Blood Ambush (10 page)
Authors: Sheila Johnson
26
Despite her inability to wait until an attorney was present to speak with the investigators, Barbara had managed to secure the services of attorney Steve Lanier of Rome, Georgia. Lanier, in turn, was working with a local attorney in Centre, Rodney L. Stallings, who was also representing Barbara as her local legal advisor. Lanier was a veteran attorney with an established practice, and Stallings was a younger, up-and-coming lawyer whose office was a very short distance from both the Cherokee County Courthouse and the county jail, where Barbara was being held. Stallings, a former Auburn University football player, would be in a position to do the local legwork so essential to such cases, and had the ambition and energy to tackle the job. He was going to find, however, that defending Barbara was going to be tough going. He would eventually end up doing far more of the work on this particular case than he had expected to be doing when he first signed on.
One of the first actions Stallings took was to file a motion to reduce the $1 million bond that had been set for Barbara, as had also been set for Schiess. He claimed that the amount of bail set in the case was excessive under the facts and circumstances of the case, that Barbara could not make bail in that amount, and that the recommended range for a Class A felony under the bail schedule could be as low as $5,000.
District Judge Sheri W. Carver answered the motion with a court order denying the request for a reduced bond.
She also modified the original terms of Barbara’s bond by adding that she would surrender her passport and not leave either Alabama or Georgia. In the event that Barbara was able to post bond, she would not be allowed to enter into Cherokee County, except to assist in the defense of her case.
Judge Carver specified that Barbara would have no contact with the victim’s family or the victim’s former place of employment, and no unwanted contact with the codefendant in the case. She would immediately inform the court of any intent to change residency or address.
With the last item of the order, however, Judge Carver made a modification that allowed Barbara more of a chance to post bond and be released from the jail.
In addition to the above modifications,
the order read,
this Court makes notice of the general bonding practices in this area requiring Defendants to post approximately ten percent of any bond amount, consequently the Court further modifies the bond originally set in this matter so as to allow the Defendant to post a cash bond in the amount of twelve and one-half percent of the original bond amount or $125,000.00.
the order read,
this Court makes notice of the general bonding practices in this area requiring Defendants to post approximately ten percent of any bond amount, consequently the Court further modifies the bond originally set in this matter so as to allow the Defendant to post a cash bond in the amount of twelve and one-half percent of the original bond amount or $125,000.00.
Said funds shall be paid into the Circuit Clerk’s office for Cherokee County, Alabama and upon payment and receipt of such funds by the Clerk’s office the Defendant shall be entitled to be released from jail subject to the conditions previously stated herein and previously ordered by this Court.
That sum of money was no problem for Schiess, who was a multimillionaire with easy access to that amount of funds. It was not long at all until both defendants posted the stated percentage of bond and were released from jail and on their way back to Georgia together.
27
In accordance with Judge Carver’s revised court order, attorney Steve Lanier obtained Barbara’s passport on May 1, 2006, and sent it to Rodney Stallings to turn over to the clerk’s office, as required. He also informed Stallings that both Schiess and Barbara wanted to attend the graduation on May 13 of Schiess’s son from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Barbara requested to get the court’s permission to attend the graduation with Schiess, and Lanier asked Stallings if he had any advice or suggestions regarding the request. Stallings handled Barbara’s request, which was then prepared and given to the court.
Judge Carver approved the travel request after it was submitted, and both Barbara and Schiess were granted the court’s permission to attend the graduation ceremonies in North Carolina. Specific times were stated for their departure and their return, both of which were complied with.
On May 4, Barbara’s defense submitted a request for a preliminary hearing, petitioning the court to set down a date on the grounds that Barbara had been charged with a felony, but had not been indicted. Her lawyer stated that Barbara had a right to a preliminary hearing under provisions of the Code of Alabama. The request asked that the court would set down a date, time, and place for a preliminary hearing in Barbara’s case.
Also in May, the state filed a motion to continue. It asked that the reconvention of the preliminary hearing for Barbara be continued, until at least June 21. In support of the motion, the state said the following:
1.
The defense had consented to the motion.
The defense had consented to the motion.
2.
A continuance would aid the cause of justice by allowing Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Scott C. Lloyd to prepare for his extensive grand jury duties.
A continuance would aid the cause of justice by allowing Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Scott C. Lloyd to prepare for his extensive grand jury duties.
3.
A continuance would not affect the interests of the defendant, as the state had agreed that the matter would not be presented to the May/June 2006 session of the grand jury, and the defendant was on bond with no serious restrictions on her liberty.
A continuance would not affect the interests of the defendant, as the state had agreed that the matter would not be presented to the May/June 2006 session of the grand jury, and the defendant was on bond with no serious restrictions on her liberty.
The continuance was granted, and the case was planned to be presented to the October 2006 grand jury session.
In the early summer, while Barbara and Schiess were out on bond prior to the grand jury session in October, Barbara decided she wanted to attend an out-of-state spiritual retreat. The retreat was, in fact, quite a long way out of state; it was held in Wolf Creek, Montana, and was a five-day residential retreat called “Through the Eye of the Horse: Explorations in Original Medicine.” It was held at Blacktail Ranch. Its purpose, according to its promotional materials, was to explore what indigenous tribes considered
our own unique qualities and gifts that we bring to the world.
Many other New Age phrases, like
nature as a healing force
and
the source of your most authentic self,
were used, along with the statement that participants would
experience being witnessed by a herd of horses and a Circle of humans that are committed to seeing our strengths and bright potential.
Retreat attendees would
have the opportunity to witness in a new way the exterior and interior landscapes of all who come together at this time and in this place.
our own unique qualities and gifts that we bring to the world.
Many other New Age phrases, like
nature as a healing force
and
the source of your most authentic self,
were used, along with the statement that participants would
experience being witnessed by a herd of horses and a Circle of humans that are committed to seeing our strengths and bright potential.
Retreat attendees would
have the opportunity to witness in a new way the exterior and interior landscapes of all who come together at this time and in this place.
Blacktail Ranch was described as
the home of a Sacred Cave that calls all who visit this land to come and spend ceremonial time visiting the cave, as others have done for thousands of years before us.
The eight-thousand-plus-acre ranch, located between Great Falls and Helena, Montana, also was home to one fork of the Dearborn River, which the retreat literature said would be
calling you back to your most instinctual self.
the home of a Sacred Cave that calls all who visit this land to come and spend ceremonial time visiting the cave, as others have done for thousands of years before us.
The eight-thousand-plus-acre ranch, located between Great Falls and Helena, Montana, also was home to one fork of the Dearborn River, which the retreat literature said would be
calling you back to your most instinctual self.
It would have been practically unheard-of for any court to grant permission for such lengthy and distant out-of-state travel, especially for such a purpose, to a person who was out of jail on bond after being arrested as a murder suspect awaiting indictment, but two of Barbara’s doctors wrote letters in support of her attendance. The persons who were conducting the retreat also wrote to Rodney Stallings to verify that Barbara planned to attend the retreat, they had accepted her as a potential participant, and that she had agreed to furnish them with copies of the permission letters from her psychiatrist and psychologist that she would be furnishing to the court.
At the time, the fee of $1,195 included workshop activities, materials, supplies, lodging, meals, horse time, and trail ride. Deposits of $400 would hold the prospective attendee’s space, with the balance due by August 10. A prework-shop questionnaire for participants asked for some background information, including what the attendee hoped to get out of the experience, whether or not they had experience with horses or with shamanism, what their creative outlets or practices were, and if the person was meeting regularly with a counselor or spiritual advisor. The questionnaire also asked if the prospective attendee was currently in psychotherapy and/or taking medications for anxiety or depression, and, if so, to please specify.
Barbara’s psychiatrist said that she felt it would greatly benefit Barbara’s mental health to attend the spiritual retreat, and her psychologist wrote that he wholeheartedly supported her decision that she needed more long-term, in-patient treatment than she could receive locally. He felt, he said, that Barbara desperately needed to have more therapy than he could provide on an outpatient basis due to the intense and extreme stress she was experiencing due to the criminal charges and the withdrawal of support, care, or concern by her family. He expressed that he hoped her request to enter such a treatment program would be facilitated.
Rodney Stallings knew that there was little or no hope that Barbara’s trip to Montana would be permitted, but he gave his best attempt to get approval, despite what proved to be the overwhelming odds of failure.
28
While Rodney Stallings was gathering evidence for Barbara’s defense, he asked her to contact several people to provide statements or references concerning her physical abilities. One of these, her firearms instructor in a class she had taken on February 5, 2006, sent Stallings some detailed information on Barbara’s activities in the class and her reaction to the areas covered by the training.
The class was conducted by Venture Outdoors, an outdoor educational, family-oriented company, which had an outstanding reputation. Venture Outdoors provided much more than firearms education and training; they also instructed in fishing, hunting, hiking, and many other areas of outdoor recreational training for all ages.
The instructor told Stallings that Barbara had taken a basic information class on the use of handguns and shotguns for home defense. During the class, the instructor said, they mentioned that if a person could not or was not willing to take a life to protect their own life, they recommended they not own a gun for personal defense.
“If you cannot shoot someone to protect yourself,” the instructor said, “that person could take the gun away from you and use it on you.”
Barbara had many questions, the instructor said, and seemed to have a problem with that concept.
“I recommended a couple of books for her to read and suggested she think about all that would be involved before she made her decision. Then, if she chose to pursue her training to the next level, to contact us for information on private (one-on-one) classes and our personal-defense class.”
The instructor said that during the live-fire portion of the class, Barbara had a problem pulling the trigger of several handguns due to the lack of strength in her hands. As for the shotgun, the instructor said that with the lack of strength in her arms and the type of movement she would need to use in her home for personal defense, they suggested that Barbara not use the shotgun.
After that original meeting with Barbara, the instructor said, she had received no additional training classes, and they had never heard from her again until she asked them to send Stallings the letter.
29
On May 10, despite her wishes to travel to Montana, Barbara had violated the terms of Judge Carver’s revised court order stating that she would not attempt to have any contact with Darlene’s family.
That evening, Barbara called one of her brothers in Texas and asked him if he would contact Vernon for her. She wanted her brother to relay a message to Vernon and tell him that he was in danger. The investigators on the case, she claimed, thought that Vernon wanted Darlene out of the way so that he could get back together with Barbara again.
“She said that she was being told that if she goes down, Vernon is going with her,” the brother told the investigators. He said that once Barbara saw that he was not buying her story—he told her he didn’t believe Vernon was involved in Darlene’s murder in any way—Barbara then changed her mind. She said that if he thought Vernon wasn’t in any danger, there was no need to call him.
“Later that day, I realized that May tenth was Vernon’s birthday,” the brother said, “and this was Barbara’s way of getting in touch with him to let him know she was thinking of him.”
He didn’t call Vernon at that time, but he told him of the conversation a few days later when Vernon got in touch with him. Vernon was very displeased that Barbara was trying to contact him and attempting to use her brother to do so, but both men were surprised and dismayed when, the following month, she tried once again to persuade her brother to relay a message to her ex-husband.
On the late afternoon of June 7, 2006, Barbara called her brother to ask him once again to get in touch with Vernon for her. He stopped her in midsentence by telling her that if he did get in touch with Vernon, he would report it to the police. Barbara mulled this over for a minute, then decided that she wanted her brother to contact Vernon, anyway.
It was Darlene’s birthday week, she said, and she was concerned about Vernon. She wanted her brother to tell him that the investigators had said that either she or Bob had told Darlene about Barbara’s affair with Vernon, and she wanted him to know that hadn’t happened.
Barbara’s brother called Vernon and told him about the conversation, then sat down at his computer and e-mailed details of the conversation to Investigator Bo Jolly.
30
The following day, Vernon Roberts called the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office to tell them of Barbara’s failed attempt to get in touch with him. He was incensed that his ex-wife had been allowed out on bail, and was made even more furious by her attempts to contact him, insisting she had information he needed to know.
Vernon said that Barbara had wanted to contact him on Darlene’s birthday and let him know that neither she nor Bob had mentioned to Darlene about the alleged love affair, and that Darlene died never finding out about it.
“In her opinion, this was supposed to give me peace of mind,” Vernon said. “She claimed it is her understanding that the police think she and Bob drove out to the murder site to give this information to Darlene.”
Barbara’s brother had told her that he had reported to the authorities her first attempt to contact Vernon, and that he would do so again, but she wanted him to call Vernon, anyway.
“This exchange of information through [Barbara’s brother] is, in my opinion, just another way that Barbara’s conception is that the law doesn’t apply to her,” Vernon told the district attorney’s office, asking that the calls be used to persuade the judge that Barbara was ignoring the court order, and her bond should be revoked.
“She needs to be incarcerated, where she belongs, until a jury decides differently,” Vernon said. “I need the peace of mind that I will not be her next victim.”
That same day, a notice for a court appearance was issued, alerting Barbara and attorney Rodney Stallings that the preliminary hearing on her case would be held on July 12 at the Cherokee County Courthouse.
At the July 12 hearing, District Judge Sheri W. Carver ruled that probable cause existed to believe that the offense of which Barbara was accused had been committed, and that she was therefore bound over for action by the grand jury for Cherokee County, Alabama, as was Schiess for the separate charges against him.
Vernon Roberts went to the authorities at the end of July with another complaint about his ex-wife, this one considerably more weighty than the attempted phone messages. He said that on July 26, around 4:45
P.M.
, he was returning home from work and noticed Barbara following him. In order to be sure it was she, he pulled over and let her pass him. When he saw it was, indeed, Barbara, he said, he followed her car to get the license plate number.
P.M.
, he was returning home from work and noticed Barbara following him. In order to be sure it was she, he pulled over and let her pass him. When he saw it was, indeed, Barbara, he said, he followed her car to get the license plate number.
When Barbara pulled over about two and a half miles from Vernon’s house, he stopped and confronted her, wanting to know what she was doing that close to his home. According to Vernon’s affidavit, Barbara told him she was going fishing and had missed the turnoff. She had decided to drive to Fosters Bend Road and circle back. She opened the trunk of the car and showed Vernon a rod and reel, a cooler, and some worms, all of which, he said, appeared to be recently purchased, to prove she was going fishing.
Barbara told Vernon she had moved to Rome, Georgia, and was bored sitting at home, so she decided to go fishing.
Vernon said he asked Barbara what reason she could possibly have had to murder his wife, and he said she told him she didn’t do it, and that he would find out she was innocent at the trial.
“She then went back to her car and brought back a Bible and wanted to swear on it about her innocence,” Vernon said. “I told her to stop with the sideshow and tell me the truth.”
Barbara told him, he said, that he had someone who hated him and he would find out who that person was at the trial. He asked her who the person was, and Barbara asked him if he knew anyone who had a tattoo of an Indian Head on his shoulder, with long feathers that extended down below a short-sleeved shirt.
“I told her that Darlene’s son had a tattoo like that, and she said she didn’t want to know any names, and for me to keep that person in mind.”
Vernon said that Barbara then asked him why he denied asking her to buy flowers for her mother’s funeral. He told her, he said, that she was crazy if she thought they had a conversation about her mother’s funeral, or about what he would have wanted to say on a card. She told him that he had been drugged out on medication when they had that discussion.
Barbara asked Vernon, he claimed, not to contact the police about her being in the area.
“I told her I was going to let the authorities know as soon as I got home. She said, ‘Well, I guess I’ll be picked up tonight.’ I didn’t respond, and she went and got back in her car and left.”
On being notified by Vernon Roberts of this incident, the state immediately filed a motion to revoke bond, stating that Barbara had violated the conditions of release by changing her residence without first notifying the court of her intent to do so, engaging in other conduct constituting an attempt to violate the conditions that she have no contact with the victim’s family, and that she not enter into Cherokee County, Alabama, except to assist in the defense of her case.
The motion went on to describe the incident Vernon had notified the authorities of, when he confronted Barbara within two and a half miles of his home in an area where she had no legitimate business, and she had displayed fishing tackle and claimed to be there to go fishing.
The motion stated that Barbara had told Vernon she had moved to Floyd County, Georgia, and said that the prosecution had not been advised of any change of address, as had been required by the court:
This conduct is made more disturbing by the fact that the defendant has engaged in other attempts to have contact with Mr. Roberts since her release by asking her family to “send word” to him about certain matters relating to the murder of Mr. Roberts’ wife, even after having been told that Mr. Roberts did not desire any contact from her—even indirect contact—and considered such attempts to constitute violations of the conditions of release.
The state had not previously filed a motion to revoke bond based on those first two attempts at contact, the motion stated; however, Barbara was now escalating the forcefulness of her attempts to initiate contact, and the state claimed it feared for the personal safety of Vernon Roberts.
The motion then requested that the court issue a warrant for Barbara’s arrest for violating the conditions of her release.
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