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| John Jay Justice, Cassandra Draper, Chad Justice and Mary Justice.(Photos: Tommy Witherspoon for KWTX) |
By Tommy Witherspoon
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A judge on Friday amended the bond conditions for three of four people charged with negligently caring for and financially exploiting Johnnie Sharp, the 79-year-old widow of former Big Red president Donal Sharp.
Judge Thomas West of 19th State District Court removed the house arrest restrictions for John Jay Justice; his brother, Chad Justice; and Jay Justice’s girlfriend, Cassandra Draper, but denied a request from their attorneys to allow them to remove GPS ankle monitors they were ordered to wear after their arrests earlier this month.
Mary Justice, the brothers’ 79-year-old mother, also was arrested in the case. However, she did not have an attorney Friday and was not involved in the bond modification hearing.
While lifting the house arrest requirements, the judge placed the three under curfews, ordering them to be at home from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.
The quartet was named in sealed indictments July 3 and charged for their involvement in the care of Johnnie Sharp. Her son, Brad Sharp, confirmed Chad Justice was his mother’s legal guardian at one point. However, he said that changed about a year ago, but Chad Justice still retained power of attorney for Mrs. Sharp.
Sharp has alleged the defendants improperly alienated him from his mother and turned her against him so they could become her guardians and have access to her sizeable estate.
Chad Justice, 51, is charged with injury to an elderly individual, a first-degree felony, exploitation of an elderly individual, a third-degree felony, and endangering an elderly individual, a state jail felony.
Mary Justice is charged with injury to an elderly individual, endangering an elderly individual and exploitation of an elderly induvial.
Jay Justice, 54, and Draper, 36, are both charged with exploitation of an elderly individual.
Court records show Jay Justice remains on felony probation in a 2016 case in which he was convicted of pointing an AR-15 rifle at two teens who were visiting his daughter at their Robinson home at 1 a.m.
The indictments were sealed because the four were not arrested before they were indicted. That resulted in no arrest affidavits being filed, which provide more public information about cases.
However, Cierra Shipley, Waco police spokeswoman, told KWTX the investigation began in October 2023 and revealed John Jay Justice reportedly mentally manipulated the elderly woman, convincing her to give him numerous amounts of money at various times over a 10-year period. Draper also assisted in taking large amounts of money, Shipley said.
Mary and Chad Justice, who claimed to be the elderly woman’s caregivers, are accused of not providing adequate care, resulting in the woman’s health deteriorating, Shipley added.
In testimony Friday at the bond hearing, Marcus Shanks, 53, testified that he is an investor in Frontier Biologics and said Chad Justice is the president of the company and its top salesman. Jay Justice is the chief operations officer, while Draper is the lead processor for the company’s lab.
Draper testified she and Jay Justice have been together for 15 years and have a 14-year-old daughter.
Shanks asked West to free them of the burden of wearing the ankle monitors, saying it creates a hardship and bad impression when Chad Justice meets with doctors while wearing the GPS monitor, which he said is conspicuously obvious to those he meets.
He said the three are vital to the company, which has five or six employees and operates out of the old Big Red building at 720 Jewell Drive, adding that the GPS monitors and house arrests are creating a hardship on the business.
Federal regulators have warned the company that its human amniotic products are “unlicensed” and “unapproved,” and that its manufacturing process violates safety regulations, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.
Shanks said the company sells “regenerative medicine products” to clinics.
In other testimony, Chanler Wailes, a member of the Downsville Volunteer Fire Department, testified that Jay Justice is chief of the department and his absence has made the difficult job more difficult. He said Justice was unable to get his protective fire boots over his ankle monitor, but added that the department answered four calls this week without him and were able to handle them adequately.
He said Jay Justice is only one of three volunteers able to drive the firetrucks.
Draper testified that the company’s products are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, contrary to the letter the company received from the FDA in November.
Full Article & Source:
Judge amends bond conditions in elder exploitation cases involving widow of former Big Red president
See Also:
Four charged in financial exploitation of elderly Waco widow of ex-Big Red president Donal S. Sharp
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