Wife to Stand Trial For Trying to Set-up Husband
FULLERTON — The estranged wife of an Orange County teacher and her boyfriend will stand trial for allegedly trying to frame the woman’s husband on drugs and weapons charges.Devon Eileen Abbott, 33, of Mira Loma, and Soloman Brian Silver, 42, of Portland, Maine, are charged with conspiracy to falsely charge a crime, false imprisonment by fraud, conspiracy to falsely report a crime, and transportation of marijuana, said Deputy District Attorney Keith Bogardus.
The two were arrested last June after police began to suspect that Abbott’s estranged husband, Gregory Abbott, 31, of Placentia, was the victim of a set-up.
The Sunny Hills High School teacher was arrested May 27 after authorities received a tip that he had sold drugs, and police found an unloaded shotgun, prescription pills and marijuana in his vehicle parked at the school.
But two days after his arrest, police said they suspected his estranged wife and her boyfriend had set him up.
Bogardus said that before Gregory Abbott was arrested, he had tried to get a judge to stop his estranged wife from taking their children to live in Maine.
Abbott claimed his estranged wife and her boyfriend then tried to get him arrested so they could get custody and live in Maine.
While announcing that Gregory Abbott would be released without any charges being filed, police said his “overwhelming claims of innocence felt plausible.”
The two allegedly exchanged several text messages in which Devon Abbott provided Silver with the location of the teacher’s car, his parents’ home and his whereabouts, said Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
About the time that Abbott was arrested, Silver and Devon Abbott allegedly texted, “YES ITS GONNA HAPPEN!” and “WE (expletive) GOT HIM!” Emami alleged.
I wonder how many people are sitting in a prison cell right now because of a situation similar to this one? Marijuana is so easily available and the sentences for it so strict that it’s conceivable that one’s enemies would plant marijuana on an unsuspecting person’s property. Gregory Abbott is just lucky that his enemies were stupid enough to leave and electronic trail of text message breadcrumbs for the police to follow.
I’m actually surprised that the Fullerton police were able to figure out that it was a set up. My experience with them has been that they aren’t that smart, especially when it involves cannabis. Also, I happen to know as a fact that, back in the day, there were at least a few teachers at Sunny Hills High School that enjoyed cannabis!