Posted on 05/07/2005 7:45:00 PM PDT by kcvl
By MARK DAVIS The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 05/08/05
Excerpt...
Her travels may be over, but Wilbanks' troubles may have just begun. Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said he was examining evidence for a possible charge of making false statements to a government agency.
Sartain believes that's not necessary.
"She is deeply regretful of the pain she caused her family, her fiancé, her friends and the community who rallied to her aid," the lawyer said Wednesday. "I believe Jennifer committed no crime."
Arrests for shoplifting
Sartain, a former Hall County district attorney, knows her client. Court records show that Wilbanks was arrested three times in that county on shoplifting charges from 1996 to 1998.
In 1996, as district attorney, Sartain prosecuted Wilbanks for allegedly shoplifting $1,740 in merchandise from a Gainesville mall, court records show. Sartain dropped the felony charge after Wilbanks, then 24, completed a pretrial diversion program, the records show. Wilbanks performed 75 hours of community service and paid restitution, according to court records.
Months before that felony arrest, police had charged Wilbanks with misdemeanor shoplifting for allegedly taking $37.05 in merchandise from a Gainesville Wal-Mart. Court records show that officials dismissed the case after Wilbanks completed "Project Turnabout," a six-week counseling program for shoplifters.
She was arrested again, city court records show, in April 1998, when Wilbanks, then 25, was charged with shoplifting $98 worth of merchandise from a store. She pleaded guilty and served two weekends in jail. A judge also sentenced her to probation, a $400 fine and 50 hours of community service.
...well, I'll tell ya. It was a dark night. A very dark night. And I was driving in my pick-up truck when I saw this odd glow in the sky. The next thing I knew, I was in the alien space ship and these little gray guys with big eyes were probing me like there was no tomorrow.
Obviously they did think that! They sent her cut hair to the FBI lab for inspection!!!
The level of outrage directed at Wilbanks (and even Mason) is way over the top. As I said in #108, I think for many the outrage is symptom of susceptibility to media manipulation.
If the story hadn't gotten 24 hour-a-day coverage we'd never have known. If it weren't for the misapplication of amber-alert style attention to adults, the global vilification of Wilbanks wouldn't have started.
Sure, I think she's troubled, but nobody's beyond redemption.
I'd rather be, and am, the sort that would rather reach out a hand and help someone face the consequence, than be part of a linch mob. Some people think, why should I throw a pebble when there's brick handy. I rather help someone hit by bricks, than throw one myself.
Nam Vet
I think she resorted to a "Hispanic" description because she knew she had to provide very specific details, and she wasn't very bright. Go read the 911 transcript. You can tell that she was in a predicament of lies which wouldn't be believable if the suspects were too "average", or non-descript.
She left town with 600 people waiting for her. She came back with the whole world laughing at her, and her first reaction was to lie.
I don't believe any of this was pre-meditated. It was a panicy reaction to shocking news (the news that she'd accidently become famous)
Spot on and in spades! :-)
So you think Jennifer thought she was coming back to what exactly?! She cut her hair, left without telling anyone, making them all sick with worry, all the way to Vegas for days because?! She was just confused?! There is more to this story than anyone is admitting. That's why it's still considered news, IMO.
Facts matter and making excuses for this WOMAN, is what one would expect on DU; not on FR. I'm really beginning to wonder about why some people imagine themselves to be Conservatives, when their views are so LIBERAL and PC.
Our female cops went to a 24 hour WalMart & bought clothes, even underwear, make-up and toiletries for (her).
That was after her family and the media went into full panic-mode, though (not that I blame the family). Where was the hair found? On the side of the road? In the grass somewhere? If she was trying to leave some false clues, locks of hair wouldn't be very reliable.
Just when you thought you heard it all, something else comes out about this story.
She bought the bus ticket on the 19th, to leave town on the 26th, which she did.
Pretty premeditated action if you ask me.
At the library where she cut it. Where do you think she got the scissors to do that?! Did she hide those in her jogging pants? No, she had it all planned!
ROTFLOL
In Part from article. From case last yr.
Same story. It is a no no to lie to police
Crying Wolf
By: Neil Parmar
Summary: What spurs people to stage crimes against themselves?
Once feared kidnapped—or worse—Audrey Seiler, a University of Wisconsin honors student, was found this spring curled up near a marsh in Madison. She told police she’d been held captive at knifepoint for four days.
Seiler, the supposed Wisconsin abductee, was exposed when police uncovered a store surveillance video that captured her purchasing rope, cold medication and a knife—all items that she claimed were used to hold her captive. Detectives soon discovered that only a month before, the 20-year-old had claimed she was attacked and knocked unconscious near her apartment.
Investigating hoaxes is costly. Seiler’s case sparked a manhunt involving 150 officers, police dogs and a helicopter. It cost more than $96,000. She faces 18 months in jail and a $20,000 fine for lying to police. According to police interviews, she says: “I set everything up. I’m just so messed up. I’m sorry.”
Publication: Psychology Today Magazine
Publication Date: Jul/Aug 2004
I thought it was found at an office park?
I guess that's why her family has hired an attorney for her who is the former prosecutor who handled Jennifer's three shoplifting charges. She obviously knows her history.
Maybe Diane, Oprah, or Barbara Walters can get her to retrace her trip on their show.
Yes, there's more to the story, and that's one reason she has defenders on this board. We simply don't know what happened yet.
Besides. She's cute. And she's someone's daughter.
Also, she's in a terrible crisis and she has ISSUES. Ok? Ok.
//please don't crowd
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