2018
Mr. Roberts and I had been living together since 2011, but it wasn’t until 2018 that he suggested we get married, although I didn’t learn why until it was too late. His debt to the IRS amounted to approximately $182,000, as per a notice dated November 23, 2020. After filing joint tax returns as a married couple (which I didn’t read because I trusted him), I received a notice from the IRS with Mr. Roberts’ tax debt, but in my name. It had been opened by him and was lying on the kitchen table where I found it almost a year later. Apparently, I wasn’t supposed to see it.
In Mr. Roberts’ Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) that he filed against me in November 2021, he wrote that, “Wife claims I made her ‘responsible for [my] IRS debt’ is not even worth entertaining. As mentioned above, I am filing for divorce and any separate community debt will be addressed, confirmed or assigned by the Court pursuant to applicable law.”
"...not even worth entertaining?”
Reality check:
In my August 2021 DVRO, I accused Mr. Roberts of making me responsible for his IRS debt. In my DV-120 response to his retaliatory DVRO against me filed on November 30, 2021, even as I sat homeless and stranded, I was still able to provide a copy of the IRS notice I received because I had it saved on my phone, and it served as evidence that I was telling the truth.
Mr. Roberts was also having his Social Security payments levied. I knew nothing of this when we got married and it was another important detail that he kept from me. He had arranged our lives so that I was completely dependent on him for my livelihood. I went from being an independent, self-reliant individual to being completely reliant on Mr. Roberts for all of my needs; a mistake I will never make again.
The reasons for my request for a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) against Mr. Roberts on August 18, 2021, include the below:
1. Locked me out of rooms in the marital home denying me access to the master bedroom where he hoarded the pet supplies.
2. Refused to cooperate with civil standbys.
3. Disabled the gate latch to deny me access to the back yard to feed the stray cat, Penelope Pit Stop.
4. Shredded my credit cards, dental card, and EBT card in addition to other mail. I couldn’t buy groceries, pay for gas or refill prescriptions.
5. Accused me of stealing $30K from the safe which I never had access to.
6. Hid surveillance cameras around the marital home to spy on me.
7. Withheld my new driver’s license and kept my blue DMV handicapped placard, using it for himself for approximately nine months.
8. Used his undue influence with his board member who is also a psychiatrist at Kaiser Permanente to have me 5150'd. Attempted it a second time but was unsuccessful because I was not so naïve anymore.
9. Abused alcohol and Adderall. Came home falling-down drunk with his assistant Michelle a few days before our first marriage counseling session, after I had just spent six months caring for his 96-year-old mother.
10. Threw away my cat Lumi’s food dishes while hoarding the pet supplies behind a locked door.
11. Became hostile and threatened to get rid of my rabbits when I brought up his Adderall addiction.
Would use his body to block me from getting away from him or pin me down on the bed, which terrified me.
The list describes coercive control behavior, a form of domestic violence, as described on the Coercive Control page of this website and how it pertains to the law in California, as outlined by California Legislation SB 1141: Domestic Violence | Coercive Control.
He failed to comply with three of my civil standby requests, and even called the police department himself and canceled one of them.
Civil Standby Requests, 2021
While I was staying at a hotel, I initiated several civil standby requests through the Martinez Police Department so that I could see my animals and care for them. I had the legal right to be in the marital home, per Steve Korn, Certified Legal Intern, and Mr. Roberts refused to cooperate.
In Mr. Roberts’ court documents against me, he stated that: “Since the hearing on her DVRO request, after which she moved out of my home again, Wife notified me of her purported plans to pick up her pets and other items from my house a few times, only to cancel or not show up.
The second most recent date was August 8, 2021, when she accuses me of not answering the door during a civil standby with which she claims she had Martinez Police Department assist her. However, even if one was to concede to that ever happening, it would not constitute any sort of abuse upon Wife. “
Reality check:
When I called the Martinez Police Department for a civil standby, the following occurred:
Civil Standby #1
On the evening of August 9, 2021, I called Martinez PD to arrange for a civil standby so that I could check on my animals and gather a few belongings. Mr. Roberts was at home during the civil standby but would not come to the door or answer his phone the three times I called him, at the direction of Martinez PD. However, on the surveillance cameras, it showed that approximately three minutes after the two officers left, Mr. Roberts came outside and took out the garbage. By that time, the officers were long gone.
Civil Standby Attempt #2
On October 19, 2021, I had on the same clothes for six days and went to the marital home after texting Mr. Roberts that I was coming by. When I arrived, the front door was partially open. I rang the doorbell, walked in, and started to head towards the rabbits when Mr. Roberts came down the stairs and escorted me out of the house. According to Steve Korn, Legal Certified Intern, I had the legal right to be in the marital home, as per his email below:
“Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 10:01 AM
Hi Sally, I am still waiting on Karl Conrad, Mr. Roberts’ attorney. I am hoping to get to speak with him today. Also, just to be clear, you are not court ordered to stay away from the house. In fact, you have just as much of a right to be there as Mr. Roberts does. You have the right to return and gather belongings. Steve”
After being escorted out, I returned to my vehicle and called Martinez PD to arrange a civil standby request. As I waited, Mr. Roberts exited the marital home, looked in my direction, and got into his vehicle. He appeared to be making phone calls and then drove off. I waited approximately two hours for Martinez PD to arrive.
As I continued to wait, Mr. Roberts’ son Aaron drove past me very slowly in Mr. Roberts’ Mercedes, while glaring at me as he passed by, stopping before he reached the end of the block, where he waited for several minutes before driving off. I then drove directly to Martinez PD.
I waited at Martinez PD until an officer met me there. According to the officer and unbeknownst to me, Mr. Roberts had called Martinez PD, canceled the civil standby, and informed them that I was merely a former tenant who had a lot of stuff, and all I needed to do was make arrangements with Mr. Roberts in advance. I subsequently filed a formal complaint against the Martinez Police Department.
Civil Standby Attempt #3
A civil standby was then set up for the evening of October 22, 2021. However, I was delayed at Kaiser Pharmacy, which caused me to be late. By that time, I was both emotionally and physically exhausted, causing me to cancel the civil standby. I was not playing games, as alleged by Mr. Roberts and Attorney Conrad.
To add to the cruelty, Mr. Roberts held the rabbits hostage for over a year, even after a court order to turn them over to me.
