SUMMARY: Kelli Peters, your typical PTA mom at the Plaza Vista School in Irvine, California was waiting to pick up her daughter from school when a policemen, Charles Shaver, approached her car. He asked for her car keys, and soon after found Ziploc bags holding drugs such as marijuana, pills, and a pot pipe. She had been accused by a 911 caller that she had been driving "erratically" and "under the influence" or "using drugs" at around 1:15 pm. For having drugs (especially on school grounds), Peters could potentially have been arrested. However, it was later confirmed that at 1:15 Peters had been inside the school helping out with the PTA. Shaver inspected more of Peter's car as well as her apartment, checking to see if the caller had possibly planted the drugs in the car. Seeing no evidence, Shaver checked the phone number the police department received upon the call from the informant. The phone number was fraudulent as well as the name he provided to the 911 Dispatcher.
Kent Easter and Jill Easter, ex-husband and wife, were eventually discovered to be the actual criminals in this case. An ongoing ordeal since 2011, the Police Department recently sentenced them to pay millions of dollars to Kelli Peters, who was awarded a 5.7 million dollar settlement for damages after being wrongly accused. When questioned about placing drugs in Peter's car, Kent Easter eventually confessed, "Very stupidly, and unfortunately, yes", although claiming to be innocent throughout his criminal trial. After enduring multiple years of accusation and embarrassment for her and her family, Kelli Peters admits, "I lost everything that I worked hard for".
ANALYSIS: Being Kelli Peters, it must be difficult to have been in this situation for multiple years. She was innocently accused of using drugs, and it ended up ruining her reputation for her and her family. I've always heard that "possession is 9/10ths of the law", meaning that if you have it on you it belongs to you, and law enforcement would believe you to be guilty. For Charles Shaver, it is reassuring to see how he listened to his instincts regarding the unlikelihood of her being an actual drug user as evidenced by her alibi, her standing in the community, and the unconvincing 911 report from Kent Easter. It's frightening to think that someone could falsely accuse you with an allegation that could potentially ruin your reputation, and take years to undo. This incident also calls into question how much weight is put on an individual's testimony within the legal system. For Kelli Peters, it all worked out in her favor, but how often is that not the case, and someone is accused and convicted wrongly?
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/PTA-Mom-Framed-by-Parent-Lost-Everything-I-Worked-Hard-For-380044441.html
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-framed/#chapter1
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/easter-703066-peters-jill.html
When I read the title of this post, I originally thought I was about to read a news story about a mom leading some sort of double life, PTA mom by day, drug dealer by night. When I did read your post I was surprised to hear it was about a mom who was wrongly accused of possessing drugs. Its terrible that something like this, that is in no way her fault, damage her and her family's reputation. This must be really hard for her, and I hope this eventually blows over and is forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI thought the exact same thing. I can't believe this poor woman was accused of having drugs. To know that everybody didn't believe her at first sounds awful. If this didn't work out in her favor who knows where she would be right now?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love this concept. I feel so bad for her and that must have been really hard for her and her family. I think it also speaks for the stigma around drugs such as marijuana, though. The fact that she "lost everything that she worked hard for" due to the thought of her possessing such a minor drug as weed makes me disappointed. I hope one day we don't have to make such a big deal over things like this so innocent people don't get hurt.
ReplyDelete-Linnea Soderlund