Wilbanks Indicted on False Crime Charge

[CTA513]

I got this off my zoomtown homepage.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 12:33 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By DANIEL YEE

Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks was indicted Wednesday on two charges of lying to police about being kidnapped _ counts that could mean up to six years in prison.

The 32-year-old woman faces one felony count making of false statement and one misdemeanor count of making a false police report.

The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and the misdemeanor up to a year in jail if she is convicted. She could also face up to $11,000 in fines and be ordered to reimburse authorities for the cost of the search.

"We believe this is a reasonable next step in the case. We believe the grand jury made the right decision," said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter.

"At some point you just can't lie to the police," he said.

A bench warrant will be issued for Wilbanks' arrest within the next few days, he added. He said he was confident arrangements could be made for Wilbanks to turn herself in. No court date has been set.

The indictment does not rule out a plea agreement to lesser charges, Porter said. Authorities had said they were talking to the Wilbanks family about a possible deal.

The office of Wilbanks' attorney, Lydia Sartain, said no statements will be issued until next week. Sartain has said she does not think Wilbanks committed a crime in Gwinnett County. Authorities in Albuquerque had said they would not charge Wilbanks.

"The citizens of the county will be ill-served by an attempted prosecution," Sartain said before Wednesday's charges were announced. She did not return a phone call seeking further comment Wednesday morning.

Wilbanks, a nurse, had claimed she was going for a jog before she disappeared from her Duluth home on April 26, four days before her planned wedding.

While Georgia authorities looked for her, Wilbanks took a bus to Las Vegas and then Albuquerque, N.M. There, she called authorities with a story about having been abducted and sexually assaulted.

But under questioning, she recanted and said she fled Georgia because of unspecified personal issues. She returned to Georgia on April 30, the day she was to have been married in a ceremony with 14 bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Her family has said she entered a medical facility after her return but did not say where.

Her disappearance prompted a massive search and nationwide publicity. City, county and state officials spent about $50,000 looking for her.

Several state and county agencies already said they will not ask her to reimburse them for a total of $10,000 spent in additional search costs. But the city of Duluth still is seeking repayment of about $40,000 and Mayor Shirley Lassetter said her city attorney has been in negotiations with Sartain.

[TeamDunn]

I doubt she will go to prison, but she should have to reimburse the costs and should be fined for it. I don't want her to go to prison, but she should get some help (be forced to if need be).

[Unassisted]

She should be planning on doing time if she were indicted here in Texas, but I doubt that a jury in genteel Georgia will see what she did as a felony. I agree wholeheartedly that she owes the taxpayers some money for the cost of search.

[Blimpie]

Did anyone else notice that the Georgia authorities seemed to be leaning towards going easy on her...until it was reported that her choice of New Mexico was not exactly a random occurance? Apparently, the whole deal was nothing more than a cross-country booty call...NOW, it seems as though the authorities have no more sympathy for her.

Runaway Bride May Have Been Looking For Old Flame

Tue May 17, 9:58 AM ET



A New Mexico man is being linked to the case of the runaway bride.


Last month, Jennifer Wilbanks became the subject of a massive search after she disappeared from her Duluth, Ga., home just before her wedding.

She surfaced in Albuquerque after briefly claiming to have been kidnapped.

According to the New York Post, investigators believe it was no accident that Wilbanks ended up in New Mexico.

The Post said investigators believe that Wilbanks was hoping to reunite with Todd Kendrick, a former boyfriend who lives in Taos.

The Post reported that Kendrick, a 42-year-old accountant, is originally from Wilbanks' hometown of Duluth, Ga.

Kendrick told the Post that if Wilbanks had contacted him while in New Mexico, he would have contacted authorities and tried to collect the $100,000 reward offered by her family.

Kendrick's neighbors said they were surprised to learn that he had a history with the bolting bride.

His neighbors described Kendrick as a friendly, but extremely private person.

"He's a quiet fellow," said one neighbor. "Just a quiet guy. No one talks to him that I know of."

In the Post article, Kendrick is quoted as saying that Wilbanks would have been sorely disappointed had she hoped to rekindle their romance.

[GoReds]

Kendrick told the Post that if Wilbanks had contacted him while in New Mexico, he would have contacted authorities and tried to collect the $100,000 reward offered by her family.

Notice to Ms. Wilbanks - that relationship is OVER!

[TeamDunn]

As of when she first came home her fiance said he still wanted to marry her.

If he does now, he is a bigger idiot than she is.

[Unassisted]

I don't think these details have been posted here before...

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/43576.htm

CHASTE-Y RETREAT
By HEIDI SINGER in Gainesville, Ga., and JEANE MacINTOSH in New York
"May 6, 2005 -- Bolting bride Jennifer Wilbanks was chaste away — by her fiancé's insistence on abstinence, friends of the sex-deprived couple claim.

"She told people the fact that she and [husband-to-be John Mason] were not having sex was upsetting," a friend of Wilbanks' told People magazine..."

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/44192.htm

JILTING JENNY DRAWN TO AN OLD FLAME

By JEANE MacINTOSH May 16, 2005 -- TAOS, N.M. — Jennifer Wilbanks wasn't just running away from her wedding, she was running toward something — an old paramour with whom she had a steamy sexual relationship.

The bolting bride set her sights on New Mexico sometime during her three-day cross-country sprint...

[Blimpie]

Hopefully, now this story will stop appearing on my Yahoo home page???

Runaway Bride Pleads Guilty to Felony
By DANIEL YEE
Associated Press Writer

With her once-jilted fiance at her side, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge and wept as she was sentenced to probation, community service and a fine.

"I'm truly sorry for my actions and I just want to thank Gwinnett County and the city of Duluth," a crying Wilbanks told the judge as she pleaded guilty to making a false report.

She was sentenced to two years of probation and 120 hours of community service. The judge also ordered her to continue mental health treatment and pay the sheriff's office $2,550.

Wilbanks, whose disappearance before her wedding in April created a nationwide sensation, was indicted last week on charges of making a false statement and making a false police report.

Wilbanks was wearing a black outfit and running shoes :ughmamoru as she arrived at the Gwinnett County courthouse Thursday to accept the plea. Her fiance John Mason, whom she was to have married April 30 in a lavish ceremony, was by her side.

Wilbanks could have faced up to six years in prison and $11,000 in fines if convicted of both charges. She could also have been ordered to reimburse authorities for the cost of the search, which has been tallied at more than $50,000.

She's already agreed to pay part of the tab: On Tuesday, she said she would pay $13,250 to the city of Duluth, Ga., to help offset the overtime costs the city incurred searching for her.

Wilbanks, a nurse, disappeared from her Duluth home on April 26 and took a bus to Las Vegas and then Albuquerque, N.M. She initially claimed she was abducted and sexually assaulted, but later recanted and said she fled because of unspecified personal issues days before the high-profile wedding.

Family members say she has been receiving psychiatric treatment at an unspecified facility

[TeamDunn]

So she stands him up and leaves town days before their wedding for a booty call with an ex-boyfriend who would have turned her in for the reward money and her finace is STILL standing by her.

He's a bigger idiot than she is.

[savafan]

He's a bigger idiot than she is.

He's in love. We've all done stupid things for love at one time or another.

[Blimpie]

Holy guacamole! Glad to see that Ms. Wilbanks has become more camera-friendly during the last few weeks.....

"Excuse me, deer? I would like to introduce you to headlights..."

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...wilbanks1.html

[Unassisted]

I wonder if her wrists have stopped stinging from the slap they received today?

I guess I can understand why she didn't want the lurid details of the trip to come out in a trial, but it seems like the DA should have pushed for more restitution dollars here. Taxpayers there must be more sympathetic than I figured.

[Chip R]

Looks like her restitution may not come out of her posket after all. I wonder if Julia Roberts is going to play her in the movie.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050616/.../runaway_bride

Runaway Bride May Get Movie Deal

ATLANTA - Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks made a deal with a company that is pitching a movie about her life to networks — annoying officials who spent thousands of dollars searching for her.

ReganMedia, a New York multimedia company, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for a story in Thursday's papers it has acquired all media rights to the "life stories" of Wilbanks and her fiance, John Mason.

The company did not say whether any money had changed hands.

"I am looking forward to developing the scripted project with Wilbanks and Mason," company president Judith Regan said in a statement. "Theirs is an unexpected and compelling story of love and forgiveness that has certainly taught me a thing or two."

The 32-year-old bride-to-be disappeared from her Duluth home on April 26, four days before her wedding in a high-profile ceremony with 600 guests and 28 attendants.

She took a bus to Las Vegas and then Albuquerque, N.M., and claimed she was abducted and sexually assaulted, but later recanted, saying she fled because of unspecified personal issues.

Wilbanks pleaded no contest earlier this month to making a false statement and was sentenced to two years of probation and 120 hours of community service. She also was ordered to continue mental health treatment and pay the sheriff's office $2,550.

Duluth spent nearly $43,000 to search for her. Wilbanks has repaid $13,249.

"It's disturbing to me on a personal basis that she's willing to profit from this, but there's nothing I can do about it legally," said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter, who pursued charges against Wilbanks.

[Unassisted]

In addition to this potentially-lucrative movie deal, NBC has put a $500,000 offer on the table for exclusive rights to interview Ms. W and her fiance.

Duluth spent nearly $43,000 to search for her. Wilbanks has repaid $13,249.

"It's disturbing to me on a personal basis that she's willing to profit from this, but there's nothing I can do about it legally," said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter, who pursued charges against Wilbanks.

Nothing he can do about it legally, because he all-too-hastily settled for $13K in restitution. I hope the voters there send him a message in the next election.

[KronoRed]

He's a bigger idiot than she is.

Maybe he sees all the cash that's about to roll in and wants to get his share