- So, you went up to go to sleep? - Mm-hmm.
- He was still in the house? - Yes.
And when I woke up...
um, electricity was off.
Everything was gone as well.
And all four of my tires were flat and bolts were missing.
I'm getting more disgusted with this case at every turn.
[narrator] This is Judy Justice.
[narrator] Previously on Judy Justice.
We start arguing at this point,
like, we're both yelling at each other, it's getting heated.
She then tells me that she's going to have some dudes come and beat me up.
Gallo, out of nowhere, comes from a corner
and tries to swing at me.
She then lets these men inside the house.
They're bangin' on my door, talkin' 'bout, "Bring your... [dipped audio] outside."
All this mess. I immediately got everything that I could,
and I booked a hotel at The Westin.
Claim is that, during the time that you were in the hotel,
- there was damage done to the property. - Right.
- This is the way you found it? - Yes.
Can you explain these photographs to me?
I can't explain the photographs. I didn't do it.
This is vandalism.
Somebody took powder and liquid and broke mirrors.
And quite frankly,
I don't know this gentleman well,
but he does not appear to be psychotic.
Do you have any other proof
that he caused this serious vandalism of his own house?
I do not have proof that he caused it,
but I do have proof I was not there and I have...
I don't care whether you were not there or not.
So, I have to decide if it was a stranger,
the Plaintiff, or this side,
maybe not you, but someone acting on your behalf.
[narrator] And now the conclusion.
Carlos Guillen
claims his former roommate, Nijah Pine,
and her boyfriend, Gallo Dioum,
vandalized his property.
Nijah is countersuing,
claiming Carlos had her falsely arrested.
OK, so if there is no other proof... What?
- [Gallo] May I interject, please? - Sure.
Over the situation that...
he's trying to say that happened on the 27th,
that even led to...
the whole craziness that we see in the photos over the vandalism,
is a lie. And in his police reports,
I don't know if he'll show you the police report
or anything that happened,
details and dictates everything of what the situation is.
- May I see the police report? - He came to her...
[Judy] Do you have the police report?
- Uh, she has... - I was not able
to get the police report because I am listed as a, um...
- suspect, I'm not a victim. - Let's see.
- So, they wouldn't give it to me. - OK.
- But, if I may interject, because... - I'm reading something.
[sighs] You're going to need more information... to understand.
These are all pictures of your room?
- Yes, ma'am. - Ransacked.
Yeah, my room and then the living room as well.
The living room sofa, but this is your room.
- That's my room. - This is your bed.
Yes, you wanted to say something.
Yes, so, Your Honor.
As far as the room goes, I just want to add
that there were multiple people living there.
I moved in in June, while him and his family member
went through an eviction process in April.
So, multiple people found out that we had to leave, randomly.
And so, I wholeheartedly believe that someone else did this.
- That's not true. - I can't... I can't...
- [Judy] Don't interrupt her. - [Carlos] Sorry.
...show you proof that he did it.
To be honest with you, I don't know who did it,
but I know I didn't, and I know he was with me as well.
- And, um... - What about your brother?
- Was he with you? - My brother is...
- I don't... No. - I'm just asking you.
What about your father? Was your father with you?
- No. - OK.
- My father... - Just a second.
I'm just... just asking you.
The Plaintiff said that there were
six other people that came to the door
other than your brother.
- Who else came to the door? - No one.
OK, so, your brother just came alone.
Yes, Your Honor.
And when he came, was the Plaintiff still there?
- Yes, Your Honor. - OK.
And he stayed when the Plaintiff left.
- No, Your Honor. - Did he...
OK, well, go through the timeline with me.
He came because you called your father.
Your father called your brother because you were having difficulty.
OK? And your father sent your brother right over
and said, "You better get over there. She's having difficulty with this guy.
You go over there and straighten it out,
whatever it is." How old is your brother?
My brother is 22.
- Twenty-two. - Mm-hmm.
- Big, little? - He's slightly taller than me.
He's... he is more built, maybe like the size of the bailiff,
- a little shorter. - OK, just a second.
OK, good. So, when he came over and... you let him in?
No, he did not come in.
- I didn't let him in. - He did not come into the house at all?
Not until Carlos opened up the door.
- Just a sec, well, I'm asking you... - He came into the house...
- Carlos opened up the door, - Mm-hmm
did your brother come into the house then?
- Into the house, no. - Did he just stay in the front?
Yes, Your Honor. He stayed in the doorway.
There came a time that day
that the Plaintiff left the property.
He went to stay at a hotel.
He did not come home on that night of the 27th.
- Yes, Your Honor. - That's clear.
When he left, where was your brother?
I have no idea.
And I don't believe that your brother left you alone there before he left.
- So... - I... you have to understand...
- The story... - If your father sent your brother
- to be there to protect... - Your Honor...
- his sister from him... - there are holes...
There are things missing.
And if you could... would allow me,
I would like to tell you what actually happened that day,
at least from my perspective.
Because it was never, he left immediately.
What happened was, he came to my door
at seven o'clock in the morning, banging on my door,
which, I have a photo of the hole he put in my door,
threatening me, asking if Gallo was inside of the room.
He wanted to fight me and Gallo
because Gallo told him to leave us alone.
And he sent threatening texts to Gallo
saying, "Imma beat you up,"
and, "We could fade," and "bucko" this, "bucko" that.
All this and he's, like, you know, like that.
I called Gallo like, "Hey,
Carlos is banging on my door looking for you."
He's like, "Yeah, I know. I saw the messages. I'm on my way."
I'm like, "OK." So...
we're arguing. He's at my door.
I called my dad 'cause I'm like, I don't know what's gonna happen.
And he's like, "Uhh." He gets upset.
So, he calls my brother.
My brother, he happens to work in the West Side as a security guard,
and he's like, "Well, Pops just called me.
- Do you need me to stop by?" - I understand all that.
- Exactly. So... - Go ahead.
after he gets there, sees Carlos outside.
I go downstairs after... Carlos goes to his room
and I talk with my brother
and he's like, "Well, what's going on?"
And he's like, "Why he don't want to come outside?"
Yes, my brother was very upset because I told him, like, you know,
- this man was threatening me... - Shh, that's hearsay...
- That's hearsay. - Yes.
- That's hearsay. - So...
Let's understand something, this all came about...
[bangs The Bench]
Pay attention.
This all came about because...
the two of you work in the same place,
you had been living in the apartment for three months,
and there had been no other police incidents up until this time.
- Mm-hmm. - For three months.
This incident, according to what I'm putting together,
happened because after your boyfriend Gallo
left and had a conversation with him
about arguments that you had had with him,
which you're not going to tell me about now,
because you're going to tell me that never happened,
that's not something people make up.
And he said he got into your business.
That's what you felt. He got into your business.
- No, Your Honor, that's not what I felt. - Just a second.
Just a second. And then you were talking about it
to people where you both work.
You acknowledged that,
that you were talking to people about it where you both work.
- Yes, Your Honor. - He got angry...
that you were bringing stuff that happened at home to work,
and he came to confront you.
- That's... No. - No, Your Honor.
- That's not... - That's literally what happened...
- [Judy] That's exactly... - [Carlos] Your Honor.
- [Judy] That's exact... - [Carlos laughs]
- [Judy] Just a second. - That's literally what happened...
- That's exactly what happened. - [Carlos laughs]
- That is... - [Nijah] That's not...
- exactly what happened. - Your Honor.
- Exactly what happened, girl. - He came
to my door because of these text messages. These text messages are time-dated.
He came to my door because... he text messaged him...
While I was at work over a dispute that over...
it might have been about whatever the coworker said.
He basically came to her door in his boxers...
Now, listen to me!
- [Nijah] That, though. - I don't... I'm...
- [Nijah] He came to my door... - I'm making it...
I'm making it simple, Gallo.
[♪ dramatic music plays]
And so, he texts Gallo saying,
"Eg, G, I'm not... with her no more because she has an attitude problem."
Gallo told the Plaintiff,
"I see what you on, like, you's... you're a hater."
and Carlos responded
and basically said, "I wanna fade, I wanna fight."
And that is the morning he came banging to my door,
which caused me to call my dad.
[♪ dramatic music p lays]
[♪ dramatic music plays]
[narrator] Defendant Nijah Pine
has accused her former roommate, Carlos Guillen,
of getting her falsely arrested.
Carlos claims Nijah vandalized his property when he was gone.
It started because you told your girlfriend
about the brief conversation you had with him after an argument.
You say no, you're not going to say yes. Now, you're still together, right?
- Yeah... we're together, but... - [Judy] Yeah, yeah, still together.
- ...the issue of why we're even here, - [Judy scoffs] OK, and...
- where we're at. - [Judy] and...
she got annoyed because the person that she's renting a room from,
who she works with, is telling her boyfriend,
"Listen, you don't have to stand for that.
You know, you got your whole life ahead of you, you... you know.
Move on with it."
Your Honor, that is not what happened.
- Oh, really? - I'm...
- I'm begging you to listen to me. - [Judy] Just a... just...
- Just so... just show me. - [Gallo] He's not
[overlapping spirited chatter]
- No, don't. Don't. - [Carlos] All right. OK.
If I may...
So, what I have in my hand is a message where he came
Jus... just... just...
- Show me, don't read it. - [Nijah] May I?
[Judy whispers] Kevin, get the message.
So, if you see at the first, on the top page,
at the bottom. That message was birthed
from him coming to my door while I was doing my hair
and telling me to send him to... it was... he wanted to talk...
- He had his boxers on. - Shh!
He wanted to talk to me...
[Judy] Just a second. What is this supposed to tell me?
I'm... I'm telling you right now, and then you read the message.
I'm going to tell you the story that led him to say that last message
because what happened was, I'm sitting in my bed, doing my hair,
minding my business. He walks to my door
with just his boxers on, on speakerphone with a female.
He's, like, standing there in the doorway, and I look and I'm like, "What's up?"
He's like... I'm like, "What's up?" He's like...
I'm like, "All right, well, let me know when you're ready." And I close the door
in his face, like, I close it. 'Cause he has his boxers on,
he's standing there, and I'm minding my business doing my hair.
So, I basically tell him, you know,
"Let me know when you are ready to talk, because you're standing here
in your boxers. Like, I'm good."
And so, when I opened the door after he's like,
"All right, I'm ready to talk,"
he basically like, "I'm not... [dipped audio] with your attitude.
- You don't slam the door in my face." - Just a minute. Shh!
- And all this other stuff. - Excuse...
And so he texts Gallo that message you see there
saying, "Eh, G, I'm not ... [dipped audio] with her no more
because she has an attitude problem."
But I was upset because he was standing at my door in just his underwear.
And so, he texts him that,
and then the next series of messages you'll see,
Gallo told the Plaintiff
that, basically, "You need to mind your business,
and I see what you on, like, yous... you're a hater."
And Carlos responded
and basically said, "I wanna fade, I wanna fight."
And you'll see those in the messages. He said, "I wanna fight.
G, you ain't got nothin' to talk about. You're weird."
All this buffoonery, the threats.
I don't have dates on this. Is this the 27th of August?
- Yes, that is that morning. - The 27th of August.
That is that morning.
- That's that morning. - And that is the morning
he came banging to my door, which caused me to call my dad.
- He came to my door looking for Gallo... - OK.
- to fight him. - I... I'm
done with this case. We have... Shh.
- I'm done. - OK.
I'm done. You have a counterclaim.
- Yes, Your Honor. - I'm going to hear your counterclaim.
Right now, this is a disaster,
including the cutting up of the couch.
There's no question that all of those items are worth $10,000.
Now we're going to hear your counterclaim.
And your counterclaim is
that you were arrested falsely,
tampering with tires,
lost wages, and cyberbullying.
I've read the messages, they're nasty.
People say... nasty things.
- That's not cyberbullying. - There are... no, there are more.
Well, I want you to circle the ones that you say
were cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying. Give her a pen, please, Kevin.
Thank you.
Don't give me anything that's not circled.
Are you still living at the house, sir?
I have keys to the house, but I'm not...
That's not what I asked you. Are you still living there?
- No, ma'am. - OK.
I'm reading through these text messages.
You said, "You can't fight stupid with stupid."
- Mm-hmm. - "Instead, I chose
to remove my items and kick back in a five-star hotel
- until my new place is ready." - Yes.
So, you were moving into a new place.
I was, Your Honor, yes.
When did your lease start?
It would've started on September 10th, Your Honor.
Is the place furnished?
Not fully, Your Honor, no. I did get a new bed.
That's about it as far as furniture.
And a dresser and, like, just the stuff I was able to save
that she damaged at the home.
Just a second. Did you take the sofa?
- No, I did not take the sofa. - Did you buy a new sofa?
No. I have a studio, so it can't fit.
- So, it doesn't fit... anyway. - No.
So, you were moving. So, you purchased a new bed.
Do you have the bill for the new bed?
Not on me, Your Honor,
- but it's the same... - Well, that's what you... you know.
She may have destroyed all this stuff,
but if you weren't taking the stuff with you anyway
- because you have a studio apartment... - Right.
- Yes, ma'am. - You had to buy a new bed.
I could understand you not having this bed.
- Right. - OK.
Well, first of all, it's not cyberbullying, any of this.
It's nasty, but it's not cyberbullying.
He does say in these e-mails,
"He came crying to me at seven in the morning
talking about how she beats him,
calls him names, and says she wants him out of her life.
I simply told bro not... to worry about himself,
to move... on
just like any person with common sense would."
"This trick decides to go around my job and tell people I'm dirty,
I don't pay my bills, and I'm trying to 'blank' her man."
All right, so, I've just stricken cyberbullying.
You have a bill for the bed, sir?
And if you don't, I'm gonna allow you to tell me what you spent for it,
'cause so far, the $10,000 is coming down.
How much was the bed? And matt...
- $5,000, Your Honor. - Show me.
I didn't bring the receipt...
- for the new bed. It was just... - Well...
for that bed that she damaged.
'Cause I have a Cali King now, she damaged my queen.
So, I have the comp for the queen bed that it was, Your Honor.
Well, I'd like to see that bed, which I see here,
so you're gonna show me a comp to this bed.
OK. Let's move to false arrest.
Well, you were arrested, in part, for vandalism. Is that correct?
No, Your Honor.
Well, that's what the police report says.
Well, honestly, I haven't been able to see the police report,
but I know that... based on what officer gave me,
I was arrested for theft.
OK, and what I'm telling you was, the police report says
he reported that the suspect vandalized property.
Also, that property was missing
from his bedroom.
But he is clearly accusing you of vandalism.
And the report says a report of theft.
But the officer clearly arrested you, probably for both charges.
Because the police report says vandalism
and I find that was a legitimate arrest.
N... No, Your Honor.
- That's what I find. - OK.
And I go to my car to, uh, go to work,
and all four of my tires were flat and bolts were missing.
So, were the tires flattened and slashed?
To be honest, I don't know,
but they said there were holes in it and they weren't patchable.
I don't believe in serendipity and coincidence.
This is far too coincidental.
[narrator] Defendant Nijah Pine
has accused her former roommate, Carlos Guillen,
of getting her falsely arrested.
Carlos claims Nijah vandalized his property when he was gone.
- Did you find that for me? - Yes,
I have an image of it, Your Honor, so sorry.
Here you go.
That's... That's the mattress that she damaged.
So, you had a queen and you bought a split king?
Is that what you're telling me?
Yes. I bought a Cal King, yes.
OK, so, that was $3,000.
- Yes. - OK.
And you left this bed here, or what did you do with it?
I had some people clean it, so...
You had what people clean it?
I called my maintenance people, um, who helps out with the house and stuff,
and he got some of his crew and they cleaned out
and cleared out the whole apartment, Your Honor.
- Cleaned out the whole apartment? - Yes.
What did they do with the bed?
I believe they trashed it, Your Honor.
- I'm not sure. - You don't know.
You have a bill from them?
- From them? No, Your Honor. - You don't have anything.
I mean, what is it that you have?
- Well, no... - You don't have a bill for a new bed.
- Yeah. - You have a bed you say is comparable.
You don't have a bill from the people who cleaned out the apartment,
'cause I assume somebody
had to clean this apartment if you were moving out.
- Right. - Right. I know I'm right.
All right, I'm getting more disgusted with this case at every turn.
Strike $10,000.
Tell me about your tires.
When did you find your tires
- tampered with? - So, the 27th...
after the police left, after we agreed to peace,
I went upstairs to go to sleep...
- He was still in the house. - Yes, Your Honor.
On the 27th.
And when I woke up, um, I was getting ready to go to work.
I noticed the electricity was off, which in those papers I gave you,
he stated he turned off the electricity.
- Yes. - Electricity was off.
Everything was gone as well, like, um...
Not everything, but like, weird, random things,
like, the microwave was gone.
Uh, it was like a PS4 and, like, some, like, game setup thing. That was gone.
- OK. So, he had... - Like, all of the valuables were gone.
So, he had taken some of his stuff out 'cause he was moving.
Mmm... mmm...
- Well, he moved. - [sound of disagreement]
Are you telling me he didn't move?
- Didn't move. - Not yet, no.
- No, he's still there. - He was still there.
- But he... - I mean today.
Now. Is he there now?
Oh, no, Your Honor. But he was still there, like...
- Oh, just a second. - uh, his things were still there.
Some of his things were still there,
- but he took some things with him. - Mm-hmm. Yes, he took...
When he left on the 27th.
Well, the things his... valuable.
Anyways, so, I go downstairs
and I go to my car to, uh, go to work,
'cause like I said, I didn't think this would go any further,
to be honest with you,
and all four of my tires were flat
and bolts were missing out of my tires.
- You have photographs of that? - Yes, Your Honor.
I'd like to take a look at it.
[Nijah] Are these repeats?
Oh, this is the one with the time stamp.
Thank you.
- And he was not there? - No, Your Honor.
So, were the tires flattened and slashed, or were they...
To be honest, I don't know, but they said
there were holes in it and they weren't patchable, at all.
- So, there were holes in all four. - Yes, Your Honor.
Do you have the bills for four new tires?
No. I paid cash.
- I should have, but... - That doesn't mean
whether you paid cash or not, it means we're not talking about...
- We're not talking about... - I wasn't thinking about it,
but I do have a receipt for the tow.
- The tow I will take. - Yes.
Which, I ended up having... so we used Gallo's, uh, Triple A
and it was his fourth tow,
so he wasn't going to be able to get another one after that,
- so I ended up - I... I just
paying him for the extra tow. Which is $90.
And then I bought four new tires.
Well, I can't help you with the four new tires
- because what you come here for... - It's OK. Didn't come for money.
is to prove to me any element of your claim.
Right now, the Plaintiff has not proven
all the elements to his claim for $10,000.
I believe he had to buy a new bed
because that bed was destroyed,
and I've already indicated who I believe is responsible for that.
I do believe that he, or somebody acting at his bequest,
because I don't believe in serendipity
and coincidence. This is far too coincidental.
The damage to the home was far too coincidental
to your argument with him,
and the damage to your car
is far too coincidental for me to be comfortable with.
So, I would, if you had a receipt...
And, we're not talking about years ago, we're talking about recently
that you said you had to buy four new tires.
Well, whether you pay cash or check
- for tires, - Yeah, I don't...
you can get a receipt. And if you know you're coming to court,
- you're supposed to get a receipt. - I didn't know.
This is the same thing I'm telling you.
I didn't know I was going to court.
I thought it was all over with, to be honest.
Very, very good.
Judgement for the Plaintiff on the complaint,
my original order was for $3,000,
from that I'm reducing it by $90,
so it's $2,910.
Judgement for the Plaintiff that disposes of the counterclaim.
Thank you very much. We're finished here.
[Kevin] This court is adjourned.
- He never lived there. - ...arguing.
- We never argue like that. - I've never lived with her.
We never argued, there never was a problem.
He's basically... his issue was with her.
She's a hater, to keep it real with you.
She assumed that I was trying to sleep with her man, uh,
when I was just giving him evidence, so.
We have DMs, messages.
He came to me talking about her and I addressed him,
"That's my girlfriend."
Yeah, I mean, there's text messages of him thanking me.
Um, so, it's kind of weird how that played about, but... I don't know.
He's tired of her, he's annoyed, and I'm like,
"That's not nothin' that you should be tellin' me.
You guys don't need to talk.
She stays on the third floor, you're at the bottom.
Leave her alone."
I definitely did respond letting him know that, you know,
if you're gonna go around saying that I'm trying to sleep with you
and spread all these lies,
then we can definitely have a conversation face-to-face.
I did say that, yes.
But he's already been treating her like this from the jump,
and that's why I messaged him to basically leave her alone.
They definitely damaged his house. I seen it for myself, so...
It's unfortunate how it ended, but we know the truth.
- I don't... - Honestly, we never wanna
- I don't wanna hear from him ever agian. - hear from him...
I think you were right, that there was far too many...
scenarios that lined up a little too perfectly
around the same argument
for it to be somebody else.
Some other dude did it.
You know, I'm sorry that the Plaintiff didn't tell me he moved
and was, in fact, moving
within a couple of days into a studio apartment.
- Mm-hmm. - That would have been
interesting information to have right from the get-go.
I don't know why I didn't have it.
It just would have gone to the extent of damages.
- I mean, if he had to buy a new sofa, - Yep.
and certainly from the vandalism of that sofa, he needed...
but he didn't need a new sofa, he had a studio apartment.
That doesn't give somebody the right to vandalize your... your property
and to break things and...
But the law is allowed to use common sense in determining damages,
and I think your final ruling
on cancelling out the Defendant's countersuit
with the Plaintiff's large, too large of an ask for damages,
was the right call.
- You think so? - I think so.
- You know, you can... - I wish she had the receipt for tires
because you could put two and two together that,
- OK, clearly... - Oh, I saw the photographs.
- The tires were clearly flattened. - Yeah.
But you don't now if they were flattened as a result of somebody
taking the plugs off them and just letting the air go out of them.
And without a receipt or without a mechanic's note...
You really don't know.
And this all happened two months ago, so she should have the bills.
Anyway, you try to use common sense
and when the physical evidence isn't there of "who done it"...
Yeah.
...you sort of try to piece together
a scenario that makes sense.
And fortunately, now you have some text messages
and you have e-mails that assist in that.
Not everything is a picture.
- Yeah. - More and more so,
at least in the criminal system, it's becoming a picture
because everybody has cameras all the time
and there's cameras all over the place,
but in these civil actions, very often there aren't.
I think it was right.
[♪ dramatic music plays]
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