03x97 - Sugar Tank Sabotage

[bunniefuu]

-This is the husband of your girlfriend?
-[Tony] Yes, ma'am.

She witnessed him
putting sugar in my gas tank.

And she stayed over in your house
after they were married?

-Yes.
-I was trying to get away from that man.

That made you a little unhappy.
Would that be a fair statement?

-[announcer] This is Judy Justice.
-[theme music]

[announcer] Tony Owens Jr. is suing his
ex-wife's husband, Michael Loyer,

-for vandalizing his Jeep.
-[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Judge, case 3149, Owens Jr. versus Loyer.

-Thank you.
-[Kevin] You're welcome.

-[Judy] Mr. Owens, you have two children?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] And I assume that this
is the mother of your two children?

-[Tony] Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] You were never married?

[Tony]
No.

And this is the husband
of your girlfriend?

[Tony]
Yes, ma'am.

-[Judy] They are now separated?
-Yes.

-[Judy] And she currently lives with you?
-Yes.

Do we have that?
Let's go through that, oh, one more time.

[courtroom chuckles]

You have two children
with this young lady right here.

Subsequent to having those two children,
she married this gentleman.

-Short term, correct? How long?
-Yes, Your Honor.

-This coming April will be two years.
-[Judy] Short time.

And since she's back living with you,

-and the two children?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] I assume that they did not
have a happy two years.

Is that clear to you
what the relationships are,

or should I do it one more time?
Is that necessary?

[courtroom chuckles]

[Judy] This is what the case is about.
It's complicated to follow.

You got a car for one of your daughters.

The car originally belonged
to Mr. Loyer, correct?

Yes, ma'am.

This was after your girlfriend
and Mr. Loyer married?

They weren't married
when I got the car from him.

[Judy]
They were living together?

They were, yeah. She was
his roommate, or she was his tenant.

-[Judy] Okay.
-And they got... then they got married...

[Judy] Well, they got to be...

-[Tony] ...after I got the Jeep.
-...more than tenants, whatever it was.

The car that you got
ostensibly for your daughter...

-Yes.
-...belonged to Mr. Loyer?

-Yes.
-[Judy] And he gave it, without any money,

-to his to-be wife...
-Yes.

-[Judy] ...correct?
-Yes.

[Judy]
And the to-be wife gave it to you,

allegedly, for one of your
girls to use to drive?

-Unknownst to me.
-You didn't know anything about that?

-[Michael chuckles]
-Alright? You gave it to wife for her use.

She gave it to the ex-boyfriend,
allegedly for one of the girls to use.

That made you a little unhappy.

-Would that be a fair statement?
-Yes.

[Judy] It would be a fair statement.
You were not happy with that,

it all sounds as if you... well, you may
have thought, "Making a fool out of me.

It is a bit ridiculous.
I gave it to her to use."

Okay. This is what the lawsuit is about.
The lawsuit is about your allegation

that Mr. Loyer put sugar
in the gas tank of the car in question,

causing several thousand
dollars' worth of damage.

-Is that what the lawsuit's about?
-Yes.

-That's what he says.
-[Judy] That's what he's saying.

So I'm just gonna get some dates from you.

Give me a month and year. Did you give
this car... what is it, a Jeep?

-Yeah, a 1990 Jeep Wrangler.
-[Judy] Okay.

-What year did you give the Jeep?
-2022.

[Judy] In 2022, you gave the car to...
what's your first name?

-Jennifer.
-[Judy] You gave the car to Jennifer?

-[Michael] Yes, I did.
-[Judy] And...

To-be wife. Yes.

-[Judy] You were not married at the time?
-No.

-[Judy] And you put it in her name?
-[Michael] Yes.

[Judy]
She didn't give you any money for it?

I didn't see any money
direct from her hand.

[Judy] Just... she didn't give you
any money for it, is that correct?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

And you married when, sir?
Month and year?

-[Michael] April 27th, 2022.
-25th.

-25th? I was close.
-[Judy] '22?

April 25th.

-[Judy] Is it 2022?
-'22. Yes.

I'm not gonna send you
an anniversary card.

-I just need the month and the year.
-[courtroom laughs]

[Judy] Okay. On what date did your
girlfriend turn the car over to you?

In the beginning of April.

-[Judy] Of what year?
-2022.

[Judy] So the same time that he gave
her the car, she gave it to you?

A month later. Yes, ma'am.

-I sold it.
-[Judy] Shh.

-A month later?
-Yes.

[Judy]
I would like you... first of all,

I'm gonna put you outside
while I take some testimony,

because I'm gonna wanna take yours later

and I don't want it to be in any way
colored by what you hear now.

Okay. So now, Mr. Owens,
I would like for you to tell me

what conversations you had
with the lovely Jennifer

about the transfer of this Jeep
in April of 2022 to you.

-Me and Miss Loyer, we talked about...Yes.
-"Jennifer and I".

[Tony] Jennifer and I
talked about getting a vehicle

for my daughter to drive
a, you know, a Jeep,

but I needed a vehicle at the time,
so I said I would get it.

[Judy]
Let's go slowly.

You and Jennifer talked about
getting a car for one of your daughters?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Got that.

Then very quickly you glossed over, "and I
didn't have a car myself at that time."

-Mhm.
-Well, at the time

I was looking at a Jeep online myself
and I sent a picture to her, a green one.

And she said,
"Oh, well, Mike gave me this Jeep.

I can't drive it. You know, it's not
really... the pedals are weird."

She didn't like driving it. So she said
she was gonna talk to Mike,

and see if I could
buy the Jeep off of them.

And I said, "Okay, talk to him."
And I agreed.

At the time that she had a vehicle
and I was looking for a vehicle,

when I sent her a picture of the Jeep,
she was telling me about his Jeep.

So you repeated that story
once already. So?

So then that's how the conversation
went about the Jeep.

Did you pay her for the Jeep?

[tense music]

She stayed over in your house
after they were married?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Yes.

[Tony]
I have two children. We co-parent.

-[Judy] That's not co-parenting.
-Co-parenting.

That's cohabiting.
That's not co-parenting.

There's a difference
in cohabiting and co-parenting.

[someone chuckles]

[tense music]

[announcer] Tony Owens Jr. claims
his ex-wife's husband, Michael Loyer,

vandalized his Jeep
by putting sugar in the gas tank.

-Now, did you pay her for the Jeep?
-I paid her $800 for the Jeep.

-She was living with him at the time.
-[Judy] Shh.

What do I have to do?
I asked you a simple question.

-[Tony] And she...
-I said, did you pay her for the Jeep?

-And she said she gave it to him.
-[Judy] Shh. How much did you pay her?

[Tony]
$800.

[Judy] Did you give her
the $800 in check or cash?

No, it's cash.

Everybody deals in cash
these days. Interesting.

And where were you
when you gave her the cash?

I was at my house.

[Judy] At your house?
So she drove the car to your house?

No, I had it towed. The tires were...
dry rot. I had the Jeep towed to my house.

-She drove her car.
-Shh.

-And that was in April of 2022?
-Yes.

[Judy]
So the Jeep was towed to your house.

And when the Jeep was deposited
in your house, she gave you $800?

-[Tony] No, I gave her $800.
-Oh, you gave her $800 in cash.

Now I need the month
and the day and the year

when you alleged that Mr. Loyer vandalized
your car by putting sugar in the tank.

Like I said, in April I got the Jeep

and then, the beginning of May,
I got tires put on.

I was trying to get, you know,
running order for me to drive.

And then that weekend she...
my witness came to my house

and she was drinking, so she
didn't drive home, she stayed there.

[Judy] Just a minute.
That would be May of 2022?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

-But this incident happened 2023?
-[Tony] '22. Was it '22 or '23?

-[Judy] No, don't look at him.
-It's '22. It's '22.

[Judy] Don't look at him.

-It's '22.
-[Judy] '22. In May of '22.

What's the date in May of 2022 that his
wife was staying over in your house?

May 20th.

And she stayed over in your house
after they were married?

-Yes.
-[Judy] Yes.

[Tony] I have two children. We co-parent.
You know, she's got her own spare bedroom.

Co-parenting is not
exactly what I would call it

when she stays over at your house.
That's not what I would call it.

-That's not co-parenting.
-[Tony] Co-parenting.

That's cohabiting.
That's not co-parenting.

There's a difference
in cohabiting and co-parenting.

She stayed over at your house
because she was drunk?

[Tony]
Yes, she showed up drunk.

Later on that night,
Mr. Loyer came to my house upset that,

you know, she was at my house
which I do understand that.

-And brought a g*n with him. And...
-No, I didn't.

-[Judy] Shh.
-And they went out on my driveway.

It was him and her got into an argument.

-[Judy] Oh, he and Jennifer?
-[Tony] They went out on the driveway.

He punched her a couple times.
He left and then she came back in.

I talked to Mr. Loyer about the Jeep.
He was fine with it.

He was telling me, you know,
well, it polishes up real nice,

-this and that, because I was...
-When was this? After he punched his wife?

-After he...yeah, after he punched her.
-[Judy] After he punched his wife?

He also brought over... I got proof that
he brought over the soft top for the Jeep.

We were... you know, we've had
plenty of conversations about the Jeep.

He was... he knew all about the Jeep.

It's not like I got the Jeep
from her without him knowing.

The money went to him
that I gave her for the Jeep.

[Judy] Let's get to this incident
that you're alleging happened.

Did that happen on May 20th?

That did, and then the next weekend,
Mr. Loyer and Jennifer came to...

-[Judy] Oh, then she went home?
-Yeah, she was at...yeah,

they were still together.
They came to my house together.

She dropped off something for my daughter.

She was in the house and she witnessed
him putting sugar in my gas tank.

-[Judy] You didn't see it?
-I was at work.

[Judy]
So the answer is you didn't see it?

-No, ma'am.
-Ah.

-[Tony] I had a police report here.
-Shh.

-[Tony] It's on a camera video.
-[Judy] Do you have the video?

[Tony]No, I have the
police reports, it's in detail...

-[Judy] Shh.
-...about what the police officers saw.

[Judy]
Okay. I'm gonna take a look at it.

Thank you.

Well, this incident
didn't happen on May 20th.

It happened on June 1st according to this.

Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

I was getting there. I was getting...
I was getting there, you wanted to...

Well, getting there.
Yeah, you didn't get there fast enough.

-This show does not have an intermission.
-[courtroom chuckles]

Mr. Loyer,
you were taken into police custody?

-Yes, I was.
-[Judy] Okay.

-As a result of this incident?
-Yes, I was.

[Judy]
And you had an attorney?

[Michael] Yes. I pay monthly for an
attorney because I own apartments,

and I get sued all the time
from owning apartments.

Okay. So you had an attorney
representing you on this?

-Yes.
-[Judy] And you appeared in court?

Yes, many times.

What happened with regard to this case?
Do you have a certificate of disposition?

Mr. Loyer, there was a costs amount
of $125. Did you pay that?

Yes. I paid some court costs.

[Judy] Okay.
And the charge was criminal mischief,

and ultimately the case was dismissed,
it looks like, without prejudice.

-Yeah.
-[Judy] What did you have to do

in order to get the case
dismissed without prejudice,

which means they can bring it back?

Did you have to perform any community
service? Did you have to provide money?

This doesn't tell me enough.

They just said, "Pay the court costs
and you're free. You're done."

-Pay the court costs?
-Okay. You know more?

Yes. The reason why they dismissed it
is because I didn't show up to court.

He told me this.

[Judy] That the reason they dismissed it
is 'cause you weren't there?

Yes. I got a text message from him.
He gave me a text message telling me,

"Thank you for not coming to court.
I owe you big time."

-[Judy] Can I see it please?
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Had he asked you not to come to court?

I didn't have to be there.
They just mistakenly...

since I wasn't there, they dismissed it.

-If they had that much evidence...
-[Judy] Shh.

He admits to doing... getting the sugar...

-[Judy] Shh.
-[indistinct]

-[Tony] Okay.
-[Judy] Okay.

So, Mr. Loyer, January 11th,
you wrote to him. "Thank you, Tony."

The "you" is in capital letters.

"Because you didn't show up,
they threw it out!"

Exclamation point.

"I owe you for sure.
Need a favor. I got your back.

Haven't heard from Jen for some
days now. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I need the money to fix the Jeep.

That Jeep was for Aubree and you blanked
it up by putting sugar in the tank.

I got an estimate for 2,295, but I'll take
$1,200 to get a new tank and lines ran.

If you do that, I won't pursue
any further." You answered him.

"I have a place that can do it cheaper,
if you want to go that route."

Then you say again,
"What about Jen? Is she all right?

You know I will always
love her and cherish her."

"I don't talk to Jen hardly at all.
She goes to work and sleeps all day.

I already told her I'm not giving her
another chance to hurt me.

I only let her stay there because
she said you were trying to k*ll her."

-[scoffs]
-And then you answered,

"Never, never, never did I try
to k*ll that girl." Okey-dokey.

[tense music]

You went over and stayed over with Mr.
Owens for a night. You came there drunk.

I went there and seen my kids because
there was an altercation somewhere else

and I was trying to get away
from that man.

-Were you drunk?
-Yeah.

[tense music]

[announcer] Tony Owens Jr. has accused
his ex-wife's husband, Michael Loyer,

of putting sugar in his Jeep's gas tank
causing it to break down.

[Judy]
Now, we're gonna bring Jen back inside.

-It appears from these text messages...
-Mhm.

[Judy] ...that you acknowledged
that you were prepared to pay something

to have the car fixed as a result
of the sugar being in the tank.

-That's a...
-[Michael] That's a yes.

[Judy] Okay. And how much
were you prepared to pay him?

[Michael] I could have had it done
for 400 and some dollars.

-[Judy] Okay.
-[Michael] If he hadn't drove it

for months afterwards
with the sugar in the tank.

Supposedly sugar,
because I don't think I got any in it.

-[Judy] You don't think you got any in it?
-No, because I was so nervous,

it spilled all over the place
and got it mostly all over...

-[Judy] The floor?
-[Michael] ...the ground and everything.

Okey-dokey. Well, that's sort of honest.

Alright, Jennifer, I know you're
a busy girl so stand right over there,

and I'll try to make this
as fast as possible.

Mr. Loyer gave you a car.
You had it for a month.

Tell me about the conversations
you had with Mr. Owens about the car.

-That...
-Look here.

[Jennifer] I tried to drive it,
and I couldn't reach the pedals,

and it needed a lot of work, and that
I didn't think I really wanted it.

And I knew that him and the kids
needed a car at the time

'cause I was doing all the driving
for the whole family,

and I was living 30 minutes away.
So since we weren't using the car,

I offered to sell it to him
so that he could use it for now

and then we could fix it up and give it
to Aubree when it came to her time.

[Judy]
Did you discuss that with Mr. Loyer first?

-Yes.
-[Judy] First?

Did you discuss it with him first,
is the question?

-No, I didn't.
-[Judy] Alright.

You didn't discuss it with him first.
Okay. And when there was a transfer,

-were you paid any money?
-Yes.

-[Judy] How much?
-Six hundred dollars.

[Judy]
Six hundred dollars.

-Check, cash, money order?
-Cash.

[Judy]
What did you do with the $600?

I offered to give him some of it
'cause he was fine with the whole ordeal.

He was good with it. His feelings were
a little bit hurt that I didn't ask.

[Judy] Just a second. Just a second.
You discussed it with Mr. Loyer

after you had already made the agreement,
because he didn't know anything about it.

So now I sort of get it.
Now, we're moving forward a little bit.

And two of you went
had had sort of a falling out.

You went over and stayed over with Mr.
Owens for a night. You came there drunk.

I went there and seen my kids because
there was an altercation somewhere else

and I was trying to get away
from that man.

-Were you drunk?
-Yeah.

[Judy]
Okay. Well, that's all I asked you.

I said you went over and you stayed
over there 'cause you were drunk.

Now, there is information
in the police report

that you observed Mr. Loyer
doing something to the car.

-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.

Now, before you were brought
back inside, Mr. Loyer sort of,

at least to my satisfaction, acknowledged
that he was trying to put sugar in the car

but he didn't think any got into it

because there was
a whole bunch around it, right?

[Michael]
It didn't go like I thought it would.

-[Judy] Oh. I thought it was.
-[Michael] It didn't get smoothly go down.

-If he didn't get the sugar...
-[Judy] Don't. Listen to me. Listen to me.

-I didn't ask you anything, Tony.
-[Tony] Okay.

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Do you understand? Nothing.

The reason I'm looking so quizzically, Mr.
Loyer, is because you swore in your answer

and I'm very happy that now
being here and faced with this face,

-you wanna tell the truth.
-Yeah.

[Judy] Because in your answer, you say
you went there to put sugar in the tank

but had a change of mind,
turned around, and left.

-Yeah.
-[Judy] But that isn't true.

What happened is now, according to you,

you were trying to get
the sugar in the tank,

but were shaking
and didn't quite figure out how to do it.

-[Michael] Yeah. Yeah. It was a mess.
-[Judy] Oh, good.

You acknowledged in this exchange
that you can get the car fixed for $1,200.

-I did.
-[Judy] That's what you said.

-Did you get the car fixed?
-No. Not yet.

-You mean you've been driving it around?
-[Tony] I haven't been driving it.

-[Judy] Where is it?
-It's in my driveway.

I haven't been driving it
since this happened.

-[Judy] For how... [shushes] For how long?
-[Tony] Since this happened in May.

[Judy] Well, you did drive it afterwards
for a short period of time.

For a little bit. Maybe a week.

-Listen to me.
-It wouldn't start.

[Judy]
Pay careful attention.

You were driving around in the car
after the sugar was in the tank?

-Yes. For a week.
-[Judy] For a week.

And then it stopped running?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Okay.

And you can get it fixed for $1,200 is the
exchange that you had with the defendant?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Good.

-Are you together now?
-[Jennifer] No.

[Judy]
The two of you?

-No.
-No.

-[Judy] No?
-We are co-parenting.

-[Judy] Co-parenting.
-We're co-parenting,

-[Judy] Which... [shushes]
-like... you said.

[Judy]
Nice to co-parent. I like co-parenting.

-Co-parenting is very, very...
-[Jennifer] I have my own bedroom,

-and I pay half the bills.
-[Judy] Do you live in the same house?

-Yes, we do.
-[Judy] Okay. Good.

-'Cause I left my apartment, yeah.
-Just...I didn't ask anything else.

I just asked you if you live
in the same house. The answer is yes.

Alright. Okay. I've enjoyed this.

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of $1,200.

-We're finished. Thank you very much.
-[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

She wanted the Jeep to give to him,
and not for the kids, but for him.

He needed a vehicle,
and after I drove it, I didn't want it.

It wasn't what I was looking for.

Honest to God, you put the sugar in
and it's just stuck there.

And I took the funnel out and it went all
over the ground and all over the place,

and I don't think there was
any sugar in that tank at all.

Like he said, he was all shaky.
He dropped most of the sugar on the ground

and... some did get in there,
but, I mean, I can get it fixed myself.

Well, it's been an ongoing investigation

and an ongoing thing in the courts
for almost a year and a half

and I'm just glad it's over with and it's
done and I can get on with my life.

I thought he was a nice guy
that was gonna help me out

and promised me a rose garden
and he gave me a bunch of thorns.

You know what's getting
harder for me as I get older?

The law is relatively consistent and easy.

You know, once you've been playing
with it in your mind for 60 years,

there are very few stories
you haven't heard

and the law remains pretty consistent.

I'm really having a problem
with these convoluted social situations.

[laughs] They always seem
to come out in court.

Ex-girlfriend, with whom I have
two children, sold me a car

that her then just older
boyfriend gave her.

-[Sarah] Turned husband.
-Well, that sort of didn't work out,

and now she's living in my house,
but we're not living together.

-[Sarah] Mhm.
-We're just co-parenting.

Yeah. The social structure,

-the social fabric has changed immensely.
-[Judy] The social... that's...

it's getting very confusing.

I'll try and keep you
as on top of it as I can.

Thank you, that's your job.

[announcer] Have you been cheated?


[theme music]