- 6 hours ago
Tribunal Justice - Season 3 - Episode 40: Cell-Mate
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00:00So you let him move in with you.
00:01It was Dr. Heckler and Mr. Hyde.
00:04All of a sudden, he was throwing silverware trays up at my door.
00:08A police officer arrives, and then they place you under arrest for possession of methamphetamines.
00:13Um, I mean, there is more to this story than what's being said.
00:17Why is this so hard for you?
00:18I'm homeless right now. I feel alone in this world.
00:21I hate it.
00:22Now, on Tribunal Justice.
01:00Okay, Ms. Nguyen, you met the defendant about a year ago.
01:03You said you became fast and close friends.
01:06You let him move in with you because you could use the help.
01:09So I'll make a little joke. It was a win-win situation.
01:12And you even bought him a new iPhone.
01:14Yes.
01:15You say that he repaid you by becoming aggressive, by throwing things at you,
01:20by calling you names like a slut, you're a whore.
01:23You threw him out. When you did, he slashed your tires.
01:26And you're stuck paying for his phone, $827, and that's what you're here suing for.
01:31Yes.
01:32Just out of curiosity, you got covered for the tires, or you didn't want any money for the tires?
01:36Um, the tires were on a U-Haul trailer or truck that I was renting,
01:40and they decided not to press charges on me.
01:43All right. And, sir, you say, I always paid my bills.
01:46I paid the phone bill. I paid the cost of the phone.
01:49I even gave her money for other things that she needed.
01:52You say, I never slashed her tires.
01:54I don't know her anything. Correct?
01:57Yeah, I mean, any time that she needed money, even prior to me moving in with her, uh...
02:02You gave her money?
02:02I helped her out.
02:03Okay, so let me start with you.
02:05So you meet him a year ago, and you guys hit it off as friends, right?
02:10Yes.
02:10What was so special about him?
02:12He was just, he was kind. He was very, like, I was going through a lot of my own stuff.
02:17I just lost my job. I was trying to fight for disability.
02:19So he was helping me. Um, then he needed things. I needed things as far as...
02:23So you let him move in with you?
02:25Did you have an agreement on how much he was going to pay you?
02:27Um, we were going to split the bills in half.
02:29Right? You were going to split in half?
02:30Had he been paying you half of the bills?
02:32Yes.
02:32Okay. And then you said, what, I can't call you, so I need a new phone?
02:36No, before he moved in, he was looking for a phone, and, um, everywhere he went,
02:40the deposits were just too much.
02:42We talked about that if he would be on my plan, that he would pay the phone bill.
02:45So he was going to pay basically both of our phone bills if he got on the plan,
02:48and he would pay his phone off on it.
02:50Okay. So he was paying a monthly amount.
02:52Do you recall, sir, how much your monthly amount was?
02:54I believe it was 84 and change.
02:57In any event, you moved in on August 1st, right?
03:01And by September 1st, it was already a nightmare.
03:04It was Dr. Hecker and Mr. Hyde.
03:07What happened to...
03:07The first two weeks were wonderful.
03:09I have narcolepsy, so I needed stability.
03:13I felt safe him being there.
03:15And one day, it just changed.
03:16All of a sudden, he was throwing silverware trays up at my door,
03:19coming in and calling me a c*** whore.
03:23I had, our A.C. went out, so I bought an A.C. window unit.
03:26He would slam my door open and make me leave my door open all day and night
03:28so he could get the A.C.
03:30I gotta say, I'm crediting her testimony.
03:32What the heck did you do?
03:33Why did you do that?
03:35I mean, there is more to this story than what's being said.
03:39I mean, you're there only two weeks.
03:40What could possibly have happened?
03:41A series of just unfortunate events, really.
03:44Like what?
03:44Her telling me prior to me moving in how she likes to keep her house tidy
03:48and how she doesn't like to have clutter and she cleans up after.
03:52And immediately after moving in, none of those things were happening.
03:54So not only was I taking care of all the bills in her home,
03:56I was also then becoming her maid.
03:58And I don't think that anybody 20 years older than me needs to need maid services.
04:00Well, then why didn't you just leave?
04:02You're not happy there?
04:03Oh, well, I did leave in September.
04:04Leave.
04:05In September, I called my mom and I had her come get me.
04:06So actually, I did, in fact, leave.
04:08But you have the phone.
04:09Where is the phone now?
04:10Right here.
04:11You don't want the phone or you do?
04:13If I take the phone back, I still owe the bill
04:15because Spectrum, after you use the phone for 10 days,
04:18you can't turn the phone back in.
04:19Oh, so then what do you need a second phone for?
04:20She doesn't need your phone.
04:21You have a phone, right?
04:22She didn't need to turn my phone off either.
04:23Well, yeah, she did.
04:24She didn't want you there.
04:25So why would she continue to pay now?
04:27She wasn't paying.
04:28Again, I was paying the phone bill.
04:29Well, you were still...
04:31Mine and hers.
04:31She couldn't rely on the fact that you...
04:32And I was paying all of the utilities in the home and everything else.
04:34So I was taking care of everything that she needed to have taken care of in the home
04:37and I wasn't being respected for it.
04:39Well, neither one of you were respecting one another.
04:41Apparently this...
04:42Unfortunately, we were both in a...
04:43Do you mind if I can get, like, a word out edgewise without you?
04:45Oh, I mean, you've been saying a lot.
04:46So I just wanted to have a moment also.
04:48Except I'm up here and you're over there.
04:51Hmm.
04:52Anyway, let's go back to you then.
04:53You now tell him he can come to the house, he can get his furniture,
04:56you put the stuff in the garage or something, right?
04:59Well, I have it upstairs and downstairs.
05:00Okay.
05:01All the bedrooms were upstairs.
05:03He came...
05:04I came home one day from work and he was gone.
05:06Or not from work, from out doing stuff.
05:08I came home and all his stuff was gone.
05:09Well, that didn't make you cry, right?
05:10No, I was happy, but I was sad because he was, you know, I...
05:13He was a friend.
05:14Yeah.
05:15Okay, so now you are not home.
05:16A friend of yours lets him in to get the property, right?
05:19The rest of the stuff that he left.
05:20And you say that ultimately you had some slashed tires.
05:24I mean, you didn't see it.
05:25Right.
05:25So I can't ask you if he did it.
05:27So let's look at that tire that was slashed.
05:30The police came.
05:31They went to a gas station where they found you with another friend of yours fixing a tire.
05:36Yes.
05:36Because we also incurred a flat tire in her yard because she had a junkyard of sorts.
05:42I'm going to stop you a second.
05:43So, but the police arrest you.
05:45And when they arrest you, they find some methamphetamines?
05:49Yes, ma'am.
05:49Okay.
05:50And they arrested you and charged you with that.
05:52In fact, they charged you...
05:52Actually, they dropped the drug charge.
05:54But they arrested you and they charged you with distribution, correct?
05:58They said intent to sell.
05:59Yes, distribution, intent to sell.
06:01What did they find?
06:03A pocket knife because as I was five years old growing up on a farm, I've always had a pocket
06:07knife on my side.
06:08Except for now because I'm in court.
06:09They say you had it on you and you used it to slash her tires.
06:15Most American men carry a knife on their side.
06:18Well, I'm not willing to draw that conclusion.
06:21Well, I guess things are a little different in Connecticut or wherever you're from.
06:23I've got to tell you, you're annoying the hell out of me.
06:27Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
06:29Had you consumed any of those methamphetamines?
06:33And before you say, give a hand.
06:34Yes, absolutely.
06:35Yeah.
06:35I was also trash drunk.
06:37Yeah.
06:37I lived at her house.
06:43Chastity Wynn claims former roommate Joseph Rodenbaugh became a monster, so she kicked him out.
06:49Now she wants over $800 she spent on his cell phone.
06:52Joseph claims he was making payments and even offered to return the phone, so he owes nothing.
06:58I've got to tell you, you're annoying the hell out of me.
07:00Well, that's unfortunate.
07:01Well, it is for you because you just keep talking over me and we're trying to get some information.
07:06You wanted to tell a narrative also and it's not being...
07:09Well, I'm going to ask you questions.
07:10...like it's not an enemy light helping my situation, so...
07:13Well, I'm not here to help either one of you and if you decide that you're going to just keep
07:17talking, I can't get a story from you.
07:19And I have questions.
07:20You had a knife.
07:21Tires were slashed.
07:23It must have been you that did it or that there was reasonable cause to believe that you did it.
07:27Yes, ma'am.
07:27So that's not a narrative I'm making up.
07:29So now you say, however, that the U-Haul company did not want to charge you for that.
07:35That's it.
07:35But the phone, you still have how much money that you owe?
07:388-26-67.
07:408-26.
07:41And this is not a personality that you saw while you were friendly with him?
07:45No.
07:45Listen, I'm just going to touch this.
07:48Do you think that there's a change in his behavior as a result of some methamphetamine on him?
07:53And use of...
07:55I think there was.
07:56I think he was out of control.
07:58He was unpredictable.
08:00And I didn't...
08:00I mean, I even tried to get a restraining order on him because I was scared.
08:03I live by myself.
08:04I'm alone in a city by myself and I hate it.
08:07Well, sometimes it's better to be alone than to be in a toxic, dangerous situation.
08:13And I think that you've been able to walk away from that.
08:16I'll pass the case to Judge Levy.
08:18Mr. Roddenbaugh?
08:19Yes, sir.
08:19All right, so I'm going to direct your attention to this night when these tires ended up getting
08:23flat or what have you.
08:25Did you witness anybody else at the scene at that time?
08:29It was just the gentleman she had in the living room when I arrived.
08:32And that was September 28th, correct?
08:35That'd be correct, yes.
08:36And that's when you...
08:37I heard it immediately.
08:38I mean, it was a loud piercing.
08:39And you never went up to take a look at it?
08:41No, but I did inform her friend that there's a hissing outside.
08:45You should probably check it out.
08:47It's not my U-Haul, so it's not my concern.
08:48Did you have any words with this individual in the past?
08:51Was there any bad blood?
08:52I don't know if I'll ever actually meeting him prior to that.
08:54So you can't think of any reason why he would make up a false story about you and commit
08:58a crime by calling the police?
08:59I mean, he tried to direct what things of mine I could take out of the house.
09:04So we had like a...
09:06A squabble?
09:06Yeah.
09:07Okay, and then when you get to the gas station, a police officer arrives.
09:10Yes.
09:11A police officer detains you or actually detains the truck.
09:14Yes, sir.
09:15At which point, another police officer arrives...
09:18Yes.
09:19...with the same person that was in the house to conduct a show-up to identify you.
09:24I see.
09:24Okay.
09:24And when the officer says, is this the guy that you saw slash the tires pointing to you,
09:29and you see this individual and point to you, right?
09:32You saw that.
09:33I was watching, but I knew that I was getting arrested, so I wasn't really paying attention
09:36to the fact that that was going on.
09:38Well, what were you getting arrested for?
09:40Well, when the officer came over to me and said, you know, you're getting arrested for
09:43popping tires because we have video evidence of you doing so.
09:45But you know that that wasn't true, though.
09:47I did know that wasn't true.
09:48Right.
09:48So you were just going to get arrested despite the fact that you were innocent of any crime?
09:52I knew I was going to get arrested because they said that they had proof, and so therefore
09:57it was going to happen either way.
09:58And I had a knife on me, so...
10:00They do a pat-down to make sure you had no weapons on you?
10:02That's correct.
10:03And that's when the knife is found?
10:05Yes, sir.
10:05And then the police ask for permission and consent to search the truck.
10:10Yeah, they needed my ID.
10:13And that's when they find...
10:14Well, they took my purse out of the vehicle.
10:16Yep, I got it.
10:17Yeah.
10:18And they place you under arrest for possession of methamphetamines?
10:21Yes, sir.
10:21Had you consumed any of those methamphetamines?
10:25And before you say, give an answer...
10:26Yeah, absolutely.
10:27Yeah.
10:27I was also trash drunk when I was at her house.
10:30Would it be fair for me to say that after drinking what you drank and after consuming
10:36those methamphetamines, that it makes you feel different than you would feel when you're
10:40sober?
10:41It certainly enhances emotions that you have.
10:43And would it be fair to say that the emotions that you had as directed toward the plaintiff
10:48based upon this discord that the two of you had was pretty severe?
10:52Well, yeah.
10:53The unfortunate thing was when I had made plans to come and get my belongings, we had
10:56stayed in contact, you know, up to date with each other.
10:58And so the day that I went to go get my stuff, she stopped answering me.
11:02And that was upsetting to you because you had been paying all these things.
11:05Yes.
11:05And like you said, the amphetamines and the alcohol just kind of bring all that more out.
11:09Absolutely.
11:10I have nothing further.
11:11Thank you for your honesty, sir.
11:12You're welcome.
11:12Judge Acker.
11:13Thank you, Judge.
11:15You guys got to help me with this.
11:17I mean, we're talking about a phone.
11:19He's calling you whore and slut and slashing tires and meth.
11:24Like, I'm having a hard time understanding how this spiraled out of control.
11:32Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
11:34With all the stuff that was going on, I was going to become homeless.
11:37I was going to give up all my stuff in my house and walk away because I didn't want to
11:40deal with it.
11:46Chastity Wynn is suing ex-roommate Joseph Rottenbaugh for over $800, the cost of a cell phone she helped him
11:53buy.
11:53Joseph says he owes nothing because he would have paid off the phone if she hadn't cut him off.
11:58You were upset that she was a mess?
12:00And so what?
12:01You just started?
12:02It stems, honestly, my partner passed away in the beginning of May.
12:06And you weren't on the lease and you had to move.
12:08So it was just a lot of trauma.
12:12How long were you with your partner?
12:14Four years.
12:15So it was just a lot all at once that I wasn't capable to fully handle and take in.
12:21And it was very generous of Chastity to offer let me move in with her.
12:24So what went south?
12:25Honestly, I'm not really sure.
12:26But it happened very quickly.
12:29What do you think happened?
12:31I don't know.
12:31I mean, the first thing it started one day, he came up and, like, came at me sideways about dishes
12:36downstairs that wasn't mine.
12:38He had had friends over.
12:39I don't know when or how many he had.
12:41But there was other people there.
12:42And so when he's yelling at me, then, of course, now I'm starting to get an attitude.
12:47And, you know, so then the bickering was just back and forth.
12:51Every day I came home, there was just something else.
12:52I mean, it was a point of he was opening my closets and throwing my stuff out of the closet
12:56across the rooms and saying stuff didn't belong there.
12:59Yeah, I think that what he sort of gently alluded to is that there was some erratic behavior on his
13:04part.
13:05I mean, I think you impliedly conceded that.
13:07Yes, ma'am.
13:08And I'm looking at the text exchange.
13:11And this is after he's moved out.
13:13And you actually said, and this is you, ma'am, you said, give me back the phone so I can
13:18return it to Spectrum.
13:19I'll drop the lawsuit and tell them I don't want to prosecute you.
13:23You said, sir, I had my mom contact you regarding this.
13:26I have court next Tuesday.
13:28I'll bring the phone with me to the courthouse.
13:30I appreciate you.
13:31The phone's not damaged.
13:33I've removed all my stuff off of it.
13:35Will that work?
13:35And you said, yes, I lost my other phone.
13:38Yeah, I lost the phone during the hurricane.
13:41So why not just take the phone?
13:42I didn't need it.
13:43I had a phone through Spectrum.
13:46With all the stuff that was going on, I was going to become homeless.
13:49I was going to give up all my stuff in my house and walk away because I didn't want to
13:52deal with it.
13:54So if we leave Spectrum, we don't have a phone no more.
13:57Spectrum, you have to have their phone service or their Internet to have phone service through them.
14:03So once I moved out of that house, I was no longer going to have a phone.
14:05So I already went and got a new phone.
14:07When the hurricane came, my house got flooded.
14:10So the moisture from my phone ruined the other phone through Spectrum.
14:14So mine was already paid off.
14:17But I didn't need that.
14:18My phone's an iPhone 16.
14:19I don't need the phone from him.
14:22I thought I could turn it in and get the money back.
14:24Or not the money back, but it would be taken off my bill.
14:27But I still won't owe that bill no matter if I get the phone back or not.
14:32He'd always paid the bill, right?
14:34He'd not ever been late on the bill.
14:35But when he slashed my tires, I just wanted to be left alone.
14:39Sir, doesn't that kind of make sense?
14:41I mean, if things had broken down to the extent that they had, isn't it reasonable to say,
14:45look, I can't have this person on my account.
14:48If you stopped paying, that could have really compromised her.
14:51Doesn't it make sense to sort of sever ties at this point?
14:54It would make sense if it was said in conversation because it was an agreement that we had.
14:59So that's why I'm having this issue of it actually being my fault to have this debt
15:05because we didn't have a conversation about cancelling my phone
15:09because I would have been able to take the device then and bring it to another carrier.
15:13And I would have severed my ties with her and gone my separate way.
15:16But you had to keep paying off Spectrum.
15:19And so in order to get it activated with another carrier,
15:23you still owe Spectrum money.
15:24And that money is being attributed to her account and her credit.
15:27I'd figure out a way to have the phone because my biggest thing is my phone is very important.
15:32And so when we had made this agreement together about the cell phones,
15:35I was like, listen, your phone bill will always be paid.
15:37And after the incident that we had had and me moving out,
15:41I did feel remorse because I really do care about her.
15:43I didn't want to see a good friendship end.
15:46And unfortunately, we, being so close to each other, also attacked each other
15:51and pushed each other away rather than really help each other,
15:55which was the main purpose of us moving in together.
15:57Are you getting any help or treatment for the meth?
15:59Yeah, I've been in N.A.
16:01In rehab, N.A.?
16:02Yes, ma'am.
16:03Good. I hope you stick with that.
16:04Ma'am, why is this so hard for you?
16:08Coming up on Tribunal Justice.
16:10Why did you have your mother get involved with this?
16:12You're a grown man.
16:13Why was your mother calling her?
16:20Chastity Wynn says former roommate Joseph Rautenbaugh was an out-of-control drug addict.
16:25She's evicted him from her life and is suing for over $800, the cost of a cell phone she bought
16:30him.
16:30Joseph says he was paying until chastity cut him and his cell service off.
16:35Why is this so hard for you?
16:38I'm just going through my own stuff.
16:39I'm homeless right now because of the hurricane and just a hot mess.
16:44I feel alone in this world.
16:47That's why when he took me under, it made me feel like I had someone to count on.
16:52Well, I'm sorry things worked out for you as they did.
16:55And I wish you the best in your recovery.
16:57I don't have anything else.
16:59I just want to make it clear to you that there was an agreement to make these payments to her.
17:03You understand that, right?
17:04Yes, ma'am.
17:04Whatever your issues were, drug abuse, drugs and alcohol, whatever, your behavior began to escalate in a way that was
17:13causing her harm, was upsetting her, and was frightening her.
17:16You understand that as well, right?
17:17Yes, ma'am, I do.
17:18And she could not continue to rely on the fact that you would make good for your part of the
17:23contract, which is to keep making these payments.
17:26You understand that?
17:27Yes and no, because I had made a payment after I had moved out.
17:30But she had every reason to no longer believe that that's what you would do.
17:36And so, therefore, she backed away from this, leaving you with the phone and wanting to move forward without it.
17:43And she didn't need the phone.
17:44I have one question of you before I end.
17:46Why did you have your mother get involved with this?
17:48You're a grown man.
17:49Why was your mother calling her?
17:50Because I moved in with my mom, and I didn't want to – my phone – she shut my phone
17:54service off.
17:54And so I had my mom contact her to let her know that I would give her back her phone,
17:58because I obviously knew that I'd upset her.
18:01All right.
18:02Thank you very much.
18:02You're welcome.
18:03And I think we're going to retire to deliberate at this point.
18:07Court is now in recess.
18:08Parties will be recalled.
18:13I think the neediness emotionally of both of them rushed them into a relationship prematurely.
18:19They didn't know who the other person really was.
18:21She purchased the phone for him.
18:23He was agreeing to make payments to her.
18:25He was doing so, and then the point came time where basically he was in constructive breach of the agreement
18:30by abusing her, by calling her names, by slashing her tire.
18:34If I were her, I'd want to cut all ties and not have anything to do with him.
18:37I think he breached the agreement.
18:38He owes her the balance on the phone, which is exactly what she's asked for.
18:42I agree.
18:42Not a penny more.
18:43I agree with you both.
18:44So we're unanimous.
18:46Unanimous.
18:50Court is back in session.
18:51All parties are reminded that you're still under oath.
18:53It's a shame what happened to the two of you in your relationship.
18:57You both wanted to have someone around who would help you in your life, and you both found that in
19:02one another.
19:03And then that changed.
19:04It changed dramatically, and it changed for a variety of reasons, sadly, but it did.
19:10The fact that you began to get out of control with your drug abuse and drinking, the fact that you
19:16slashed her tires, you were calling her names, you were throwing things at her.
19:19Even though she was sloppy, she didn't deserve to have that.
19:23And at that point, it was almost like a constructive breach of your agreement to pay her.
19:28Why would she want to keep you in this volatile, aggressive position in her life?
19:34The best thing to do was for her to cut you loose.
19:36She couldn't rely on the fact that you would continue to pay, that your behavior wouldn't worsen,
19:41and that you would put, perhaps, your drug use above and beyond the ability to pay.
19:47So you, sir, did breach the agreement.
19:49You do owe her the $827 that she's sued for.
19:53I'm sorry for both of you, but maybe you both need to take a little space, get a little help,
19:58and maybe you can reconcile your friendship.
20:00Do not move in together.
20:02Okay?
20:03All right.
20:04This is the verdict of the court, judgment in favor of the plaintiff.
20:06It's unanimous, $827.
20:10This case has concluded.
20:12All parties are excused.
20:17It needed to end.
20:18Pretty difficult.
20:19He was my best friend.
20:20Honestly, before I got to the driveway, I was seeing red as it was.
20:22I think it just says going through emotional.
20:25I was going through emotional, and we just kind of hit at the wrong end of each other.
20:31She was fine with leaving things as they were, and I don't live in filth, so.
20:35I hope we fix our friendship.
20:37Time heals all wounds.
20:39I wish him a well-honored recovery, and I hope both of us get help.
20:42Did someone destroy your property?
20:44Let Tribunal Justice decide your case.
20:47Find us on social media at Tribunal Justice.
20:53He had a good church of friends, and I'm thehaies, so.
20:55I'm going through something.
20:57aproninya says, car tree hasstreng, so.
20:59Let's go.
21:05The people who have been replacing them with life.
21:07This can be very difficult for us.
21:07Have to say, Father, let's come to die.
21:09He will be the one.
21:12I will be the one.
21:13My son and my cat.
21:14He will be the one.
21:14Can't be the other person.
21:15Bye.
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