A man being tried for domestic abuse was found to be sitting in the home of his alleged abuse victim. It was speculated that he had stayed at the house in an effort to intimidate the testimony of the victim and ensure a better court outcome.
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A Michigan man was being tried for assault in a virtual meeting when it was revealed that he was in fact sitting in the same home as his alleged victim.
21-year-old Coby James Harris was being charged with assault with intent to cause bodily harm. The court proceedings were being streamed online to YouTube as a matter of public record.
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The video begins with regular proceedings as the victim is being asked questions with regard to the allegations made against Coby Harris. The victim’s body language exhibits subtle discomfort as she keeps looking off camera.
It was the prosecuting attorney’s assistant who first notice that something was wrong about her client’s behavior. She monitored the situation for a few minutes before calling it out and asking to make sure that the victim is in a safe space.
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“Your Honor … I have reason to believe that the defendant is in the same apartment as the complaining witness right now, and I am extremely scared for her safety. The fact that she’s looking off to the side and he’s moving around, I want some confirmation that she is safe before we continue.”
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The woman replied that she’s at a house and specifies an address. When Harris was asked the same question, he replied with a different address. The presiding judge then asked Mr. Harris to walk to the front of the house and show them the house number.
Within minutes of the beginning of this discussion, police had already been dispatched to their location to do a wellness check on Ms. Lindsey.
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When Ms. Lindsey goes to the door to check with the police, the video cuts out.
Ms Davis then asks the judge to adjourn. “We may need to adjourn this, Your Honor.”
When the stream comes back on, Mr. Harris is being arrested by the police and asking the judge to reconsider.
“Your Honor, me and Mary both don’t want the no-contact,” Harris said. “I ask that be dropped. I’m sorry I lied to you. I knew the cops were outside. I don’t know why I …”
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The judge however, interrupted Mr. Harris and cancelled his bond.
“The hearing is adjourned. Your bond is cancelled. If you have $10 million, you can’t bond out. In addition, the prosecutor’s probably also going to charge you with obstruction of justice,” Middleton said.
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The hearing was rescheduled with Mr. Harris placed into county jail.
