Judy Justice (2021) s01e07 Episode Script

1
Someone used your debit card?
We were dealing with each
other at the time and I thought
I had known him for a while,
so I could trust him.
Did you find her debit card?
She may think you're cute. Not me.
Sometimes when you're slick,
you stay slick.
-You know?
-Yeah.
[narrator] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Ashley Roberson
is suing her former boyfriend,
Ronne Readus,
for totaling her car and stealing money.
[Kevin] Court come to order.
Be seated, please.
Hello, Judge.
Case 104,1 Roberson versus Readus.
-Thank you.
-You're welcome.
Ms. Roberson, during what period of time
did you and the defendant
have a relationship?
I would say from about
June 2020 to August 2020.
[Judy] And in what month was it
that you needed a lift to the airport?
That would have been March 2021.
So I assume
that after the relationship was over,
you continued to be involved?
Yes, on and off.
[Judy] Sometimes friends, sometimes more?
[Ashley] Yes.
During one of those periods of time
when you were going to the airport,
what day in March was that?
March 19th.
[Judy] The defendant
was gonna take you to the airport,
drive you to the airport,
and then according to you, drive home.
But he had driven your car regularly.
And he took you to the airport
and he dropped you off.
And then you were in an accident?
Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] Serious one?
-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] On what date?
March 31st.
And you were hospitalized.
You were in a coma for a long time?
Yeah. About ten to eight day
eight to ten days.
[Judy]
Still getting physical therapy?
Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] So there are two parts
to your case.
One part of your case,
and you were out of town
between the 19th and the 31st.
I flew home May 12th, it would be.
So it would have been
from March 19th to May 12th.
But you were definitely out of town
between March 19th and March 31st?
Correct.
That's what I'm talking about.
On March 19th,
he had this terrible accident,
your car was totaled.
You only had liability
and not collision on the car,
so the car was lost.
The defendant was hospitalized
for a while, in rehab for a while.
You were aware of that,
you were made aware of that.
Now he's better, still has a way to go.
But better.
You want him to pay
for the value of the car
and you also say that during the period
between March 19th and March 31st,
someone used your debit card
in a place where you were not.
And it is your belief that the defendant
used the debit card that was in your car.
Interestingly, the defendant
does not deny he used the debit card.
But he says that he used it
for things that you authorized.
Uh-hmm.
-That's your defense. Am I correct?
-Yes.
Okey-dokey.
So let's start at the beginning.
The beginning is he had the car
with your permission?
Car or card? I'm sorry.
-Car.
-[Ashley] Okay.
He had the car with your permission.
He drove you to the airport.
He was gonna pick you up from the airport.
Incorrect.
[Judy] Had he ever taken you
to the airport before?
No.
[Judy] So tell me about
the arrangements you made for him
to take you to the airport,
understanding
that you were going to be away
from mid-March until May.
Go ahead. Let me hear.
So, I had no one to take me to the airport
and we were dealing
with each other at the time.
And I thought I had known him for a while
so I could trust him
to take me to the airport.
And he was to drop the car
back off at my mom's or my cousin's,
whichever worked best for him.
I was trying to work with him.
And so he was never he never did that,
and I texted him, and I called him,
and I said, you know,
"You need to bring the car home and
[Judy] I'd like to see
when between March 19th and March 31st
you texted him, that I would like to see.
So
[Judy]
Just a sec, don't say anything.
[Ashley] Okay.
Just show me.
It's this one right here.
[Judy] Thank you.
I don't know what date this is.
It says Friday at 2:47,
yesterday at 9:59 in the morning.
[Ashley] Unfortunately,
there are no dates on them
because these
were screenshots of messages
Screenshots of what messages?
Of whose messages?
Between Ronne and I.
[Judy] Well, let me see the phone.
-Oh, the messages are deleted.
-[Judy] Oh.
-So, that doesn't matter?
-[Judy] Forget it. Forget it.
-Okay.
-Okay. Forget the car.
Forget the car. The car's gone.
Okay.
[Judy]
He had permission to drive your car.
And unless you have
some sort of police report
indicating that the accident
was his fault, which I gather it was not.
A tire blew.
-Did a tire blow on the car?
-Yes, ma'am.
[Judy]
And you lost control of the car?
Yes, ma'am.
Okay, you have any information
to the contrary?
When you say that,
what do you mean exactly?
Exactly, he says that a tire blew
on the car which caused the accident.
[Ashley] Uh-hmm.
Do you have any information to the
that would not be his fault.
If the tire blew on the car
Yes.
[Judy] that would not be his fault.
What I can say and I don't know
if that would work for you
is that the reason the tire popped
is because he was driving
around on a donut on my car
that he never even told me occurred.
-Oh, just a second.
-[Ashley] Go ahead. Yeah.
[Judy] Just a second.
Did you have a flat tire?
Yes.
Oh.
On what date did you have a flat tire?
The day of the accident.
Earlier in the day,
I had changed a tire that day.
It's either March 30th or March 31st.
It was the date
that the car tire had popped.
I had changed it the same day.
Who changed the tire?
Me.
Who put on the donut?
I put on the donut.
Your father getting all this?
-You getting embarrassed?
-It's getting there.
-It's getting there?
-Yes, ma'am.
Yes, ma'am.
My grandmother would say
"Give him a good slap," get his attention.
He's getting too big for that.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Ashley Roberson claims
her former boyfriend, Ronne Readus,
totaled her car and used her debit card
without permission.
[Judy] Keep going.
[Ashley] The reason the tire popped
is because he was driving
around on a donut on my car
that he never even told me occurred.
-Oh, just a second.
-[Ashley] Go ahead. Yeah.
Just a second.
Did you have a flat tire?
Yes.
Oh.
On what date did you have a flat tire?
The day of the accident.
Earlier in the day,
I had changed a tire that day.
It's either March 30th, or March 31st.
It was the date
that the car tire had popped.
I had changed it the same day.
Who changed the tire?
Me.
[Judy] Who put on the donut?
I put on the donut.
Who's this gentleman?
-Who's he?
-[Judy] Yeah.
Oh, this is my father.
You have to introduce your son
to the truth.
Say, "Truth, I'd like you to meet my son."
Because in his answer,
what he says is that she didn't tell him
that there was a donut tire.
I'm gonna read you
what he said in his answer.
"Ashley failed to tell me that her car
was in poor working condition
and that one of the tires
was a temporary donut tire."
Well, he put it on.
Yeah.
[laughs] Good.
On the night of the accident,
I was driving down the highway
and suddenly the spare tire blew,
and I spun out of control.
Well, according to him,
now because he doesn't have a good memory.
He changed the tire.
He doesn't remember exactly
when but clearly what he didn't do
was change the tire and the next thing,
go to a tire shop
and get another tire.
So he's driving around
with a little spare.
What?
If I could have got another tire,
I would have.
The time
the timeframe
within like the tire had popped,
it was already night time.
So I couldn't
You told me you didn't remember
whether it was the 30th or the 31st.
You just told me that a second ago.
Just because I didn't remember the date,
I don't remember
like I remember like what time like
No, it's not time and date that you
on the 31st, you almost got killed.
So you would remember whether or not
you changed the tire
on the 30th or the 31st.
You know, she may think you're cute,
not me.
[Ashley] Uh-uh.
[Judy] I have to tell you.
[Eric and audience laugh]
Not me.
Now, when you got in her car,
did you find her debit card?
Because you acknowledge that you used it.
I didn't find it.
She had called me and let me know
she left her debit card in her car.
Oh, perfect.
Oh, I'm gonna love this.
[Ashley] Uh-hmm.
She called you and said,
"I left my debit card in the car."
Was that when she first left
around the 19th?
[Ronne] Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] And what else
did she say when she said,
"I left my debit card in the car"?
She had asked me
to get the oil changed on her car.
[Judy] And did you do that?
Yeah.
Not "yeah"
would be an answer that you give me.
-[Ronne] Yes, ma'am.
-Yes?
-Perfect.
-Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] You got the oil change.
Do you remember,
was that the beginning of her trip
that she asked you to get the oil change?
Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] Okay.
She also said in this thing,
it doesn't have the date,
but let's say it's legitimate.
She says,
"You're gonna have to return the car."
She says,
"You can drop it off at Marcus's house
if that's easier for you."
And you write back.
You know what she's talking about?
It's not coming back all the way.
Please continue, please.
"You need to take my car home
and you can drop it off in El
-[Ashley] Cajon.
-[Ronne] El Cajon.
[Judy] El Cajon at Marcus's house
if that's easier for you.
Do you know who that is? Marcus?
Yes.
All righty.
And you wrote back, you know,
a very intelligent, well-crafted answer.
You write back, guess what?
What do you think you wrote back?
-I can't remember.
-"No gas."
That was your answer.
That's what he wrote back.
"No gas."
And she says,
"Find some and I'll send you $20."
Okay.
You know what you answered her?
I do not.
You want me to tell your father?
Please.
[Judy] His answer was, "Like 50."
Got it?
[Eric] Yeah, full tank.
[Judy] What?
For a full tank, I guess.
[Ronne] Yup.
She wasn't driving the car.
He was.
Yeah.
Twenty was enough to get it
to Marcus's house.
I'd like to see your credit card
or your debit card
for what was purchased between the
-They're in order. You're welcome.
-19th and the 31st.
They're in order for you.
[Judy] Well, let's see.
Something at Walmart
at El Cajon for $17,
then there was at another Walmart.
This was an ATM cash withdrawal for $202,
and that was also on the 20th.
So that was the day after she left.
Then you have a balance inquiry
and another balance inquiry on the 20th.
And then on the 22nd,
this had nothing to do with oil,
U Save Smoke Shop
[Eric chuckles]
in San Diego, California.
And that was $143 cash withdrawal.
Your father getting all of this?
Are you getting embarrassed?
It's getting there.
-[Judy] It's getting there?
-Yes, ma'am. Yes.
My grandmother would say,
"Give him a good slap
to get his attention."
He's getting too big for that.
[groans]
Then there was another cash withdrawal
on the 21st of March in La Mesa.
What were you doing in La Mesa
at a 7-Eleven?
-Duh.
-[audience laughs]
Then iWash Express,
well, at least you had the car washed,
unless this was to clean yourself.
-That was $16.
-[laughs]
Your father already knows
that he missed his mark
in introducing you to the truth
and introducing you to honesty,
because certainly
if she called and said,
"I left my debit card in the car,
change my oil, you know,
use the debit card."
Certainly taking friends to tacos
doesn't qualify
as change the oil in my car.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Ashley Roberson is accusing
her former boyfriend Ronne Readus
of crashing her car
and stealing money from her bank account.
Then there was another cash withdrawal
on the 21st of March
in La Mesa.
What were you doing in La Mesa
at a 7-Eleven?
-Duh?
-[audience laughs]
Then iWash Express,
well at least you had the car washed
unless this was to clean yourself.
-That was $16.
-[laughs]
Then we have on the 24th in El Cajon,
an ATM cash withdrawal for $204.
I assume the $4 is a fee.
And then you went for tacos with friends
to Los Castillos Taco Shop.
You remember who you went with?
Because you didn't need a loan for $32.
You remember who you went with?
No, ma'am.
Can you guess?
I can't tell you.
[Judy] You can't tell me?
I can't guess.
[Judy] You can guess?
I couldn't guess. I don't know.
-I don't remember.
-[Judy] Oh, you couldn't guess.
And then you went to Burlington Stores.
What did you buy at Burlington Stores?
Oh, I bought some jeans
and then I had got her something
just sweet from me.
And then you went to Yum-Yum Donuts
in La Mesa for $1.99.
And then on the same day,
you must have bought donuts for friends
because on the same day,
you bought donuts for $13.99.
What, you bought a coffee,
and then you bought a dozen donuts,
what happened there?
Yeah, I think it was something like that.
Like a drink, not a coffee,
but a drink of some sort
and then a little box of donuts.
I didn't see anything here
about an oil change.
It's coming up.
It's coming up. Oh, there are more?
Um, so there is something in there
for an oil change.
But I wanna say that I did not
authorize him to get an oil change.
What I had said to him
-[Judy] It doesn't
-Okay. Okay. Sure.
I'm just letting you know.
Yeah, he took it upon himself
to get an oil change.
How much were all these?
You added them up to $900?
[Ashley] It was $940 and about 26 cents.
Okay, now let's get to the car.
Okay.
You have to understand,
sometimes things
that look good on the outside,
when you peel them back,
they really aren't any good.
-[Ashley] Yeah.
-Yeah. They aren't any good.
And sometimes,
when you're slick, you stay slick.
-You know?
-Yeah.
[Judy]
And sometimes when you're slick,
because of your own negligence,
you get into a bad accident
and you end up in a coma.
So if people are smart,
they would take that kind of experience
and say, "I'm gonna change
the whole trajectory of my life.
-I'm gonna make it all better."
-[Ashley] Right.
-And some people don't learn.
-[Ashley] Right.
Then they'd made
then they just replicate it.
So we'll see
what kind of trajectory you take.
Your father already knows
that he missed his mark in introducing you
to the truth
and introducing you to honesty
because certainly if she called and said,
"I left my debit card in the car,
change my oil, you know,
use the debit card,"
certainly taking friends to tacos
and taking cash withdrawals
doesn't qualify as change the oil
in my car.
That's correct.
[Judy] Right. Perfect.
Now, what kind of car did you have?
I had a 2006 Honda Civic.
When did you buy it?
I bought it in
am I allowed to look exactly on my phone?
-Oh, sure.
-[Ashley] Okay.
Did you save up money for it?
Yeah, I did.
[Judy] For how long?
Um, probably about eight months.
You're looking up
how much you paid for it.
I paid $4,300.
I was just looking to see what
when I had purchased the car
so I could give you an accurate answer.
[Judy] Okay.
I purchased it August 1st of 2020.
Do you still owe money on the car?
No, I do not. I bought it in cash.
Who did you buy it from?
Honestly, some guy
in North County Escondido
I think I wanna say.
What kind of work do you do?
I'm in school.
I'm in college.
So where did you get the money from?
At the time, I was working and as well as
I don't know if you're familiar
with unemployment for California.
That was money
that I received from there and I work
I worked up, not worked.
I worked up to save it. I didn't spend it.
I saved, saved, saved
as they were giving me money and
As the state of California
was giving you money,
you saved up and you bought the car?
Yes, I did.
I had no car.
I didn't know how else to get one.
Okay. Where were you living?
With my mom in San Diego.
[Judy]
So you lived with your mother?
Yes.
And they were sending you
these thousands of dollars
that you saved while you were living
with your mom and you bought this car?
Yeah.
Gosh, America, I love it.
Okay, 2006 Honda Civic.
Three thousand to forty-seven hundred
is the range.
[Judy] You're suing him for $3,100?
Correct.
You're entitled to $3,100.
He negligently used your car.
Even if he had permission to use your car,
which I think he did,
he negligently used it.
I don't know when he had a flat tire
and when he put on this donut on the tire,
but he's an idiot for driving around
more than five miles
to find a shop where
-Right.
-[Judy] you can do that.
Well, he paid substantially
for his stupidity
by spending eight or ten days in a coma
and now he walks with an assist.
And he's gonna need an awful lot
to get himself back into shape.
So maybe he learned something.
He also used your credit card,
your debit card
without your authorization.
I think he has to compensate you for both.
Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of $3,100.
Go have a discussion with your father.
He's gonna give you a lesson or two.
-[Ashley] Thank you.
-[Judy] Thank you.
[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
Okay. If she would have let me speak,
she would have understood
that everything was authorized.
I'm just super excited.
He was lying and saying
everything was authorized.
Like I told her that I was gonna purchase
something off of her card.
They tried to lie about some of the stuff
that went on in the court case today.
She wasn't in the town at the time,
but if you feel me,
the donuts was good.
He did admit to using my car.
It was a female versus a male
at the end of the day.
I just hope they both learn
responsibility and honesty.
I was actually pretty impressed
with that young woman.
I thought she was pretty smart
with the exception of her taste in men.
[both chuckle]
You know, what looked good on the outside
had a lot of growing up to do
on the inside,
but I think life and events
paid him back for doing the wrong thing.
Hopefully he turns it around
and can only go up from here.
[chuckles] Yeah, I think his father
was a little surprised.
Didn't you think his father
was a little surprised?
-Yeah.
-[Judy] At some of his answers?
I thought he was.
Anyway, as it progressed,
he didn't seem like a bad kid, just
-Had a lot of growing up to do.
-[Judy] Had a lot
Absolutely right.
Had a lot of growing up to do.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Have you been cheated?
Go to JudyJustice.tv.