An Iowa, USA jury has found a father and daughter guilty of one count of false imprisonment in a case involving a lock up of the woman's husband in a Lyon County grain bin, The Argus Leader reports.
Oriana Groppetti and her father, Craig Olson, now face up to one year in jail on the misdemeanor charge. The jury found the pair not guilty on two felony kidnapping charges, and on charges of assault while committing a felony.
The jury deliberated three hours to return the verdict on the lesser charge.
Assistant Attorney General Coleman McAllister said he respects the jury's decision.
"I appreciate the jury listening to all of the evidence," McCallister said. "I believe they did what they felt was right.”
Speaking on behalf of the defendant defense lawyer Alfred Willett, also said he respects the jury's decision, and said he believes that Lyon County gave his client a fair trial.
"I'm very pleased with the result," he said.
Derek Groppetti, the alleged victim, testified last week that he didn't feel he was kidnapped and that he wasn't intimidated by his wife or father-in-law.
He had flown into Sioux Falls to see his wife on July 21. Oriana Groppetti been visiting her family in Canton, where Craig Olson lives, when her husband arrived and told her he wanted a marital separation.
That night, McAllister said, the whole family stayed up drinking, and the wife found messages about her husband's affair on his phone. She broke his phone, then smashed her own across her husband's face.
Derek Groppetti went to sleep that night, McAllister said, and hoped to fly home to California the following day.
"What Derek Groppetti didn't know was that (his family) had spent the night coming up with a plan," McAllister said.
That plan would have kept him in a grain bin for two to three days, the prosecutor said. He noted messages from Oriana Groppetti to her father that urged him to make sure her husband had water. Water and cereal were found in Olson's truck, McAllister said.
She'd also sent messages to her mother-in-law in California, asking her to tell her own mother in Canton that a plane was on the way to pick up Derek Groppetti and take him to see a sick uncle.
"They had to be able to explain where (Derek) had gone," McAllister said.
Derek Groppetti pushed his way out of the first grain bin and was picked up by his wife, who took him to another farm with another grain bin. They met Olson there, and Olson said "we can do this the easy way or the hard way" just before his son-in-law ran to a neighboring farm house and dialed 911 with a borrowed cell phone.
His wallet and packed luggage were at Olson's home.
"This was not a family dispute," McAllister said. "These were crimes committed by these defendants against a family member.”
Defense lawyers said law enforcement jumped to conclusions too quickly, and that the reality of the case is far more mundane.
The first grain bin was never locked, just secured with a bungee cord. Derek Groppetti escaped quickly, with little effort, then got into a car with his wife willingly.
Even after calling 911 – which he said from the witness stand was merely a way to get a ride to the airport – he stood waiting with his wife and father-in-law for police.
Derek Groppetti said he never felt intimidated, said defense lawyer Willett. That's the first clue that no kidnapping took place, he told the jury.
"If you have no victim, you have no crime," Willett said. "If you have no crime, you have no criminals. If you have no criminals, you have no case."
Read more HERE.
Oriana Groppetti and her father, Craig Olson, now face up to one year in jail on the misdemeanor charge. The jury found the pair not guilty on two felony kidnapping charges, and on charges of assault while committing a felony.
The jury deliberated three hours to return the verdict on the lesser charge.
Assistant Attorney General Coleman McAllister said he respects the jury's decision.
"I appreciate the jury listening to all of the evidence," McCallister said. "I believe they did what they felt was right.”
Speaking on behalf of the defendant defense lawyer Alfred Willett, also said he respects the jury's decision, and said he believes that Lyon County gave his client a fair trial.
"I'm very pleased with the result," he said.
Derek Groppetti, the alleged victim, testified last week that he didn't feel he was kidnapped and that he wasn't intimidated by his wife or father-in-law.
He had flown into Sioux Falls to see his wife on July 21. Oriana Groppetti been visiting her family in Canton, where Craig Olson lives, when her husband arrived and told her he wanted a marital separation.
That night, McAllister said, the whole family stayed up drinking, and the wife found messages about her husband's affair on his phone. She broke his phone, then smashed her own across her husband's face.
Derek Groppetti went to sleep that night, McAllister said, and hoped to fly home to California the following day.
"What Derek Groppetti didn't know was that (his family) had spent the night coming up with a plan," McAllister said.
That plan would have kept him in a grain bin for two to three days, the prosecutor said. He noted messages from Oriana Groppetti to her father that urged him to make sure her husband had water. Water and cereal were found in Olson's truck, McAllister said.
She'd also sent messages to her mother-in-law in California, asking her to tell her own mother in Canton that a plane was on the way to pick up Derek Groppetti and take him to see a sick uncle.
"They had to be able to explain where (Derek) had gone," McAllister said.
Derek Groppetti pushed his way out of the first grain bin and was picked up by his wife, who took him to another farm with another grain bin. They met Olson there, and Olson said "we can do this the easy way or the hard way" just before his son-in-law ran to a neighboring farm house and dialed 911 with a borrowed cell phone.
His wallet and packed luggage were at Olson's home.
"This was not a family dispute," McAllister said. "These were crimes committed by these defendants against a family member.”
Defense lawyers said law enforcement jumped to conclusions too quickly, and that the reality of the case is far more mundane.
The first grain bin was never locked, just secured with a bungee cord. Derek Groppetti escaped quickly, with little effort, then got into a car with his wife willingly.
Even after calling 911 – which he said from the witness stand was merely a way to get a ride to the airport – he stood waiting with his wife and father-in-law for police.
Derek Groppetti said he never felt intimidated, said defense lawyer Willett. That's the first clue that no kidnapping took place, he told the jury.
"If you have no victim, you have no crime," Willett said. "If you have no crime, you have no criminals. If you have no criminals, you have no case."
Read more HERE.
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