02x103 - Car Keying Caught on Tape

[bunniefuu]

[man]
You see her right hand.

- I'm moving my arm as I walk.
- That is a lie.

Somebody else was keying
his car in the back.

Yes.

This is a lie.

He yelled at me. It's very unnerving.

That was a lie.

If you say again it's a lie,
I'm going to dismiss your case.

Do you understand that?

[narrator]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[narrator] Zachary Martin.

He's suing his neighbor, Nancy Morrell,

for property damage
after his car was vandalized.

[bailiff]
Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge.
Case 21-51, Martin vs Morrell.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Mr. Martin, you and the defendant
are neighbors?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
How long have you been neighbors?

Uh, went into the subdivision 2019.

[Judy]
That's how long you've been there?

[Zachary] Yes, ma'am.

Do you know how long
the defendant has been there?

- I think 2014.
- [Judy] Is that right?

- 2017, Your Honor.
- Oh, yeah.

And, where do you live
in respect to one another?

You wanna go over there and show me?

I live in this house right here.

Or I did. I don't anymore.

This house right here.
And she lives right here.

You sold your house?

- Yes, ma'am.
- OK, and the defendant...

She lives right here.

- Where the blue car is?
- Yes, ma'am.

OK. Thank you.

This is sort of a circular area,
and from the circular area...

you pull into your driveway.

- Is that right? OK.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] It is your claim
that the defendant keyed your car.

- Yes, ma'am.
- And when did this happen?

Uh, January 22nd, 2022.

[Judy] The defendant says
that she did not key your car.

She has a counterclaim.
She claims that she was falsely arrested

and held overnight in jail.

That is a lie.

-Just a... Shhh...
-OK.

That's her claim,
that she was falsely arrested.

That she spent a night in jail,
she had to hire a lawyer.

Did hire a lawyer. After her lawyer
requested several adjournments...

you were not, at least physically,
in the courtroom

at the time of the last adjournment.

And the case was dismissed.

So let's go back to prior to January 22nd.

I assume that if... you're alleging
that the defendant keyed your car,

that you have some negative history
with each other.

- Uh, yes, ma'am.
- Starting when?

[sighs]

There's so many, I mean...

Um, it started when we met in subdivision.
They were nice, at the beginning.

No issues. And the kids started...
her granddaughter was with her.

And how old is your granddaughter?

- She's nine now, she was eight.
- [Judy] OK.

They said they were having some issues,
as kids do.

- I mean, yeah, that happens.
- [Judy] You have...

- a child of a similar age?
- Yes, ma'am. She's 11 now.

She was... nine or ten

- when we lived there.
- [Judy] OK.

And the two children had an issue?

- I mean, you know, kids argue, they...
- [Judy] No, I understand that, I'm not...

going into who's right
and who's wrong in the kids' argument,

I don't really care.

But when did that argument
between the two children

spill over to the neighbors?

Well, I guess the final straw
was Labor Day weekend of 21.

The Sunday before the Labor Day.

We came home late,
it was about seven o'clock.

We were working.

And we told Gillian
we were gonna be home for a little bit

and she said, "I wanna swim
in the pool." Said, "All right."

- Gillian is your ten-year-old?
- My daughter. Yes.

Um, and, of course she's,
"That's boring, Daddy,

I want a friend to swim with me."

So I said, "OK. One friend. That's it.
'Cause your brother is gonna watch you.

And then we're leaving
to get back to work."

So she goes next door to Patrick's house,
which is the next-door neighbor,

and she has Patrick come over to swim.

And he comes over. At the time,
I didn't know this. At the time...

Just a second. At the time,
the defendant's daughter was there.

- At Patrick's house.
- Yes. Yes.

Got it. So your daughter
went over and invited Patrick...

- Right.
- ...to come and swim.

- Right. And not...
- You had told her that she could have

- one friend in the pool.
- Right.

So, Patrick left to come swimming

- leaving your granddaughter alone.
- Well, she had to go home.

- [Judy] She had to go home.
- Yes.

- Sh-she home and...
- [Judy] Just a second.

- OK.
- [Judy] That's what happened.

OK. You had a grandchild
who had hurt feelings.

I assume...

She actually went over to go swimming.

She thought she was invited, too.

You had a child with hurt feelings.

And I went to ask what had happened.

- [Judy] OK.
- That's this big hoopla.

[Judy] OK. Now...

Your grandchild comes home.

I assume she was upset. Was she crying?

- Yes.
- [Judy] OK. And...

- That was about what time?
- [Nancy] In the evening.

I honestly can't remember.

[Judy]
OK. And when she came home crying,

- tell me what you did.
- Went out and...

"Honey, what's wrong?"

- [Judy] No. What did you do?
- "Are you OK?"

[Judy]
Yes. And she told you what happened.

She said, "I went over to Gillian's,
she invited us swimming.

And when I got there, her dad
said "Only one person could swim."

- OK.
- So she came home.

[Judy]
OK. And what did you do next?

- [whispering] That's not what happened.
- [Nancy] I talked to her,

calmed her down, and I went over

- and said, "Hey."
- [Judy] You know, just a sec...

You walked from your house,

- where the blue car is...
- [Nancy] Yup, around the corner.

[Judy]
Did you take your granddaughter with you?

- No, ma'am.
- [Judy] OK.

- She's lying.
- [Judy] And what... Shhh...

If you do that again,
I'm just gonna dismiss your case.

- You understand that?
- Yes.

- And you know I'm, it's easy...
- [Zachary] I got it.

- This isn't my case, it's your case.
- [Zachary] I know.

[Judy]
So you walked alone to his house.

Did you knock at the door?
Did you go outside?

I want you to tell me
exactly what you did.

I don't remember if I went
to the front door,

or if I went to where the pool is.

And I do believe...

Mr. Martin was out there.

OK. So Mr. Martin was out there, and...

And you said it
in that kind of a calm tone?

"What happened to my granddaughter?
Why is she crying?"

Well, she told you why she was crying
when she was home.

She told you she was crying
because she went over there to swim

and Mr. Martin said "You can only have
one person swim with you..."

- Which is totally...
- [Judy] Err...

[Nancy] ...out of character.

The children swim together all the time.

- You mean at Mr. Martin's pool?
- At Mr. Martin's pool,

- and if they need another adult...
- [Judy] Oh. Just a... Just a second.

So they swim all the time
in Mr. Martin's pool.

So you wanted to know
what happened on this occasion

- when he said only one person could swim.
- Yes.

And you said it
in just the same kind of...

conversational tone that I'm talking in,
is my question.

- I was very calm at the beginning, yes.
- OK.

[Judy]
And so you said to him, "What happened?"

And what did he say to you?

I don't remember exactly.
It was to the effect of...

His son was going to watch them

and he could only have
one child in the pool.

Right. That he wanted his son
to have responsibility

of only watching one other child
other than his sister.

- Correct.
- Oh, well, that sounds reasonable.

- And that's fine.
- [Judy] Just a second. So...

How'd it escalate... he said
"I only wanted one child in here.

My son is gonna watch the kids,
we have to go back to work."

And that should've been it.
Why wasn't it?

I don't know.

♪♪

So I walk back out
and looked at the Pathfinder,

and that's when I discovered

the scratch across the back.

It's bright white.
So that indicates it's fresh.

I told her while she was standing there.

"You're going to jail.
I'm gonna call the police."

OK. Now I'd like to see the video.

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator] Zachary Martin
claims his neighbor

Nancy Morrell,

keyed his car and owes for the repairs.

Nancy is countersuing for a false arrest

and lawyer fees.

Now, let's get to your version
of what happened.

OK. So you said only one child,

her granddaughter went home,

her granddaughter, who is a little girl,
is upset, "Why can't I go swimming, too?"

I got that. And?

This is a lie.
Everything she's told you is a lie.

- [Judy] Just a second.
- She did not come to my house.

If you say again "It's a lie"
I'm going to dismiss your case.

- Do you understand that?
- Yes. Yes.

I asked you what happened.

- She did not come to my house.
- [Judy] OK.

Her daughter came to my house.

Just a second. You mean,
her granddaughter's mother?

Yes. I never talked to her.

Before my daughter went over,
I had gone over.

- [Zachary] She did not...
- [Judy] No, no, just a second.

Yeah. Now I don't believe you,
Ms. Morrell.

Now I don't believe you, madam.

I watched your eyes, I just watched it.

And now... Uncross your arms.

So...

Her daughter came over first.

- No. I went over...
- Yes. Well, she never...

I don't wanna hear you.

She never came over.
The daughter came over.

She bypassed my front door and went
to the side gate, where the pool is.

She told my son to go get me.

- To go get you?
- [Zachary] To go get me.

I came out, and she called me a jerk.

"You should let her swim
in the pool, blah..."

I just told my daughter, "Look,

you can have one friend,
'cause your brother's watching you.

It's not fair for him to watch three kids.

Just two, that's all."

I told her, I said, look, I said...
"I don't know what she's talking about."

I said she could have
one friend and that's it.

She proceeded to call me a jerk.

She said some other choice words
I'm not gonna repeat.

In which case, I did cuss her out
and told her to get off my property

and not come back again,
anybody in her family,

or I would file trespass charges.

[Judy]
OK. And that was on...

- the Sunday before Labor Day?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And when did this incident
happen with your car?

Uh... January 22nd.

After that incident on Labor Day weekend,

did you have any other contact
with the defendant?

- [Zachary] Yes.
- [Judy] When?

I think it was
right after Gillian's birthday,

on November the 21st,
I think it was like a week, like,

December the 1st, I think. Um...

And this is really sick.
But it got to the situation where...

she would watch my kid.

And every time my kid would go
to Aubrey's house or Patrick's house,

she would take toys,
she would unpack her stuff,

and I told her, I said,
"Look, you can't play with her."

So they would wait

ten or fifteen minutes
till she got unpacked,

and get all comfortable,
having a good time,

She would send
her granddaughter over there.

She had to pack her stuff up
and come home.

She would come home crying many times.
So then it got to the point where

Patrick, he would come over to our house.

He'd be over at our house all the time.

They would get on the trampoline,
play video games, blah, blah, blah...

So I was doing something one day,
and then the camera went off,

and I get an alert in my iPad.

Here comes Nancy up my driveway.
She knocks on the door and she says,

"Can we play?"

And I said, "No, you can't play.
Get off of my property.

I'll file trespass charges
if you come back."

That was, you know, the last time
I interacted with her.

- [Judy] OK. Well...
- Until she keyed the vehicle.

It's not my job to be judgmental

in a social way. But I have to tell you,

I would've handled it
a little differently with her.

She wasn't the one who behaved badly.

I wouldn't visit her daughter's
bad behavior on an 8-year-old.

You know? They were kids who lived
right around the corner from each other

and seems to me that
the bad behavior of a parent

or a grandparent
shouldn't impact on a child.

The granddaughter is a nice little girl.

- Well. I mean, if you say so. I mean...
- [Judy] Is she?

Well, she spread rumors
about my daughter and said that,

you know, she told Aubrey

that my daughter stole some
of her toys and that was a lie.

All right.
Well, it sort of started to get nasty.

Now, let's get back
to the keying of the car.

So that happened in January.

So tell me about the January incident.

OK. So, she got up,
January 22nd, it's a Saturday.

She decided to walk her dog.

- She's walked her dog...
- Go over there. Show me...

- what you saw.
- [Zachary] OK.

So, she decided to walk her dog.

And so she walks up the sidewalk.

Well, you didn't see that?

- No. Now we're here.
- You didn't see that.

- She... When she gets about right here...
- [Judy] She... When...

which is Patrick's house...

The mailbox is right here
as you can see in the video.

That's when the cameras detect motion.
That's when I get the alert.

So I see her walking the dog.
And she's walked her dog past my house

many times but never gotten that close
to my vehicles.

- So, immediately I thought something...
- [Judy] Where was your car?

My car was parked right here.

- [Judy] In the driveway?
- Yes, ma'am.

So she walks the dogs,
and she is...

right beside the vehi...
I mean, you can see in the video,

you can see her right hand go up.

So, I immediately run out the house.
I have a truck parked right here.

I looked in my truck. I thought
maybe she did something to the truck.

I looked at it, didn't see anything.

Went back inside, and I said,
"Wait a minute, let me go back outside

and look at the Pathfinder.

So I walk back out and look
at the Pathfinder, and that's

and that's when I discovered
the scratch across the back.

It's bright white,
so that indicates it's fresh.

I told her while she was standing there,

"You're going to jail,
I'm gonna call the police."

OK. Step back.

When you said to her,

"You're going to jail,
I'm going to call the police,"

- did she respond?
- Uh, I don't think so, no.

- OK. Now, I'd like to see the video.
- [Zachary] OK.

You can see as her hand
goes up right there.

[Judy] Shh...

[Judy]
I'll take a look at it again.

Is there any reason
why you stopped behind his car?

- My... dog...
- [Judy] Is there any reas...?

...stopped to sniff, I stopped with him.

[Zachary]
You see her right hand.

- Right... there.
-[Nancy] I'm moving my arm as I walk.

[Zachary]
Yes. And that's where the scratch is.

OK. Can I take a look
at the photographs of the scratch, please?

OK. So, based upon what you saw,
you called the police. And...

based upon that,

the police came, interviewed you,
and viewed this tape.

Actually, I had contacted the police
after he yelled at me.

He's a little incorrect.

- Could I show you where...?
- [Judy] Sure.

[Nancy]
I did walk my dog...

around here.

His cars impede the sidewalk, so I moved.

And I had completed my whole route...

over to about here.

And he did indeed come out and yell at me.

I caught a few words of it,
said "I'm walking my dog,"

waved my arms, and continued on.

That's not the first time
he has yelled at me as I've been walking,

and I went home and I filed...

- an incident report, and I do have that.
- [Judy] Just a second.

- The second time I've been...
- [Judy stammers]

...walking and he's come out
and yelled at me,

it's very unnerving.

- That's a lie.
- [Nancy] We're very far...

- Sorry.
- [gavel thudding]

[Zachary] Sorry.

It's gonna cost you
getting your car fixed.

- It's something you don't understand.
- [Zachary] I have this...

[Judy]
But something you don't understand.

I'm allowing both of you to tell me
your sides of the story.

You can't stay "That's a lie!"

Do you understand?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] I'm not cutting you off.

I let you tell me your story, sir,

I let you tell me what happened,

and I want to give the defendant
the same opportunity.

You can't interrupt her.

- Now, you understand that?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] OK?

I will tell you
what I don't understand, Ms. Morrell.

You see, if I had got into
a kerfuffle with him,

which you had, because he said

you and your granddaughter,
which I actually think was socially wrong,

with regards to your granddaughter,

but with regards to you,
he doesn't want you there, right?

I wouldn't walk up a cul-de-sac
to go past his house.

If it were me...

I see plenty of space
where you can walk.

You can cross the street from your house
and walk in the street the other way.

And then when you come back,
you can walk the other way,

you don't have to go
inside that cul-de-sac

to walk anywhere near his house.

That's looking for trouble.

♪♪

- Can I just say something?
- About what?

The trend that another gentleman,
he tried to, uh...

accuse of scratching his car.

- Are you her husband?
- Yes, ma'am.

OK. I'm gonna let you stand up now

and you're gonna show me where he accused

somebody else
was keying his car in the back

in January, show me.

♪♪

♪♪

[narrator] Zachary Martin
is accusing his neighbor

Nancy Morrell, of keying his car.

Nancy is countersuing
for a false arrest

and lawyer fees.

So you have a counterclaim,
and your counterclaim is for false arrest.

He didn't arrest you.
The police arrested you.

And the police arrested you
based upon what they believed

after looking at that video,

was probably cause
that a crime was committed

and probably cause to believe
you participated in the commission

of that crime, which is vandalism.

He didn't make a citizen's arrest.

The police made an arrest.
And not only did they make an arrest,

but they were serious enough

to have you get a lawyer.

Your counsel went in, I assume
your new counsel asked for an adjournment.

I assume your new counsel...

- You were there...
- I believe so. I was not there, ma'am.

I waited out in the hall
and my lawyer represented me.

Fine, so you... I assume that you knew

that your lawyer was going
to ask for an adjournment.

Your lawyer didn't prepare you
for trial, did he?

- No.
- [Judy] No!

- Your Honor?
- [Judy] So he was go...

- I'm not listening to you.
- [man] A-as a witness,

can I just say something?

- About what?
- The trend that

another gentleman, he tried to, uh,
accuse of scratching his car? We have...

- [Judy] Oh, just a second.
- ...writings of that.

- That I'll listen to in a minute.
- OK.

[Judy]
The second time your case was on,

did you go into court
or did you wait ouside?

- I waited outside...
- Then you...

Then if you waited outside,
you knew again

your lawyer was going
to ask for an adjournment.

The first time the case was on,
did you attend the court hearing?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] Were you inside the court?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] She was not there?

Uh, she was outside. Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] The second time,
when the case was adjourned,

were you in court?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] Was she there?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Outside or inside?

[Zachary] She was outside.

[Judy]
Did her lawyer ask for an adjournment?

- A continuance.
- [Judy] A continuance?

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judy] Same thing.

Yes, ma'am.

- Did it happen more than twice?
- Yes.

[Judy]
On the third time you went to court,

- did you go to court?
- [Zachary] Yes, ma'am.

- [Judy] Was she in court?
- [Zachary] Yes, ma'am.

- [Judy] Inside or outside?
- She was outside. And what happened...

I had sold the house
and we moved an hour away...

[Judy] Just a second.

- You were there?
- [Zachary] Yes, ma'am.

OK. Now. I'm gonna let you
stand up now

and you're gonna show me
where he accused

somebody else was keying his car
in the back, in January. Show me.

- No, no, no.
- [Jerry] No?

[Judy]
Well, this says that on January 18th,

which was four days before this incident,

you reported another vandalism

- to a Nissan Titan?
- Yes, ma'am.

Is that the car that you saw her key
or believed she keyed?

No, ma'am. That's a different vehicle.

That's what I thought.
That's a different vehicle.

That has nothing to do with this car.

- [Jerry] Well, the gentleman...
- [Judy] Just a sec...

The gentleman that he accused,
he didn't even have arrested

- or want to press charges.
- [Judy] Just a second.

[Judy chuckles] OK.

So now I'm gonna let you stand up...

and I'm gonna give you
my end of the Riot Act.

Because, if this is what
you're deluding yourself with,

I'm going to tell you.

He didn't have video of anybody
on the 18th around his car.

In your wife's case, sir,

he had prior experience with her,

she had no business
walking right in front of the house

when there are plenty other places to walk
if they are not on great terms.

He had every right...

to call the police, show them the video.
And they had every right to arrest her.

- Do you understand that?
- I understand that, but that doesn't...

- [Judy] Good. This has nothing...
- prove she scratched the vehicle...

- That doesn't prove that.
- [Judy] Just a sec.

That's what a trial is for, sir.

That was up to a jury.
What your wife is suing him for

is for false arrest. He didn't arrest her.

The police arrested her. Now, sit.

May I see the invoice...
Did you... have you had the car fixed?

Uh, yes, maam, I have an estimate,
and I also have the police report.

- [Judy] I'd like to see both.
- Read her own words.

I'd like to see both.

So the police officer indicated
that after you were told

that after you were told
about what the officers saw on the video,

you decided to make
no more statements about the incident,

and you were placed under arrest
for malicious damage.

The officer also reported

that the scratch on the back of the car

was fresh, because there were fresh
paint chips on the street.

They were red paint chips...
it's a red car, that came off that car.

Which demonstrates to the eyes
of any layperson that,

since there's traffic
back and forth there,

if there are fresh scratches
and fresh paint

it means it just happened.

So your counterclaim for false arrest

and anything
addended thereto is dismissed.

- I did not do it, Your Honor.
- [Judy] All right, well. OK. Maybe.

The case is dismissed.
That doesn't mean...

you're entitled to money from him.

Police had probable cause to believe
that a crime was committed,

and probable cause to believe
that you committed that crime.

The rest of it is up to a jury.

So, you have a beef
with the police department, not with him.

They have an absolute right to arrest you.

I'm not giving you $2500 for the scratch,
sir, get it out of your mind.

- You understand?
- [Zachary] Why not?

It's not a $2500 scratch.

- I mean, it's an estimate from a...
- [Judy] $500. Judgment for the plaintiff.

- We're done.
- [bailiff] This court is adjourned.

♪♪

Well, she was incorrect,
because I did not do it.

You know, we took an oath
when we went inside, to tell the truth

and she lied repeatedly, and...

she got mad at me when I said
that it was a lie, but it was a lie!

That he saw me walking by and looked
at the car and said "Oooh!"

The next day, I called the police

to see what happened and he...
they informed me they arrested her.

I thought they were there because
I had called about him harassing me.

And...

then, all of a sudden, they just said...

"You scratched his car."

- And I said, "No, I didn't."
- Without any absolute proof.

I think she should've stayed
in jail longer.

They placed me in custody.

The lady does nothing but lie.
She's a liar.

It was... horrible.

I actually thought his behavior...

when the defendant brought
her granddaughter over subsequently

and said, "Can she play?" because...

evidently, there were
two or three kids who lived...

close by, and they always played together.

All of a sudden, the granddaughter
is excluded from that play,

there's a certain amount,
as a parent, he should've had...

some sense of that.

And said, "Well, of course
they can play. But your daughter...

...owes me an apology."

You know? Behaving like an adult.

"Your daughter owes me an apology.
I tried to do a responsible thing.

I didn't wanna let my son watch
more than one...

- Other child. Mm.
- ...stranger child in a pool."

Which is absolutely smart,

because God forbid something
happens to one of those children,

they would certainly turn around
and sue him.

- Yeah.
- [Judy] So...

He did the responsible thing.

Was it hurtful to the other child? Yes.

According to him, his daughter
was playing at Patrick's house...

- Mm-hmm.
- [Judy] She came over and said,

"You can't come..."

- Because they're little children.
- Mm-hmm.

They don't understand "You can't come,
only one person can come."

But you're a grown-up,

so understand how that
could be hurtful to an eight-year-old.

Anyway, I think that
they both behaved badly.

And he's very smart
to have moved out of the...

Out of the cul-de-sac,
out of the neighborhood.

Yeah. Could you understand
why she would walk her dog there?

See, I agreed with you that,
if you've already had,

even just a hint of...

distate with any of your neighbors,

I'd just walk on the other side
of the street, just avoid it, and...

- Walk the other way!
- [Sarah] It seems like a...

...a perfectly avoidable house
in the cul-de-sac.

- You actually have to...
- [Sarah] ...go into his loop

- in order to make the loop, so...
- [Judy] Mm-hmm.

I don't know.
I think that both sides questionable,

but I'm glad that he got something,

that you were willing
to give him for his car.

Yeah! Get your car fixed, reasonably.

- Yeah.
- And the police absolutely

- had a right to arrest her.
- [Sarah] Yeah.

There was a complaint.

They looked at the complaint,
they saw the damage,

they saw it was fresh,
they saw her right there on the video...

They had a history
of bad feelings between them.

They had an absolute right to arrest her.

- Yeah.
- [Judy] Too bad.

- I feel sorry for the little girl.
- Yeah.

[narrator] Want Justice?