An employee at a property management company found a stranger sleeping in a South Whidbey rental house Sept. 13, according to court documents.

The employee went to the house that morning to get it ready for customers, who were arriving later that day, according to the police report. The house was used as a weekend rental for $895 a night.

The employee reported he noticed a strong odor of marijuana when entering the house. He looked around and discovered a man sleeping in a bed. The employee took some photos, left the house and called the police.

A deputy with the sheriff’s office responded and went into the house. He found a man, later identified as 25-year-old Ernest Zelnick, asleep in a bed, according to the report. The deputy spoke his name; Zelnick jumped out of bed and started putting his clothes on.

Zelnick told the deputy that he had the code for the door and didn’t break in. He said he just wanted to get out of the cold, the report states.

Zelnick appeared in Island County Superior Court Sept. 14. Judge Alan Hancock found there was probable cause to believe Zelnick committed the crime of criminal trespass in the first degree.

The judge released Zelnick without bail.

Zelnick and a woman were accused of stealing food, money and small electronics from a Freeland church last year, according to court documents.