Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks is indicted

AP Wire | 5/25/05

[Brian Mosely]

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks is indicted with making a false statement and reporting a false crime.

[samanella]

I humbly disagree. This world is filling up with those folks who disregard the law, rules, etc....and are never made to be held accountable. This woman has had prior arrests and it seemingly does not seem to phase her. Yes, there are worse criminals walking the streets, but the police may be looking for someone who has perpetrated a hoax instead of the real crimes! She has taken manpower to focus on her. Nope, she should be prosecuted and put away this time so she can accept the consequences of her action. Maybe she should be committed instead of jail, but she still should be punished. She broke the law.

[marajade]

And precious resources that were consumed looking for her because she fabricated a tale could have been used instead for solving those real crimes you posted about.

Sometimes I think prosecutors need to charge a case because of the principle of it.

[marajade]

If that's the case, her attorney can file a motion to dismiss based on lacks jurisdiction.

[Goodgirlinred]

I agree she should be punished. Financially. Also, she should have to be placed in a psychiatric hospital for treatment and followed up after release. She is obviously greatly disturbed. Prison would serve no purpose in this case.

[Labyrinthos]

The attorney will, and the lower court will deny the motion only to have the court of appeals dismiss the case a couple of years down the road.

[Petronski]

Get ready for three hours of excuse making on Hannity this afternoon.

Or, just listen to Medved instead. He's much more cerebral, without the ceaseless self-promotion.

[SkyPilot]

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks was indicted Wednesday for filing a false police report claiming she had been kidnapped.

A grand jury indicted the 32-year-old woman on one count of making a false police report, a misdemeanor, and one count of false statement, a felony. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison if she is convicted, said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter.

"We believe this is a reasonable next step in the case. We believe the grand jury made the right decision," Porter said. A bench warrant will be issued for Wilbanks' arrest within the next few days, he added.

This indictment does not rule out a possible plea agreement to lesser charges, Porter said.

Wilbanks disappeared from her Duluth home on April 26 after claiming that she was going for a jog.

While Georgia authorities looked for her, the woman traveled to Las Vegas by bus and then to Albuquerque, N.M. There, she called authorities with a story about having been abducted and sexually assaulted.

But under questioning, she recanted and said she fled Georgia because of unspecified personal issues. She returned to Georgia on April 30, the day she was to have been married in a lavish ceremony with 600 guests.

Her disappearance prompted a massive search and nationwide publicity. City, county and state officials spent about $50,000 looking for her.

Several state and county agencies already said they will not ask her to reimburse them for a total of $10,000 spent in additional search costs.

Despite the indictment, the city of Duluth still is seeking repayment of about $40,000 and Mayor Shirley Lassetter said Wednesday the city has not ruled out a lawsuit against Wilbanks to recoup the costs. The city is continuing its negotiations with Wilbanks' attorney, Lydia Sartain.

Sartain has said she does not think Wilbanks committed a crime in Gwinnett County. Authorities in Albuquerque have already said they will not charge Wilbanks.

"The citizens of the county will be ill-served by an attempted prosecution," Sartain said.

Sartain did not immediately return a phone call or e-mail seeking comment on Wednesday.

[johnb838]

JAckson and idol will be over soon, need something for Greta to talk about, though I gotta say, this is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[Goodgirlinred]

I was speaking of the type of crime i.e. nonviolent. Of course a blue-collar worker who has committed a nonviolent crime should be treated in the same way.

Prisons should be for violent offenders. Our prisons are overcrowded. Therefore, they are letting criminals out early to ease the overpopulation. Therefore, we are seeing murders, rapists, and child molesters out too early. That is the reason I think nonviolent offenders should be serving their sentences outside, paying society back financially by working to repay their debts. We need to keep the space for those who need to be locked up for our safety.

[marajade]

We'll see. Its clear cut what meets jurisdiction and what doesn't.

[johnb838]

The person who prosecuted her is now defending her. That's not a real damning statement about what a bad person she is. I think she's just very mixed up.

Some men on this board don't like women very much though, and like to see them punished, beaten, raped, and killed. Those types will come out on this thread.

[Miss Behave]

OMG, maggiefluffs. Pages 2-4 of that sexual assault accusation are very graphic and weird. And she was supposedly "pure" and had never kissed her fiance? Right.

I previously thought that she had three mug shots/arrests. Actually it's FIVE. I've seen them all lined up with dates. I believe that they were ALL in her home county.

Quilla, I agree with what you've posted about her punishment.

She was NOT a "runaway bride." She faked her own abduction and rape.

[johnb838]

She should service the Hispanic community, because she disrespected them.

[LibFreeOrDie]

"Non-violent" crimes can destroy lives. For example:

* People who steal your identity.
* Executives/accountants who cook the books of a business, putting people out of work.

Put them in jail.

[highnoon]

In the photo you posted, I think that woman officer is from 'Reno 911'

[bvw]

Give her the chair! Her crime was heinuous! She should be drawn and quartered, her evil parents burned at the stake, and her whole town razed, its vile populants placed into exile on some desolate South Sea Island leagues from any other, and salt ploughed into all ground and twenty furlongs wide about every path she every walked. Let every one who bears the same name she does, change it, for her names should be erased from all public record and never mentioned again by any decent citizen! Let JUSTICE shine!

[highnoon]

[johnb838]

White colllar criminals often steal amounts of money that make blue collar takings look like beer and pretzel money. Why should a person steal 1,000,000 and get no jail time while a poorer person steals $375 and gets 2 years? It is not fair to furlough people just because they're not dangerous.

That's supposed to be the real reason for minimum security prisons. Not for them to be country clubs, but because the prisoners are not as violent, have shorter sentences, and are less likely to try to escape. Ergo, less money has to be spent on guards and security apparatus.

[Goodgirlinred]

Good idea.

[rog4vmi]

I'll refer to Black's Legal Dictionary for the definition of "prosecutorial discretion."

Since you are so anxious to convict her....why don't you go down and try the case yourself. Better yet...form a lynch mob. You seem so worried about putting strain on law enforcement....you could save them and the courts the effort.