An Orange County mom and attorney, charged with conspiring to have an elementary school parent volunteer arrested by planting drugs in her car because she felt the woman wasn't caring for her son properly, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a false imprisonment charge, the Orange County district attorney's office reported.
Jill Bjorkholm Easter, 40, of Irvine, was sentenced to one year in jail and three years of formal probation, according to the D.A.'s office.
Easter and her husband, 40-year-old Kent Wycliff Easter, were accused of growing angry at a parent volunteer at an elementary school in Irvine for not properly supervising their son, and in 2011 plotting to have her arrested in retaliation.
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He is charged with one felony count each of conspiracy to falsely charge a crime, false imprisonment by violence or deceit and conspiracy to commit a crime. If convicted, Kent Wycliff Easter faces a maximum of three years in state prison. His trial is expected to begin next week.
The charges against the couple stem from an incident that happened about 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 16, 2011, authorities say, Kent Easter -- an attorney -- drove to the home of Jane Doe and placed a bag of Vicodin, Percocet, marijuana, and a used marijuana pipe behind the driver's seat of her unlocked vehicle. The Easters are accused of being in constant cellphone and text message contact as Kent Easter drove to and from the alleged victim's home.
Later that day, at about 1:15 p.m., prosecutors say, Kent Easter called police while he was working from a Newport Beach hotel, provided a fake name and phone number and told the dispatcher he saw an erratic driver park at the elementary school. He also identified the alleged victim by name and told police he saw her hide a bag of drugs behind the driver's seat of her car. Prosecutors say the couple called and texted each other before and after the call to police.
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The woman was detained for about two hours until Irvine detectives concluded she was in a classroom at the time Kent Easter claimed to have seen her hide drugs in her car. The woman also allowed police to search of her home, which showed no evidence to support drug use or possession and did not support a link to show that she was knowingly in possession of the marijuana or prescription pills found in her vehicle.
Authorities say detectives investigated whether the evidence had been planted in the woman's car and discovered that the call made to police was placed by Kent Easter from a phone in the business center of a Newport Beach hotel near where he worked. The hotel's video surveillance captured images of Easter at the time the call was placed, prosecutors said.
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