Day two in the arbitration hearing of former Port Arthur Police Det. Mickey Sterling brought face-to-face testimony from a friend of Carol Gauthier and phone call testimony from so-called psychic medium Karen Jannise, among others.

The arbitration stems from a complaint from a police detective against Sterling and others. Earlier this year, Port Arthur Police Det. Elie Van Horn filed a Whistleblower suit against Sterling and four other officers for alleged issues ranging from obstruction of justice or retaliation and misuse of official information to official oppression.

By Wednesday’s end, a complicated connection between Gauthier, Jannise, Krisandra Zapata and Angela Ashcraft who is an ex-girlfriend of Sterling came to light.

Zapata, a floral designer who sells roses at area clubs and restaurants, was at the hearing under subpoena and is friends with Gauthier. Gauthier’s husband Joseph has been missing for about two years since his truck was found at the top of the Rainbow Bridge; his body has never been found and authorities suspect foul play in his disappearance.

Zapata was friends with Ashcraft, and became angry with Ashcraft when she learned that Ashcraft lied about Gauthier being a likely suspect in her own husbands disappearance.

Zapata said Ashcraft wanted to coerce Sterling and now resigned Sgt. Scott Gaspard into obtaining a search warrant for Gauthier’s phone as a way to check for any messages involving Ashcraft who did not want to be involved in the case or the rumor that Gaspard was having an affair with Jannise.

“I was on my way home from work and Angela called me and asked if I had blocked her on Facebook,” Zapata said, adding that yes, she did block her. “She said I need to talk with you. I was mad at her. I told her it wasn’t right to get a search warrant for Carol’s phone from the judge.”

The relationship between Sterling and Ashcraft fell apart and Zapata said she told Sterling she thought he and Ashcraft were pretty dirty for the search warrant on Gauthier’s phone “if y’all are so concerned about Carol’s husband why not get her phone a year ago or the (Joseph Gauthier’s) ex-wife’s phone,” she said.

Zapata alleged Gauthier was harassed —bones were placed in her yard, dog feces lit on fire and paint was thrown on her car.

“I thought it had something to do with the police and that psychic (Jannise),” she said.

Jannise, in a sworn testimony via speakerphone, said she felt Ashcraft was being deceptive so she contacted Gauthier who asked if she (Jannise) would go to the police station the next day and talk to Officer Brian Fanette who was originally assigned to the Joseph Gauthier case.

After a while Gaspard took the lead in the case with Jannise working alongside the detectives using her gift, as she called it, to try and locate Joseph Gauthier’s body.

During testimony Bettye Lynn, attorney for the city, asked Jannise whether Sterling or Gaspard encouraged her to place bones in Gauthier’s yard — her answer caused a few eyebrow to raise in the room.

“That was me,” Jannise said.

“Did Mr. Sterling or Gaspard suggest that you do this?” Lynn asked.

“No, that was my idea,” Jannise answered, adding that she didn’t tell them until after she did it.

Jannise described Sterling as arrogant, calling her crazy and he said that she didn’t know what she was talking about during the investigation. She said she left crying.

 

She eventually spoke with an officer with the Texas Rangers and gave him everything she had on the case.

The hearing is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Thursday on the fifth floor of Port Arthur city hall.