Posted on 05/25/2005 9:43:54 AM PDT by Jenya
Runaway Bride Indicted for Making Up Story
Woman Claimed Abduction After Disappearing Days Before Wedding
By DANIEL YEE, AP
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (May 25) - Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks was indicted Wednesday for allegedly filing a false police report claiming she had been kidnapped, charges that could mean up to six years in prison.
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, said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter. The other count carries a penalty of up to a year.
''We believe this is a reasonable next step in the case. We believe the grand jury made the right decision,'' Porter said.
''At some point you just can't lie to the police,'' he said.
Wilbanks, 32, 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.
Porter has said Wilbanks could face a misdemeanor charge of filing a false report or a felony charge of making false statements for telling authorities she had been kidnapped. Wilbanks' lawyer has said she doesn't think her client should be charged with a crime.
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. But the city of Duluth still is seeking repayment of about $40,000 and Mayor Shirley Lassetter said her city attorney has been in 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.
"...Nation of cowards...."
Bill?! Bill Mahr?!! Is that you?!!!!!!!
From that I would have to conclude that you don't have much experience with grand juries in Georgia. Any DA in Georgia who can't get a Grand Jury to do what he wants probably should turn in his bar card. I don't think it is still the practice there, but in the good old days the DA would even stay in the room while the grand jury deliberated for two very good reasons. First, it wasted everyone's time not to since it took longer to get out the door and back in than the deliberations actually took, and second, it kept the grand jury from going off on tangents.
The first half dozen or so cases, there would be a few folks who would have questions for the cops, but after that, things would run pretty smoothly. I will say it is generally harder to get a no bill than a true bill.
The killer got loose in Democrat Fulton County, not Gwinnett. He was caught in Gwinnett.
Total or incremental costs? The judge and the DA are on salary, as is the clerk. The courtroom is a fixed cost, except for utilities. The court reporter would be an incremental cost. The bailiff might get some overtime. The jury pay is incremental, but nominal. She has retained counsel, so defense costs are not on the county. Some overtime pay for cops that serve as witnesses, unless they use comp time there.
So the incremental costs are fairly low. If you want to impute the various salaries and fixed costs on an hourly basis, the number would be much larger.
Unlike California and some other blue states, Georgia trials tend to move very quickly. In the unlikely event that she doesn't plead out, they might be able to knock out the trial in a day or two, depending on how deep the defense wants to get into her 'personal issues'.
My guess is that the DA will either take a nolo on the felony or a guilty on the misdemeanor, for restitution, a fine, and probation. If she is smart, she will as well.
"When Jennifer gave that false report, do you believe that the NM authorities wouldn't communicate the information to her family back in Georgia, knowing that the family had contacted the authorities back home? "
She is not responsible for the actions of others. If the NM authorities wanted to communicate her initial bogus story to all 50 state's, she still isn't responsible.
ONLY the NM authorities have jurisdiction and they decided not to prosecute. Get over it.
If jurisdiction is an issue, why was she indicted in Georgia?
As said before, a ham sandwhich can be indicted by a grand jury. Let's watch the trial. Wanna bet the case is dismissed before it even gets to trial?
Well its being reported that a judge will be issuing a bench warrant for her arrest.
How much do you want to bet?
I realize that you are struggling with understanding my point.
I will try to respond to your post in a way that makes it easy for you to comprehend.
Jennifer Wilbanks is responsible if her ACTIONS cause a REACTION.
If I was driving down the highway and decided to take my hands off the wheel for a second to grab an item from the back seat, and as a result drifted into the other lane, CAUSING the driver in the other car to swerve off the road so as to avoid me, and he got into a wreck, you can bet your bottom that I'd be liable.
It will certainly be interesting to see how this story unfolds in Georgia. If the state doesn't have a leg to stand on, the case should be dismissed in short order, I would imagine.
Now, does that help you? I hope so, because if it doesn't you have my sympathy.
I was being sarcastic.
I was being sarcastic - he didn't want to have sex before marriage. In the eyes of feminists, that makes him a nut case.
How can she be charged in Georgia for crimes she committed in the state of New Mexico? Shouldn't a NM grand jury be deciding on indictment?
If you'll recall, her "abduction" began in Georgia, where she purposefully cut a lock of her hair and left it and other items to convey the impression that she had left against her will.
She could be prosecuted in BOTH locations.
Has it been determined that it was her hair and clothes found?
Not necessarily. If her actions were not criminal (and she commited no crime until she called the NM PD) she can't be held responsible for the reaction of others. That would be like prosecuting me for manslaughter if I told someone at DU that they were a moron and in response, they commited suicide.
LOL.
You know, I was going to be more specific, but felt that 'shellshocked' would understand my point.
Allow me to claify. The "responsibility" involving this specific case falls upon the shoulders of Ms. Wilbanks, IMHO. And we will soon find out whether or not the Georgia judicial system has a case against Ms. Wilbanks.
I'm quite confident that had she left a letter informing her family and friends that she had doubts about her marriage and was going to disappear for a few days, none of us would have known who Jennifer Wilbanks was because the family wouldn't have called the authorities.
19
si.
we have 2 judicial systems: male and female.
Did you also stay at a Holiday Inn? :^)
Probation and community service probably, but at least there are still people who believe that there are consequences to breaking the law.
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