Judy Justice

Tell me about this incident that was nasty

involving your daughter.

I'm driving. We start arguing because of his drug use.

He reaches over, grabs the steering wheel,

and pushes us onto oncoming traffic.

While your daughter is in the car.

-Yes. -No!

Listen to me, I don't want you to speak to me again unless I'm looking at you.

This is Judy Justice.

Lauren Liebel is suing her former boyfriend Marco Lara

for the cost of a car.

Court come to order. All rise.

Be seated please.

Hello, Judge. You have case number 1037, Liebel vs. Lara.

Thanks, Kevin.

Miss Liebel, this was your boyfriend for a period of time

-and you have a child together. -Correct.

When did you and the defendant start to live together?

2017.

-What month? -July?

Actually it wasn't 2017, it was 2018.

Early 2018 when I moved to Visalia from Fresno.

It was after my birthday.

-She got back in contact with me. - Just a second.

-Just a second. I don't need a tome. - I'm not--

-I need a date. - Okay.

-And I need it slowly because I-- - It was early July...

I need it slowly 'cause I'm old.

It was May-- It was 2017, right after May,

but when we actually started living together

was closer to 2018.

So it had to have been maybe December,

so when I moved to Visalia for her from Fresno.

You have a son or a daughter?

-A daughter. -How old is she?

She's gonna be three in August.

-And Mr. Lara's the father of that child. -Correct.

-And that's your only child? -Yes.

This has to do with an old car.

You and Mr. Lara were living together,

and then there came a time when there started to be some friction.

When did that start?

It started August 2020.

-It started sooner than that, Your Honor. -Listen to me,

I don't want you to speak to me again unless I'm looking at you.

Yes, ma'am.

About what?

He had been partying heavily.

There had been some drug use.

And I had been trying to help him get visitation of his eldest daughter.

Was he-- just a second-- was he working?

-Yes. -What kind of work was he doing?

Temp agency. Uh, he was working for Mid Valley Disposal,

-like, dumpster... -Temp work.

-Yeah. -Is that right, sir?

-No. -In August of 2020?

-It was through a temp agency-- -Were you-- Shh!

In August of 2020, who were you working for?

August 2020, I was working for American Carrier Equipment

as a welder fabricator,

as I'm currently doing right now, over a year.

I've been welding for five years.

Okay. And during that time, there was some difficulty

-but you purchased a new car. -Yes.

When did you purchase a new car?

January 2020.

And you kept your old car, which was what kind of a car?

Chevy Impala 2007.

-And that car is titled in your name. -Correct.

You got a new car because I assume you wanted a more reliable car.

The Impala was reliable.

Uh, I started going to school so I needed my own car to

take my daughter to her appointments, for me to go to school,

-he needed it-- -And as a family,

-And as a family, because you were living as a family,

-right? -Correct, yeah.

So I didn't always have the car when I needed it.

Just a second. So... you needed a second car.

And the family car had been the Impala.

So far, correct?

Mm-hmm.

-"Uh-huh" is not an answer. - Yes, ma'am.

That would be "yes." And you can leave out the "ma'am."

That could be-- yes is fine.

When you got the new car,

and he was driving primarily the 2007 Chevy Impala,

was there any financial arrangement that the two of you made

while you were still living and sleeping together?

-Hm. Mm-mm. -No.

- He just drove it? -He drove it, yeah.

Okay. He just drove it.

And then there came a time that you had a bad argument, kerfuffle,

-while you were driving someplace. -Very correct.

Tell me when that happened.

That happened August 24th, 2020, two days before my daughter's birthday.

-Tell me about it. - So...

we had already broken up for a couple weeks. I was--

When you say you had broken up for a couple of weeks,

he was still living in the house?

-Yes, we were still living together. - So that means...

So that means somebody was sleeping on a sofa.

Yes. Essentially.

What do you mean "essentially"? What does that mean?

So I would leave and spend the weekends in Visalia.

And he would work in the week,

I was working from home at the time due to COVID.

So he would watch Daenerys, my daughter, while I was...

you know, in the office, back office area,

being a receptionist.

Would it be a fair statement that the two of you had decided to break up

prior to this incident that occurred in August of 2020?

-Honestly, Your Honor, no. -

-So you don't know. -It's not a fair statement to say that.

-No. - What?

-It's not a fair statement to say that. - Okay.

So you had been together.

It was a single decision on her behalf.

Okay. Well...

She decided to break up with you.

-And the apartment I paid rent for. - Prior...

- On my lease. -I don't care.

All I hear, asking her all these questions.

- Mr. Lara-- - Okay. Sorry, Your Honor.

What I'm asking you is, would it be a fair statement

that you were broken up as a family?

You maybe had been residing in the same place,

two weeks prior to this incident that was nasty

involving your daughter.

-Yes. - Perfect.

Now, tell me about this incident

that happened right before your daughter's birthday.

Okay, so it was-- we were going to Picture People,

to take my daughter, uh, two year old, you know, pictures--

I wanted to hand it out to the family.

And... so we are in the picture studio

and my daughter has my phone, she's using YouTube.

And he decides to grab the phone from my daughter,

go through my messages and see that I'm messaging other guys.

And so we're arguing because of that.

And so now we're... That's over with.

We're in the car, we have the pictures.

We're driving, we're almost home.

And you know how arguments don't necessarily stay with

one thing, it gets into the more deeper issues.

So it got into...

And this is all while your daughter is the car.

Yes. She's asleep. She's in the car, he's in the car.

I'm driving. Because I'm the only licensed driver.

He's in the passenger seat.

We start arguing because of his drug use the weekend before

when he was staying at his friend's house.

And I was just so upset because I had filled out...

-You were upset. -Yes.

Tell me what happened after you got upset. You're driving...

I let him know, like, I am gonna tell his other-- mother of his other child

that he's using drugs and basically--

Ooh. Now that's, you know, that's a "gut thing."

Yeah. Yeah.

I'm not driving both cars so I shouldn't have to pay interest

for both of her cars.

-No, you shouldn't-- Shh! -I shouldn't have to give her gas money

when she's going to the store.

I shouldn't have to be raising a kid alone.

But you-- if you answer him, I'm dismissing your case,

do you understand?

Lauren Liebel claims her daughter's father, Marco Lara

refuses to return a car that she owns.

Okay. Tell me what happened

after you got upset. You're driving...

I let him know, like, I am gonna tell his other-- mother of his other child

that he's using drugs and basically--

Ooh. Now that's, you know, that's a "gut thing."

-Yeah. Yeah. - That's a gut thing.

I'm not proud of it, but I did it. And so I told him that.

He is-- starts getting really emotionally upset and saying that

I'm trying to take his kids from him, which is not the case, obviously.

He's in the car because Daenerys.

Okay, so let me, uh...

Let me understand this.

You were arguing with Mr. Lara because a couple weeks before,

in your judgment, he had resumed use of unauthorized drugs.

-Yes. -And you had been involved

with him in trying to get visitation with another child or children?

-Child, Your Honor. -Child.

-How old is that child? -She's four. She's about to be five.

And so what you threatened to do was

you threatened to advise the mother of that child

who was involved in a visitation dispute with him

-that he was back on drugs. -Mm-hmm.

Okay. Well, that would be a smart thing and protective of the four-year-old.

-Yeah. - I mean, one would think that

a court who was handling that would be wise enough

to order drug tests.

But you weren't saying it for that reason. You were angry.

-Yeah, I was the one who was... - You were angry.

-trying so hard to get... -Mm-hmm.

- To get it all together. -Yeah.

And he was disappointing. I got the picture.

All right. So, there was an argument. The police were called.

Yes. So, I'm in the car. I say that.