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Tribunal Justice S03E23
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00:00Previously on Tribunal Justice.
00:03How long was your son missing?
00:05Seven months.
00:05Seven months.
00:06I said it was okay if he wanted to call me mom.
00:08But it's not.
00:09He has two parents.
00:12Why didn't you call and say, I have him?
00:14Because they were threatening me.
00:16Because you had their son.
00:17I'm thinking the worst.
00:19I thought he might not be with us anymore.
00:21It doesn't make any sense to take in a child
00:24and to keep their parents in the dark.
00:50Today's case was filed in Los Angeles, California.
00:54Here we go.
00:55February 23rd.
00:56Please show this to the plaintiffs, please.
00:58It was a text message.
00:59February 23rd.
01:00He's gone now, right?
01:01You're looking for him.
01:02It's the next day.
01:03The very next day.
01:04Very next day.
01:05What's the text that you send?
01:06Did little Jean give Jocelyn back the iPhone yesterday?
01:11Now, she gave Jean an iPhone.
01:13We did not give her permission to give him.
01:16We didn't have the phone number.
01:17You bought a cell phone?
01:18A carrier.
01:19You gave it to him?
01:20We had it and she gave it to him.
01:22So you provided him with a mechanism
01:23by which he was able to communicate with you
01:26outside of his parents knowing.
01:27I didn't look at it that way.
01:29That was not my intention.
01:31Really?
01:31Please give this to the defendant.
01:33I want you to read the text out loud,
01:35the text that you sent to the plaintiff.
01:37What does that text say?
01:39Oh, okay.
01:40When I got served.
01:41This is from the abuse and we can prove it.
01:44I have several videos of Heather abusing the kids.
01:47I will show them all to the court.
01:49If you do not drop this case and leave me alone,
01:51should I turn the videos over to CPS,
01:54I think you should accept that Jean ran away.
01:58It's extortion.
01:59You can't threaten someone and say,
02:03I have several videos of Heather abusing the kids.
02:05I will show them all to the court
02:07if you do not drop this case and leave me alone.
02:10I'm coming for you.
02:11And I did with my private investigator.
02:14Stop.
02:14I will remind you.
02:14Stop.
02:14You had disgusting piece of s***
02:16and I know you hate my child.
02:18Watch out.
02:21What about that?
02:22You were exactly what they said you were.
02:25I'm done.
02:27Ms. Myers, let's circle back.
02:29You submitted some videos.
02:32I looked at them and we can discuss them later.
02:34We're not going to show them.
02:36And those videos showed actions
02:39that one might say were disturbing.
02:43And you were in a situation that was disturbing.
02:47Perhaps you had some sensitivities
02:49to the things that you saw in the video.
02:51You'd lived through emotional abuse.
02:54So in your head,
02:56did you think that you were protecting this child in some way?
02:59I did.
03:00But you understand the analogy, right?
03:03That it wasn't really your decision to make.
03:06You get that?
03:06Yeah, I do.
03:07Yes.
03:08But I would not let my child...
03:10Well, first of all...
03:12The abuse isn't from the parent,
03:14which I feel is horrible.
03:17It was from the outside parties.
03:19I removed my child immediately.
03:21And you got your child out of that situation.
03:24I would not sit there...
03:24I hear you.
03:26...to where somebody else felt like desperate
03:28to remove my child.
03:30Listen, listen.
03:31And protect my child from me.
03:34I would never...
03:36Just...
03:37Lord.
03:41Just take a minute.
03:43And they're keeping her from us.
03:45Take a minute.
03:48Is...
03:49Ma'am, what were you going to say?
03:50He's not mentally okay.
03:51I wrote her.
03:53He's not.
03:54Miss Thompson, what were you about to say?
03:56Oh, I wrote her about two or three days later.
04:01I wanted to really understand what was going on.
04:05You say you wrote her...
04:07I wrote...
04:07You wrote the defendant.
04:08Shantae, and it came out like,
04:10what would you do if somebody took...
04:13Can we put up Exhibit 10, please?
04:16I believe this is what you're referring to.
04:18The shame you must feel when your head hits the pillow
04:20to know the boy that you told to call you mom
04:23is missing and you don't give any sign
04:25of worry or consideration.
04:27That's correct.
04:27This is what you wrote?
04:28Yes.
04:29Where is little Gene right now?
04:30He's here.
04:31Do you mind if we speak to him?
04:32No, we don't mind.
04:33All right, perhaps we can go meet with little Gene.
04:38Coming up on Tribunal Justice...
04:41While you were living inside the home,
04:42was anybody beating you?
04:49Gene and Heather Thompson's son, Little Gene,
04:52is in court, ready to testify about
04:54why he left his parents' home.
04:56Little Gene's parents claim he was kidnapped
04:58and held against his will,
04:59but the defendant, Shantae Myers,
05:01says she sheltered him from his parents' emotional abuse.
05:04I think you know why you're here today.
05:06There's a dispute between your parents and Ms. Myers.
05:10Yeah.
05:10What do you think of all this?
05:12I don't know.
05:13That's a hard question.
05:14I really don't know how to feel about any of it
05:17because it's my parents' and then it's my girlfriend's mom.
05:22So...
05:22It's a lot.
05:23Yeah.
05:23Where in February,
05:25your parents said that they went to pick you up from school,
05:28or at least your dad did,
05:29and you weren't there
05:31and they didn't see you for a long time.
05:33Now, on February,
05:34when you decided not to go home,
05:36where'd you go?
05:37I just left school.
05:38I was walking around for a bit
05:40and then Ms. Myers,
05:43she came and picked me up.
05:45Your girlfriend's mom?
05:45Yeah.
05:46She came to pick you up that same day?
05:48Yes.
05:50And did you stay with her the whole time
05:52or did you go back and forth to other places too?
05:55I went to other places.
05:56I was couch surfing.
05:57You were couch surfing.
05:58Did you talk about your parents?
06:00Did she ever tell you to call your parents?
06:03Multiple times, yeah.
06:04And why didn't you want to do that?
06:06I was afraid of how they were going to react.
06:08Ms. Myers has talked a lot
06:10about some videos that you made.
06:12Why did you record your mother
06:14in those various situations?
06:16When I was really little,
06:18my dad said to record her,
06:20to show her how she acts when she's drunk.
06:24My dad told her that if she didn't straighten out,
06:27then he was going to divorce her.
06:29He said that she was probably
06:30one of the main reasons that I left.
06:33And how are you feeling right now?
06:35Honestly, I don't know how to explain it.
06:37It's kind of like I feel out of it
06:40and really sad.
06:42I don't like to claim like anything,
06:45like, oh, I'm depressed or anything like that,
06:46but I don't feel right.
06:48I feel, I don't know.
06:51I'm not explaining.
06:52It's okay to be sad sometimes,
06:54and you are very courageous for being here.
06:57Perhaps my colleagues have some questions?
06:59Sure.
07:00According to parents, you were doing very well.
07:02You were doing great in school.
07:03You were a great kid.
07:04And then at some point, that started to change.
07:07But while you were living inside the home,
07:09was anybody beating you?
07:11Did your dad ever beat you?
07:13No.
07:14Did your mom ever beat you?
07:15Yeah, she's been having episodes since I was three.
07:19Not only had she gone to rehab two or three times,
07:22I don't really know how many times,
07:24but she just kept relapsing,
07:27and we were there for her through it all.
07:29And it's like she didn't even care.
07:31And she said some very hurtful things to me
07:34when she was drunk.
07:35But there's your answer, when she was drunk.
07:37Yeah.
07:37You know, I mean,
07:38do you think she really meant what she was saying?
07:40Certain things, yeah.
07:42You moved in at some point with Shantae,
07:44is that correct?
07:45Your girlfriend's mom?
07:47Yeah.
07:48Why did you do that?
07:49She was a very good motherly figure.
07:52And, yeah, I just didn't mind it.
07:54Are you happy being home now?
07:56I love my parents.
07:58Good.
07:59But I'd just rather love them from afar.
08:03Okay.
08:04Because they isolate me from everybody.
08:07I'm not allowed to see any of my friends at all.
08:10I don't go to their houses.
08:11I'm on online school, so.
08:13Thank you very much.
08:14I'm going to let Judge Levy speak with you now.
08:17Just to follow up with Judge Domingo,
08:19did Ms. Myers ever tell you that your folks were trying to reach out to you and was contacting them?
08:24Yeah.
08:25And it was your idea, or was it not your idea, to say,
08:27I don't want to talk to them now?
08:29It was my idea because I really didn't know how they were going to react, and they act kind of
08:35crazy sometimes.
08:36I get it.
08:36But you stayed then with Ms. Myers for the better part of February of 2024 and then March, April.
08:43Were you going to school then?
08:45No.
08:47It's not like I didn't want to.
08:48I would have if I could have.
08:50We're not saying and suggesting at all that you were taking the easy way out.
08:53There was a lot going on.
08:55But I get a sense that they really want to work things out.
08:58They want to understand you, and they want you to understand them.
09:01Are you willing to do that?
09:03Yeah.
09:04I don't know.
09:05Okay.
09:05It's like, I want to feel like they cared when I left, but almost as soon as I left,
09:11they gave all of my things to my brother, and they knew where I was.
09:16And then when I came back, they were like, oh, well, that's his stuff now.
09:20You got to take it up with him.
09:22That was like, who does that if they, like, I don't know.
09:27Is that the older brother?
09:28Yeah.
09:29Welcome to being a younger brother.
09:30I'm a younger brother.
09:31Yeah.
09:31I understand that.
09:32So between, like, February and August, you were just kind of decompressing at Ms. Myers' house.
09:40Would that be fair?
09:41Yeah.
09:41Why do you think that Ms. Myers just wouldn't pick up the phone and call up your folks and
09:46say, hey, listen, Gene is with me, and he wants to stay with me?
09:49Because I asked her not to contact them because they're, I didn't know.
09:55Because you didn't know.
09:56I get it.
09:57When was the last time you saw Angela?
09:59Five or six months ago.
10:00Five or six months ago.
10:01I asked them if I could at least just see her and say hi.
10:06If you had a choice, where would you live?
10:07Angela's home or your own home?
10:09Angela's home.
10:10And it's not just because she's my girlfriend either.
10:12My parents, like my dad, he's kind of narcissistic about a lot of things.
10:18When you say that, what does that mean to you?
10:20You believe you're right about most things.
10:22Yeah.
10:23I think my mom, it's so hard to have sympathy for her.
10:27Like, I try really hard to, and as I said, I love my parents.
10:32But it's like, she's done so much to me.
10:36And for the majority of the time, it was just me dealing with her.
10:41It was a lot.
10:42Yeah.
10:43Well, you're brave to be here and talk to us like this.
10:46And it's important that you did.
10:48Thank you so much.
10:50Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
10:53I've been an addict and an alcoholic.
10:56I quit on my own for my children.
10:58I don't believe that she's been sober.
11:01I don't believe that she can do it.
11:08Jean and Heather Thompson are suing Shantae Myers for $10,000,
11:13claiming that after she kidnapped their son, a private eye was hired to find him.
11:17But Shantae says their son ran away from them,
11:19and she's counter-suing for the cost of housing him.
11:22Court is back in session.
11:23Parties are reminded you're still under oath.
11:25Thank you, Bird.
11:26Mm-hmm.
11:27Ms. Thompson, you're getting some help?
11:29Absolutely.
11:30I'm sober.
11:32For how long?
11:33I've been sober for at least six months, I think.
11:37Congratulations.
11:38You're doing the work.
11:40And Ms. Myers, just a couple of quick things.
11:43Given your own experiences and the things that you had to fight and get through
11:50and protect your daughter from,
11:53imagine how you would have felt if you'd been separated from Angela
11:56during that horrible, traumatic period in your life.
11:59Don't you think it would have been better to just give them a chance to connect,
12:03to know that their boy was okay and safe?
12:06I've been an addict before and an alcoholic.
12:09I quit on my own for my children.
12:12I don't believe that she's been sober.
12:15I don't believe that she can do it.
12:18But you're not the judge, and you're not the jury, and you're not the CPS.
12:23You acknowledge that.
12:24Mm-hmm.
12:24Sometimes people need help, just like you needed help.
12:28Mm-hmm.
12:28And do you think now that it's fair for you to be suing them for money,
12:33the money that you spent supporting Jean,
12:36when they wanted him back, I got to believe that you realize
12:40that that makes almost no sense.
12:42Well, mostly it was for the trauma, you know, just...
12:46So you were filing that because you felt things had escalated.
12:50Yeah.
12:51But you don't really think that you have a right to have them pay you back
12:53for supporting a son that they didn't want you to have in the first place.
12:56No.
12:57And the money, honestly, is not what I'm here for.
13:00Okay.
13:00I don't have anything further.
13:02I really wish everybody here the best of luck.
13:04I do.
13:04Ma'am, are you in a 12-step program?
13:06Yes.
13:07Well, I'm not.
13:08And at some point in a 12-step program, you make amends to people.
13:11Would that be correct?
13:12Correct.
13:13Because I think that your son, who seems to be struggling very hard
13:18to find a place in his own head about where he is,
13:21was forced to grow up and do things that a child should not be forced to do
13:26during the time that you were not in treatment.
13:29I really think he needs to hear from both of you how you're sorry,
13:34sorry for any of the things that you've done or made him do or neglected to see
13:40that you were doing.
13:41I think he desperately needs to hear that.
13:44Maybe it would have been a good thing for all of you to go to them with the son
13:50and say, this is why he wants to be with me.
13:53This is why he wants to call me mom.
13:55Maybe that's something that you should have thought to do in order to bring unity here
14:02to this very fractured and fragile relationship with everyone.
14:06If I didn't fear physical retaliation, I promise you I would have.
14:11I understand that, but nobody did do anything over the seven months physically to harm you.
14:16They did not.
14:17And the bottom line is, I know you keep making these excuses and you got to stop with that.
14:21He does have two parents.
14:23They do care about him and they were struggling themselves to get to a healthy place.
14:28I think you all should have gotten together in that way to make that work.
14:32Judge Levy?
14:33He's an incredible young man and you got a lot to be proud of.
14:36It's going to take a little time and you got to be patient.
14:39He'll come around to show him lots of love.
14:41Thank you so much for coming in.
14:43We're going to retire to deliberate.
14:45Thank you all.
14:46Court now stands at recess.
14:47This case will be recalled.
14:49Parties are excused.
14:59The legal issues in this lawsuit are not hard for me.
15:02I think that the plaintiffs who were not apprised of where their son was and who had to spend money
15:09trying to find him are entitled to be compensated for that.
15:14Irrespective of the defendant's intentions, whether she thought she was doing a good thing or a bad thing, irrespective of
15:20whether or not Gene had some confused feelings about his parents, they spent money looking for their son.
15:28And she actually broke the law.
15:30You're not supposed to conceal a kid.
15:32You cannot conceal a kid.
15:33And if you think the kid is in imminent danger, then you're supposed to call CPS.
15:38And she didn't do those things.
15:39So for my part, at least, it's an easy verdict of $10,000 in their favor.
15:43I agree.
15:44I mean, the money that they spent was not frivolous money.
15:47It was money to find him.
15:48They really had no way of knowing where he was.
15:50Although they said they surmised that he could be there, she continued to lie about his whereabouts.
15:55Even though you might have had the best intentions, you cannot keep even a runaway.
15:59You cannot keep them and harbor them in your home.
16:01Bottom line is parents are entitled to the $10,000, and I would dismiss the counterclaim.
16:06Indeed.
16:07It's almost as though, in my opinion, Ms. Myers took pleasure in inflicting pain on the plaintiffs.
16:13And the fact that she is a parent and had absolutely no problem doing it, in my opinion, makes her
16:17a very dangerous person.
16:19She committed endangering the welfare of a child, unlawfully dealing with a child.
16:23And that was blatant extortion, what she did.
16:26If you don't drop the case, I'm going to release what I know is going to be embarrassing to you.
16:30She didn't care that she was going to use threats against them in order to prevent them from doing what
16:36she knew was going to result in a judgment against her.
16:40You know what I found troubling about her was the way she wanted to keep him.
16:44It was like, I want this boy.
16:45I want him.
16:46There's something about him.
16:47As opposed to, I want to help him get to a better place or help them get to a better
16:52place.
16:53I think that's what's a conflict for my mind.
16:55She kept him for the half of February, all of March, April, May, June.
17:01Never once sent him to school.
17:03Who does that?
17:04The reason she didn't do that is because if he went to school, the parents would have gotten him.
17:09And she wanted to make sure that that didn't happen and to figure out how much of what Gene is
17:14saying is true and how much of what Gene is saying is just a regurgitation of what Ms. Myers wants
17:20him to say is for someone who's a lot smarter than I am with therapy background.
17:24But he's going to need it.
17:26Well, she certainly wasn't entitled to be a one-woman CPS.
17:29I think we're unanimous.
17:31We have $10,000 in favor of the plaintiff and we're dismissing the countersuit.
17:35That's it.
17:35Great.
17:40Court is back in session.
17:41Parties are once again reminded you're still under oath.
17:43Thank you, Byrd.
17:44The legal issues are simple because, ma'am, you had no right to keep this child, young man now, but
17:52a minor from his parents.
17:54You had no right.
17:54It's actually against the law.
17:56And you're in the wrong here.
17:58It probably comes as no surprise to you that we're dismissing the counterclaim.
18:01I don't think the counterclaim means that much to you.
18:03As you said, that's not why you're here.
18:05So we are dismissing it.
18:07With respect to your case against the defendant and however many mistakes you may have made, you know what?
18:14Parents make them.
18:15That was your child.
18:17And you spent money looking for your child.
18:21You expended resources trying to find your child.
18:24And whatever work you're doing on yourself, look, if it doesn't rise to the level of authorities coming to the
18:30house, that is for you all to work out as a family.
18:35You're the family friend.
18:37They are the family.
18:38It was not hard at all for us to reach a verdict in this case.
18:42We are unanimous in awarding you the $10,000 for which you're seeking.
18:47Mrs. Thompson, keep doing the work.
18:49It's courageous for you to be here and to tell your story like that.
18:53Yes, ma'am.
18:53The countersuit is dismissed.
18:55And it is our very deepest hope that you all be there for that incredibly impressive young man.
19:02And we really do.
19:03We wish you all the best.
19:04That's the verdict of the court.
19:07This case is now concluded.
19:08Parties are excused.
19:09You may step out.
19:13We were harassed, you know, literally the whole time that Gene was with us.
19:19There's people out there that are around your children that have that predatory mindset.
19:23We would love just to have a relationship with them.
19:26You need to be careful who you let be alone with your children because you don't know what they're saying
19:30to them.
19:30He means, like, the world to me.
19:32He's helped me through the, like, most hardest times in my life.
19:36They wanted my son to feel like he needed to protect them, so he always felt like that.
19:41They can't keep him away from his girlfriend, the person that he loves, like, a lot, you know?
19:46I don't want to see her.
19:47Maybe when he's 18, he might seek her out.
19:49It was all in the best interest of me.
19:51They're not invited to my house.
19:52They're not invited to the cookout.
19:54I don't want to see them at all.
19:55Got family drama?
19:57Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
20:00Find us on social media at Tribunal Justice.
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