03x119 - Senior Center DUI Standoff and Cabin-Sitting Catastrophe

[bunniefuu]

She had you falsely arrested.
She said that you were harassing her.

- Yes, ma'am.
- They arrested you for DUI,

- not for harassing her.
- Based on her lie.

[slams desk] It was the truth. I don't
care. You could do this all you like.

You were arrested
because you were driving drunk.

- I was already parked.
- I don't care.

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

[announcer] Tracey Tartt is suing Cheryl
Suttles for attorney fees, bail money,

- and lost wages from a false arrest.
- [Kevin] Court comes to order. All rise.

- [Judy] Have a seat, please.
- Case 3185, Tartt versus Suttles.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

[Judy] Mr. Tartt, it is your claim
that the defendant

- had you falsely arrested.
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
And you wanna be compensated for that?

Absolutely. Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Okay. The defendant denies
she had you falsely arrested.

She's got a counterclaim
that I'm not really serious about.

So I'm gonna concentrate on your claim.
You lived in the same complex.

- What kind of complex was it?
- Well, ma'am, she did not live there.

I lived in a building
where you had to be 55 or older.

- How long had you lived there, Mr. Tartt?
- Three years.

- Are you still there?
- [Tracey] No, ma'am.

- I live in Waldorf, Maryland now.
- Are you a working person?

I'm a Master of Studies of Law graduate

- about to apply for law school.
- Where?

UDC, University of
the District of Columbia.

- Who supports you?
- I'm on full VA disability.

- How old are you?
- Fifty-nine.

So you receive benefits from the VA.
How much do you receive from the VA?

Thirty-seven hundred dollars per month.

And who's paying for your
law school education?

Well, it will be a scholarship,
hopefully, and student loans.

I've not taken my LSAT yet, ma'am.
I'm preparing to take my LSAT.

You know, I always think
that hope springs eternal, sir,

but if you're taking your LSAT at 59

and if you get a positive score on your
LSAT... where did you graduate from college?

Hamline University, Saint Paul, Minnesota.

- How long did you attend that university?
- [Tracey] Two years.

Also graduated from Century College,
same time, 2022.

What is that? Is that an online school?

That is a community college,
as a film and video graduate.

And how did that prepare you
to take the LSATs?

[Tracey]
Well, it did not prepare me.

My Master of Studies in Law
was taught by all attorneys,

legal research and writing,
immigration law, bankruptcy law,

contract law,
because I'm familiar with the topics,

it will make it easier for me once
I'm eligible and once I'm able, uh...

You're telling that story to this face?

- I'm just asking you.
- Well, yes, ma'am. A couple...

- [Judy] Oh, just...
- ...of [indistinct] teach me in college,

because I'm in a protected class
and I'm also a disabled veteran,

- I get preferences.
- [Judy] Well, that's okay.

But what I'm suggesting to you, sir,
is, you know, never too late,

Grandma Moses took up painting
when she was 75 years old.

And I'm still working and I'm 81,

and not as sharp as I once was
but I'm once as sharp as I once was.

And I'm telling you to start
to take your LSATs

after a marginal college experience
without any emphasis on the law at age 59,

which means that you won't be... if you're
lucky and get admitted to law school,

and if you're lucky and pass your courses,

law school's three years,
then you've gotta study for the Bar.

Then you've gotta pass the Bar,

then you've gotta go through
the character committee.

So by the time you would be
able to work, you would be 67,

if everything falls into place for you.

And I'm just suggesting to you
that all that money,

that scholarship money and public money

might be best off served
for somebody who's 20, not 65.

You know, some people are retired
on full veterans benefits

and they say,
"I still need something to keep me busy."

Well, if you still need something
to keep you busy,

maybe you should find gardening.
Maybe you should take up something else

other than spending $100,000 education
on something that you'll never use.

Okay. I'm finished with my speech,
Mr. Tartt. This is what the case is about.

You're suing the defendant because
you say she had you falsely arrested.

She said that you were harassing her.

Police arrested you
and you had lawyers' fees, et cetera.

Ultimately, the case against you was over.

I don't know how it was over,
you're going to show me.

The defendant says
that you were a problem.

That you were constantly drunk,
that you did in fact harass her.

And your arrest was not about harassment,
it was for being publicly intoxicated.

That's what you say in your answer,

- is that correct?
- That's correct.

You say that this happened
in August of 2022.

- [Tracey] Yes, ma'am.
- August what?

August 22nd.

Okay. You have something
to demonstrate that to me?

- I do. I have the police report.
- I'd like to see it.

Was this the only time, sir, that you
were arrested or taken into custody

- in the State of Minnesota?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Okay. So it is true
that you called the police

because the plaintiff,
you say, was harassing you

and appeared to be
under the influence of alcohol?

Yes, I did.

- You were arrested that day?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
You were not arrested for harassment, sir.

You were arrested for driving under
the influence of alcohol, for a DUI.

- Based on her lie.
- Doesn't matter.

It wasn't a lie, Mr. Tartt.
It was the truth,

because when the police stopped you
as a result of her complaint

that you appeared to be intoxicated
and you were harassing her,

and according to the first officer,

you appeared to be
under the influence of alcohol.

You were slurring your words, your gait
was unsteady, your eyes were glassy.

According to the police report,
you did a breathalyzer.

The legal limit is .08.
Your reading was a .17

and the officers then informed you
that they were placing you under arrest

on suspicion of driving
while under the influence of alcohol.

That's what you were arrested for. And you
were under the influence of alcohol.

[theme music]

The police confirmed the fact
when they stopped you that you were drunk.

The police didn't pull me over
and stop me. I was already parked.

The police officer saw you driving the car

with an alcohol level
almost three times the legal limit.

- [announcer] And later today...
- [Jacynthe] Here they went drinking.

He's opening up the door,
she falls out absolutely dead-drunk.

As she's doing that, her tights fall down
to her knees exposing her buttocks.

Of course, he was using our truck
to go get drunk.

[theme music]

[announcer] Tracey Tartt claims
Cheryl Suttles owes for the cost

of having him falsely arrested.

Cheryl is countersuing for harassment
and invasion of privacy.

Okay. She didn't say you came
after her with a knife, with a hammer,

with a g*n, that you threatened
to hit her or do anything else.

She said you appeared to be drunk
and you were harassing her.

Well, you were drunk.

- Just a second. You were drunk.
- [Tracey] Well...

I have a video,
which I love for you to see.

Just a second. All I'm telling you is,
your entire lawsuit is based upon the fact

you're suing her
for filing a false report.

The false report was that
you were drunk and harassing her.

The police confirmed the fact
when they stopped you that you were drunk.

- That's not a false police report, sir.
- [Tracey] Well, yes, it was, ma'am.

I wasn't... I had already stopped.

The police didn't pull me over
and stop me. I was already parked.

There's video,
which I would love for you see...

[Judy laughs] Listen to me. The police car
followed you into the parking lot.

- [Tracey] I just went around the block.
- They stopped... [slams desk]

They stopped you as you were getting out
of your car. And the police officer said,

"Look, you look a little tipsy to me.
You look a little woozy to me."

He saw you driving with an alcohol level
almost three times the legal limit.

I don't care.
You could do this all you like.

You were arrested
because you were driving drunk.

[Tracey]
Those charges have been dismissed, ma'am.

- [Judy] Listen.
- Okay?

[Judy] I don't care. You may have hired
a lawyer and your lawyer may have said,

"Listen, this is a disabled vet.
This is his first offense.

Let's give him a clean record."
I have no idea what he said.

The police stopped you,
ultimately gave you a breathalyzer,

found you were three times
over the legal limit

and arrested you for DUI,
not for harassing her.

[Tracey]
No. Based on her lie.

- [Judy] It wasn't a lie.
- She called...

- [Judy] It was the truth.
- If you would look at this video...

- [Judy] Look, no, listen to me. No.
- ...you would see this.

It wasn't a lie. It was the... I don't
even have to look at the video.

- Yes, you need to.
- [Judy] It... no, I don't.

- [Tracey] You would see I didn't say...
- I'm telling you, I don't.

- [Tracey] ...one word to her.
- You can't...

And she threatened to...
well, I was going to die, ma'am.

I am diagnosed with a significant,
serious recognized disease

by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The flight-or-fight syndrome
occurred to me.

There was no criminal intent for me
to jump in my vehicle to leave.

When she has told me
that I was going to die,

that is when I left
and drove around the block.

If she hadn't have been harassing me,

- I am diagnosed with a...
- If she wouldn't have been harassing you...

- [Tracey] No.
- ...you wouldn't have been drinking before?

Just a second.

- Just listen to what you're saying...
- [Tracey] I have no criminal intent...

- Listen. Listen.
- [Tracey] ...alright?

Listen to what I'm saying to you, sir.
You haven't been to law school yet.

You haven't passed a bar yet and you
haven't been admitted to practice law yet.

So what I'm telling you is as follows,

she made a complaint
based upon her observation.

Her observation was you were drunk,

you were arrested for DUI
and you were driving drunk.

- And they have been dropped.
- [Judy] You have no case.

- Does that give her the right...
- [Judy] Your case is over.

- ...to threaten somebody?
- [Judy] You were arrested for DUI.

Stop. You were arrested for DUI.
You were drunk.

I don't know when the last time
is that you had a drink,

but certainly you had a drink on August


Your case is dismissed. We're gonna
get to your counterclaim. Likewise!

- Thank you.
- [Judy] It's nonsense. Goodbye.

- This court is adjourned.
- [theme music]

Well, I think it's a rotten decision.

Well, I was concerned about...
I'm sitting in the parking lot for myself,

if he hits my car backing up
or pulling in forward.

She threatened to take my life.
I didn't know she had a g*n or nothing.

I'm a Christian person
and I don't have time for k*lling anybody.

She wished that I would've came over
to her and I would die that day.

- You can't say that to just anybody.
- He got what he deserved.

That case was actually made so easy
by the police report that he had with him.

I could tell,
the time that you were taking to read it,

I knew there had to be
something good in there.

[chuckles] You know, he wasn't arrested...

- [Sarah] Yeah. Yeah.
- ...for harassing her.

- He was arrested...
- For drunk driving.

[Judy] ...for drunk driving
and he was driving drunk.

[Sarah]
And he was suing her 'cause he was mad

- that she was the reason he got caught.
- [Judy] Caught.

- [Sarah] But people have to realize...
- Bottom line...

- ...that is not a cause of action.
- [Judy] Cause of action.

Maybe once he goes to law school,
he'll learn that.

- Oh, that's very true.
- [chuckles]

Case 3171,
Marcoux, Kaiser versus Holekamp.

All parties, please come forward.

[announcer]
Jacynthe Marcoux and Luke Kaiser

are suing their former friend,
Thad Holekamp,

for stolen and damaged property
after Thad housesat for them.

- You're a married couple?
- We are.

[Judy] And the defendant is somebody
that you know for a very long time?

- Yes.
- [Judy] From school, lost touch.

According to your complaint,
the defendant has, several times,

house and dog sat for you
when you were on vacation.

According to what I read,
he was sort of struggling financially.

- You have a cabin someplace? Where?
- In Southern Missouri, in the mountains.

- How often do you spend there?
- Well, we now live there.

- [Judy] Full-time?
- Yes, ma'am.

- How remote?
- Pretty remote.

I would say the closest town
where you could buy groceries

- is about 30 miles away.
- And you get along together that well?

- [laughs] We do.
- Believe it or not.

- [laughs] No issues.
- [Judy] You have neighbors?

Well, we do. We don't see them.
It's pretty remote.

- I'd hang myself. [laughs]
- [Jacynthe laughs] I hear you.

- [courtroom laughs]
- [Judy] There you go.

In any event, you asked the defendant
to once again house and dog sit for you.

You were going
for an extended three-week trip.

And he said yes, he did, you came home,

and were appalled
at the condition of your property.

- Unfortunately.
- [Judy] And so,

you are suing him for not only the half
of what you paid him, which was $300,

but you want him to be responsible
for all damage to the house.

And Mr. Holekamp says,
"I don't know what happened.

Some very bad fairies must have
come into your house after I left.

But when I left the house, it was okay."
Just tell me when the vacation was.

We left on November 13, 2023
and we returned on December 18, 2023.

- [Judy] And Mr. Holekamp?
- Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
Who is Sally?

I want you to think really hard
before you answer my question,

because I want you to know...
I'm all-knowing.

So I want you to tell me who Sally is.

Sally is a woman that I had gotten
into a relationship with.

- Okay. And Sally has an alcohol problem?
- Yes, ma'am.

- It's like I know it, right?
- [Thad] Yeah, I don't know about...

- You don't know how, but I know it.
- [Thad] Yeah.

So now you understand that we're
gonna be 100% square with each other.

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

And you've known Sally
had an alcohol problem?

Yes, ma'am.

[Judy]
You agreed to watch your friend's home,

- you started on November 13.
- [Thad] I got there on the 12th.

Luke came and picked me up

- because my vehicle...
- [Judy] On the 12th?

- Right, the 12th.
- [Judy] The 12th.

That's when he picked me up and they left.

- [Judy] Okay. Now, when he picked you up...
- [indistinct]

Mr. Kaiser picked you up,
he picked you up alone?

- Correct.
- [Judy] And you never discussed

having a guest at the house? With them?

It wasn't intended to have a guest.

- The situation... yes.
- [Judy] Okay.

- No, I did not.
- [theme music]

[Judy]
I mean, what were you thinking?

If I believed you the first time
you saw Sally take a drink,

you should've put her
in the truck and taken her home.

What you did was you took her out
drinking. And she blacked out.

You had to cart her out of the truck.

[theme music]

[announcer] Jacynthe Marcoux
and Luke Kaiser claim their former friend,

Thad Holekamp, damaged their property
while housesitting for them.

- Okay. Sally arrived when?
- She arrived twice.

- First time, when did she arrive?
- May I... may I have just put a little bit,

just to preamble why she's
even there to begin with?

Go ahead.

[Thad] A day or two prior to the beginning
of the watching the dogs in the house,

I had taken Sally to the hospital,

and she was actually in the hospital still
when Luke picked me up.

Basically, she had congestive
heart failure going on,

and her cirrhosis of the liver
had pretty much destroyed her liver.

She's on a list apparently now
for a liver transplant.

So I get a call after she had gone
through her detox,

after they've already left,
"I gotta get outta here."

Have to get out of where?

Where she's from, where she lives,
her environment, to get away.

She wants to quit drinking badly.

And this is the most serene...
this place is nirvana.

I don't... maybe, perhaps you don't
like isolation, but it is... it's heaven.

[laughs] Their home was just outstanding.

And I wanted to get her
someplace away from triggers,

hopefully she could continue
her detox treatment.

[Judy] That's wonderful of you, but it's
not your place to open a welcome mat.

- You were hired to do a job.
- [Thad] I understand.

[Judy] So you brought Sally, an alcoholic,
to their home. How did you get her?

I used the truck
that they have on the farm.

And you were not
supposed to use that truck.

- Not for anything but for provisioning...
- [Judy] Only to go for groceries,

- if you had an emergency. Local.
- It was an emergency to me, Your Honor.

- Well, not... just a second.
- It's somebody I...

- It was an emergency to you, not to them.
- Correct.

And it was important to you,
and you would have some company.

Your Honor, may I interject just...

- I'm sorry to interrupt.
- Go.

I've had issues
with alcohol myself in the past.

You don't have to tell me that, sir.

She burned all her bridges. And I was it.

She better get
a good floating device, sir.

- [laughs]
- [Judy] Yeah.

So I can move on with this case quickly
because I read your answer and, you know,

your answer was really not truthful,
because the plaintiffs...

and I read in their complaint that there
were videos, and I see the screen up here.

So I want you to tell me
what happened with Sally.

So now you've had problems with alcohol,
Sally is trying to get off it,

but she's already got a destroyed liver,
on a list waiting for a new one,

you went and picked her up

in violation of their request that you
only use the truck for emergencies.

And you go and pick her up, and the two
of you get drunk in their house.

I don't believe I got drunk.
I might've had a drink of wine, ma'am.

- Okay.
- I had a beer and then...

So I'm gonna look at this video
of their house being destroyed.

- Is that what I'm going to see?
- Yes.

- In part.
- [Judy] Okay. Roll tape.

[Jacynthe] Would you like for me
to explain while you're rolling?

- [Judy] Sure.
- [Jacynthe] Here,

um, the... I call her the "homeless woman,"

is putting a glass top onto a propane
fire pit, and it exploded after that.

Here, she's removing a wind
guard around it,

and now she's going to be brooming off
the thousands of pieces of glass

when she put the glass top
back on the full propane.

Here, they went drinking,
he's opening up the door,

she falls out, absolutely dead drunk,

as she's doing that, her tights fall down
to her knees, exposing her buttocks.

And here she... he is, trying
to sit her up, she is completely drunk.

Of course, he was using our truck to go
get drunk in the mountain somewhere.

And there, they are fighting,
he's locking the door,

she's coming down the side of the kitchen.
She's going to have a little fit here,

knocks the barbecue over, kicks the lid,
the ashes are all over the wooden deck.

This is a hundred percent wooden house in
the mountains. So fire's always a problem.

Here, I'm not sure exactly what
she's holding in her right hand.

It looks to me like a handgun.
In her left hand is her phone.

He is filming her
because they were having issues together.

- Why were you filming her?
- To show her what she's doing.

- Uh, blackout...um...
- Blackout?

[Thad] Too many times she's been like that
and she doesn't believe that she did that.

- [Judy] Mhm. Okay.
- And...

- Do you have photographs of the damage?
- [Jacynthe] Yes.

- May I see them?
- [Jacynthe] Sure. Absolutely.

May I approach or give this
to the bailiff? Well, here's the car.

- Um, truck.
- [Judy] Okay. So they're... okay.

So they are photographs.

[Jacynthe] Yeah, they're photographs
on everything. That's just one issue.

- [Judy] What'd you do the ATV?
- [Thad] The ATV has a window,

- a windscreen that opens up...
- [Judy] Yeah, yeah.

It clipped the tree
and popped, um, the little...

- [Jacynthe] Clipped the tree.
- Rivet or a bond that holds...

- Who was in it?
- Myself and Sally.

So far, you do know
you're responsible for all this damage?

The dogs could not have done
the damage on the ATV, that's correct.

And they did not do
the damage on the truck?

Um, may I explain the truck,
how it happened or anything.

- [indistinct]
- But they didn't drive the truck.

- [Judy] Just a... Shh.
- No, ma'am. So they did not.

And I assume you're not suggesting
that the dogs peed on the mattress?

I believe that was a spilled drink,
actually.

- The dog wasn't drinking.
- [Thad] No, no, no.

So, so far you, are responsible
for all this damage.

You said she came twice. I'm just curious.
How did she come back twice?

When I took her the first time
back to the home [indistinct],

Sally was needing to go back
in the hospital. When she's at this state...

What do you mean she needed to
go back to the hospital? Because...

She started drinking,
things like cordials and wine,

that was in a closet that I forgot...

- [Judy] All of their alcohol?
- Correct.

What you say in your answer is,
"The house was fine when I left."

- That's not true.
- No.

"I have no idea what happened
to the home." Also not true.

"Maybe someone broke into the house
after I left and trashed the place.

Either possibility is that their
two unruly, poorly-trained dogs

did the damage.
Either way, it wasn't me."

- So that's all baloney.
- That's nice.

[Judy] And the maximum in your small
claims court is $5,000. Well, certainly,

you and Sally did more than $5,000
worth of damage to the plaintiff's home.

I mean, what were you thinking?

If I believed you, the first time
you saw Sally take a drink,

you should've put her in the truck
and taken her home.

What you did was you took her
out drinking, and she blacked out,

- you had to cart her out of the truck.
- [Thad] I couldn't lift her.

She should've not been there. Unless
you were sort of happy with the company.

- That...
- [Judy] If you were sort of happy

- with the company...
- That's it.

...so drunk or sober, you were happy.

It didn't make much difference,
so she stayed.

When you think with another organ
other than your brain...

- That is... that's it.
- [Judy] ...then sometimes, it costs you.

This one's gonna cost you $5,000.

Judgment for the plaintiff.
We are finished.

- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.

- Thank you, Your Honor.
- This court is adjourned.

[theme song]

- The judge's decision was correct.
- I mean, I just couldn't believe it.

We walked in and our house was
completely destroyed.

I was in love with the girl and I did
what I thought was right for her

to get her out certain triggering
situations and it blew up.

You should have seen
some of the other videos, that's...

- Yeah, you didn't see none of it.
- Yeah.

I thought it was the right thing to do,
to help somebody I love.

A very tough lesson to learn
and be careful when you go out of town,

make sure you know your friends
and who they are and what they can do.

- Check their references.
- Yeah.

- Only have one thought after that case...
- [laughs] Okay.

[Judy] ...which is he was almost
sobering enough for me

to give up my two happy glasses
of rosé every night. [laughs]

[Sarah] At least you
can get in and out of the car.

- Yeah, the car.
- [Sarah] So...

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[theme music]