Showing posts with label bribery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bribery. Show all posts

Shelley Lubben's Attempt To Set Up Ex for Felony Bribery Flops; Charges Dismissed

Porterville, Calif. -- In Tulare County Superior Court Monday morning, Garrett Lubben was exonerated of all felony charges initiated by his disgruntled ex when Judge Michael B. Sheltzer ruled that the iPhone video clips directed and filmed by Shelley during her divorce negotiations with her then-husband Garrett did NOT show an attempt to bribe Mrs. Lubben.



In his analysis, the Judge cited the California criminal statute in question, Penal Code Section 137(A), which requires:
  1. any person to give or offer or promise to give a witness
  2. something of value
  3. with a corrupt intent
  4. to influence the witness' testimony
Bribery is a specific intent crime. "Corrupt intent", the judge noted, requires that the person intends to induce the other party to commit an unlawful act, such as to lie or commit perjury.

However, Judge Sheltzer pointed out, Garrett had only asked that she exonerate him -- to come clean about what had happened -- he never asked her to lie.

The court chalked up the October 31, 2015 video clips as merely a record of their separation / divorce negotiations.


Lying her ass off

Shelley Lubben, clad in a pale pink pant suit, testified hysterically that she came forward with these charges a short while after the recordings were made. She brought them to the Tulare County sheriff on May 5, 2016, which just so happens to be a week after Garrett blocked her calls and texts (which had vacillated between the two running themes of "let's work it out and be together" and "I'm gonna get you and make you pay!") 

However, on the recordings themselves Garrett clearly states that the date of recording was October 31, 2015, some six months before the jilted Shelley decided to seek vengeance on him. On the stand she initially claimed that the videos were shot between February and April of 2016, so it immediately became apparent that something was amiss.


After the time-stamped video was played in court, and its actual recording date confirmed, Shelley changed her tune:








On the recordings, Shelley can be heard off camera, shouting directions and telling Garrett what to say next.




Shelley Lubben: Witness for the Prosecution

Damning correspondence

Another important piece of evidence came to light at Monday's hearing, one which the prosecution sought unsuccessfully to have excluded: a July 2016 email from Mrs. Lubben to Garrett in which she offers to pay $5,000 toward his defense against these very felony charges once the "Lubben Ranch" is sold.



On the stand, Shelley never missed an opportunity to (unconvincingly) claim victimhood -- in this instance that she had been the victim of Garrett's manipulation, and "a domestic violence victim". Her voice slurred slightly, she also fell into the trap of answering questions about her own veracity which had not been asked, closing with a crocodile tear-laden unprompted outburst that she "would never lie in a court of law.'

Under cross examination, Shelley was belligerent, and bristled when Mr. Lubben's attorney stated the obvious -- that she had set Garrett up and used the recordings as a bludgeon when she did not get her way. In response, Shelley seemed annoyed and defaulted to her "I'm a victim" position.

Here is the full transcript of the event, as transcribed by the court reporter:
































Shelley stormed out of the hearing, with boyfriend Joe Valley in tow, as soon as the judge ruled against her and tossed all charges (but before he'd even finished speaking). Lubben's request for an extended restraining order against Garrett was also denied.

Following the hearing, a jubilant Garrett Lubben addressed the case on the courthouse steps.







Shelley Lubben Served With Restraining Order To Protect Ex-Husband and Daughters

The latest twist in the Shelley Lubben saga finds the assault rifle-toting nut job reunited with boy-toy Joseph "Homeless Joe" Valley at the "Lubben Ranch" property she is trying to unload, and relying on her trusty California Medical Marijuana card (despite having condemned its use all these years), but more estranged than ever from her own family.



As usual Lubben has overstepped -- first, she informed Garrett of her new love affair, then after Garrett tried to make a clean break by giving her everything in Springville in the divorce -- the house, property, cars, etc, totaling more than a half million dollars in worth (in lieu of spousal support) -- Lubben trumped up a bribery charge against Garrett, in addition to the Domestic Violence and Resisting Arrest charges that were piled on him last year at the ranch, after he knew about Joe, but prior to their divorce.

Alone

It seems Shelley Lubben has been engaging a pattern of harassment against Garrett and their daughters, so Garrett asked for and received a Temporary Restraining Order from a Bakersfield court. The Order, which will be published here as soon as it arrives, is noted in the Lubben vs Lubben divorce file:



FLDV stands for the Faith Leaders in Domestic Violent program, and may indicate that the couple sought counseling at some point for Shelley's issues.

PET is traditionally a reference to stalking activity, and CLETS stands for the California Law Enforcement Telecommunication System, the means by which this information was transmitted.

Along with the TRO, Shelley has been served with a Notice to Appear in Bakersfield before Judge Stephen D. Schuett at the court's Metropolitan Division, located at 3131 Arrow St, Bakersfield, CA 93308 -- just next door to one of Shelley's favorite Bakersfield eateries, Buck Owens' Crystal Palace.

The tables have turned, and now everything Garrett has been accused of is being put back on Shelley.

Incidentally, Shelley reportedly placed another 911 call regarding Homeless Joe recently, but they have been reunited for at least the last month or so, and they remain living together at the Springville marijuana pit known as the Lubben Ranch.

Lubben vs Lubben, it would appear, has only just begun.