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Runaway Bride Has Checkered Past

Wilbanks Arrested 3 Times For Shoplifting In 90'S

Updated: 12:26 p.m. EDT May 8, 2005

ATLANTA -- The Gainesville lawyer hired to represent runaway bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks once prosecuted Wilbanks for felony shoplifting, court records seen by the Atlanta Journal Constitution show.

Lydia Sartain was Hall County district attorney in 1996 when Wilbanks was arrested for allegedly stealing $1,740 in merchandise from a Gainesville mall. AJC.com reports that Sartain dropped the felony charge after Wilbanks completed a pretrial diversion program that included 75 hours of community service.

The newspaper said Wilbanks was arrested two other times for shoplifting -- once before the felony arrest and once in 1998. She pleaded guilty to stealing $98 worth of merchandise in the 1998 incident and spent two weekends in jail.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter is considering whether to charge Wilbanks for falsely reporting a crime when she blamed her pre-wedding disappearance on a kidnapping.

Duluth's City Council met Saturday to consider a civil case against Wilbanks to recover the thousands of dollars spent in the search for her.

Copyright 2005 by WSBTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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