeting of the victims, whose identities were not released.
Costanza is charged with four counts of vandalism, two counts of burglary and one count of stalking — all felonies — as well as three counts each of entering a property with intent to cause damage and violating a court order, all misdemeanors.
The defendant, who is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, is set to appear before Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane on Wednesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Costanza began harassing the victims last Sept. 15, when he stood outside the front of their house shouting at 5 a.m., demanding the occupants’ attention. When the homeowner confronted Costanza, he said that he’d been invited to the location by Kim Kardashian, who was supposed to be hosting a party, prosecutors said.
When he was informed there was no party, the defendant left, but three days later, while the residents were on vacation, Costanza allegedly broke into the house and videotaped himself walking around, then posted the images on Instagram, according to investigators.
“He also had inscribed black marker graffiti within the home and destroyed property inside and outside,” according to the DA’s office. “Damage to the home was estimated to be $11,000.”
When the residents returned on Sept. 19, they discovered the defendant squatting in the guest house, prosecutors allege.
“He told them that Kim Kardashian gave him permission to be there,” according to an agency statement.
The homeowner ordered the defendant to leave, which he did, and the next day, the victims obtained a temporary restraining order against Costanza, but deputies were not able to locate him until October, at which point he was served with the order, prosecutors said.
It was learned during the process that in June, Costanza had been served with a five-year restraining order issued by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, barring the defendant from having any contact with Kardashian. According to published reports, he allegedly sent the reality show performer a diamond ring and morning-after pills, and randomly appeared in her gated community trying to gain access to her property.
Despite the temporary restraining order, Costanza continued to harass the Lake Mathews victims, who in November filed for — and were granted — a
five-year restraining order, prohibiting him from getting anywhere close to the victims or their property, according to the prosecution.
On Jan. 7, he was captured on a security surveillance video camera using bolt cutters to break the lock on their security gate, the DA’s office stated. Three days later, he left a note in their driveway saying he was “God,” and directed the victims to leave their home so he could have it, prosecutors contend.
That action resulted in the most recent criminal proceedings and the defendant’s arrest in Perris.
According to court records, Costanza has prior misdemeanor convictions for breaking and entering, fighting in public, driving without a license and being in possession of controlled substances.
He additionally has unresolved vandalism and trespassing cases pending that are directly connected to the current case. Those charges are likely to be consolidated with the ones on which the defendant is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)