Charge of perjury dismissed against former CC resident

A former Charles City woman was acquitted of a perjury charge during a March 25 bench trial in Charles City Circuit Court.

Deborah Ann Kaston, 38, formerly of the 4500 block of Rocking Horse Lane, had the charge dismissed after her attorney, Michael Hyman, motioned to strike the charge. Judge Richard Campbell sustained the motion.

Special prosecuting attorney Linwood Gregory summarized the case, alleging Kaston lied under oath during a trial last July 17 involving her former boyfriend, David Yates Sr. Gregory indicated that testimony from Kaston was untruthful, with investigator Charlie Hargis pursuing the case.

During the July 17 trial, Kaston’s testimony about Yates’ involvement in home break-ins led to charges being dismissed. While Yates thought he was free the same evening, new accusations arose, keeping him incarcerated and leading to a phone call with Kaston.

Playing a recording of the conversation, Gregory pointed to a line that he pinpointed as basis of the perjury charge.

“I’m the one who stood up for you and lied for you to get off,” Kaston said on the recording.

Hargis took the defendant into custody on Sept. 14 on the charges. There, another recorded conversation depicted Kaston confessing her knowledge of crimes committed by Yates Sr., and his son David Yates Jr.

Rob Tyler, Charles City’s Commonwealth’s Attorney, also indicated in an interview with Kaston at preliminary hearings that information he received from her differed from her testimony.

“You can tell she was telling a story,” said Tyler. “What she said was a lot different than what I was told in the back room.”

And while evidence alleged that Kaston may have committed the crime, Campbell wasn’t convinced that it was enough to convict her.

“This is one of the strangest cases I’ve heard, and I’ve heard a lot,” said the judge. “There is no question that this lady had a relationship with [Yates Sr.]

“Can this thing go beyond proving a reasonable doubt?” questioned the judge.

“I doubt it,” he said, pointing to remarks made by Kaston on the tape that she feared for her life if she did not lie on the stand.

“This is a case where the Commonwealth was on the right trail, but that trail was not hot enough,” continued Campbell. “She feared for her life and it seems that between intimidation and a number of stories, nothing is conclusive to prove she committed the crime of perjury.”