A California couple has been accused of planting drugs on a volunteer at their son’s elementary school. Kent Easter, 38, and Jill Easter, 39, are both lawyers, and have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to procure false arrest, conspiracy to falsely report a crime and other charges. They are currently free on $20,000 bail but face a possible sentence of three years in jail.
The couple sought to frame an unidentified woman who volunteered as a student supervisor at their son’s school. Their reason for doing so: the couple felt “angry” at her for not doing her job properly. Rather than express their frustrations to someone in charge, the Easters decided to hatch a grand scheme worthy of a cheap crime novel.
Kent Easter planted a bag with Vicodin, Percocet, and Marijuana in the woman’s unlocked car. Later that day he phoned the police from a pay phone under the pretense that he was a concerned parent witnessing a crime. Using a false name, Kent Easter claimed that he had noticed the woman driving erratically, and provided them with the car’s model and license number. Police responded to the school, interrogated the woman and were given permission to search the vehicle where the Easter’s had planted the drugs. When the police found the contraband, the woman denied any knowledge of the drugs. A subsequent, consensual search of her home did not find any evidence of drug use.
During follow up investigation, the police tracked down a surveillance video of Kent Easter making the anonymous tip from a pay phone. Further analysis revealed phone calls and text messages about the plot between Kent and Jill Easter before and after they planted the drugs.
Even the best-laid plans can unravel when police investigations reveal the criminal masterminds behind them. Ironically, Jill Easter had published a crime novel called “Holding House” under the pen name Ava Bjork, which tells the story of a “foolproof” kidnapping and ransom that turns ugly. It seems that both in fantasy and real life things don’t always work out and the counsel of an experienced criminal lawyer may be needed.