The court hearing of an alleged abuser came to an abrupt end when an eagle-eyed prosecutor realized that he was in the same house as his alleged victim, Fox 23 News reports.
Earlier this month, Coby Harris, 21 attended a virtual court hearing via Zoom after being charged with attacking his girlfriend, Mary Lindsey. However, thanks to the prosecutor, it soon emerged that he was in Lindsey's home.
The Michigan man was accused of assaulting his Lindsey during an argument last month.
Take a look at the dramatic hearing below:Harris, who was out on bond at the time, broke one of the conditions of the bond by reestablishing contact with Lindsey. The pair had both individually attended the Zoom hearing via their respective devices.
The hearing was supposed to determine whether the alleged perpetrator should stand trial but it went in a completely different direction when state attorney assistant Deborah Davis began questioning Lindsey about the alleged assault.
Noticing something was off, the prosecutor told the judge that she had reason to believe that Harris was in the same apartment as Lindsey. Davis also added that she was "extremely scared" for her safety.
"Your honor, I have reason to believe that the defendant is in the same apartment as the complaining witness right now, and I am extremely scared for her safety," Davis said, per Fox 23 News.
"The fact that she's looking off to the side and he's moving around, I want some confirmation that she is safe before we continue," she added.
As Davis spoke, Harris could be seen shaking his head in disagreement.
Addressing the prosecutor's concerns, Judge Jeffrey Middleton turned to the victim and asked her where she was calling from.
"Um, I'm at a house," Lindsey said. When asked for the exact address, she simply said: "It's my house."
When Middleton asked Harris where he was calling from, he gave a completely different address.
In order to put his whereabouts to bed once and for all, the defendant was asked to exit the home and prove he was where he said he was.
"I want you to walk out to the front of the house, show me the house number on the house," the judge said.
Harris responded: "Um, why? I don't even think this phone has the charge for that, sir. I'm at like two percent right now. I'm hooked up to this wall charger right here."
The prosecutor then told the court that police had reached Lindsey's home and that they were knocking on the door.
However, just as Lindsey reaches the door to open for the police, as instructed by the judge, she loses connection.
"We may need to adjourn this, your honor," Davis said.
When Lindsey returned to the call, Harris could be seen being handcuffed by police as he apologized to the judge, telling him they both wanted the no-contact rule to be dropped and that he was "sorry" he lied.
The judge then tells Harris to not speak any further and that his bond has now been revoked. He also added that even "if you have $10 million, you can't bond out. In addition, the prosecutor's probably also going to charge you with obstruction of justice."
Following the footage being circulated on social media, many Twitter users were quick to praise Davies.
One person wrote: "Great action from the prosecutor to make sure the survivor was safe."
Another added: "Shout out to Deborah Davis the lawyer for doing a great job."
