Loading...
Summary: Kelli Peters was framed by Jill and Kent Easter in 2011 for drug charges when the couple mistakenly thought that Peters insulted their son.
According to OC Weekly, just a few days ago, Judge Thomas Goethals sentenced Kent Wycliffe Easter to six months in jail, less the 76 days Easter has already served. He and his wife, Jill Easter, will both serve jail time for their roles in a fraudulent scheme in which they tried to frame a school volunteer for drug use.
On February 16, 2011, Jill Easter arrived at her son’s school to pick him up. Her son was not lined up with the other children, and Kelli Peters, a volunteer yard lady at Plaza Vista School, told Easter that her son was “slow.” Peters, of course, simply meant that the child had taken his time making his way to the pickup area with the other children. Easter, however, thought that Peters was insulting her child’s intellect, and hatched a plan to bring Peters down.
First, a civil suit was filed by the Easters that was dismissed. Roughly a year after the exchange between Peters and Easter, one or both of the Easters sneaked into Peters’ gated community where Peters lives with her family. Vicodin, Percocet, and a marijuana pipe were planted into Peters’ vehicle, a PT Cruiser. The next day, Mr. Easter called the cops and told them, in an Indian accent, that Peters was driving “erratically” and that she may be on drugs.
The police located the bag inside Peters’ vehicle and entered the school to question her. It quickly became apparent that Peters had no idea that there were any drugs or paraphernalia in her car. The officers soon realized the incident was a set-up, and asked Peters who would want to see her in trouble. Peters immediately thought of the Easters, and they were eventually caught and arrested.
Get JD Journal in Your Mail
Subscribe to our FREE daily news alerts and get the latest updates on the most happening events in the legal, business, and celebrity world. You also get your daily dose of humor and entertainment!!
Judge Goethals said, “As officers of the court, they know how the legal system is supposed to work. Abusing the integrity of the system is a horribly aggravating factor … If there’s anybody in our community who should know better, it’s an officer of the court.”
Loading ...Jill Easter’s law license has been suspended, and it is likely that Kent Easter’s will be as well. The loss will be a more difficult blow for Kent, as he was still practicing law at the time of his arrest. Jill had put her law career on hold to become a crime fiction author. In fact, her time in jail may serve as inspiration for future stories.
Now, Kelli Peters has the chance to speak out about the Easters and their vendetta against her. In a statement, she said that the couple put both her and her family through “a daily regimen of bullying and harassment.” Peters added, “I actually started to fear for my life and the life of my daughter.”
It has also recently been revealed that the Easters also tried to have Peters’ daughter kicked out of the Plaza Vista School, and attempted to have Peters removed from the PTA at the school.
Peters said that the incident haunted her for months. “My life was literally spinning out of control … I was so humiliated and I will never forget that feeling of helplessness.”
Outraged at the couple’s conduct, Judge Goethals added, “In a perfect world, a world of absolute justice, I would probably send you to prison largely as a statement of disgust at what you and your wife did,” he said to Mr. Easter. However, since prisons are overcrowded, a prison sentence for the Easters may mean a more dangerous inmate is released, a risk that the judge was not willing to take.
Photo credit: nydailynews.com
