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Woman leaves during trial By KEITH EPPS Date published: 2/19/2005 By KEITH EPPS Christina M. Juliano apparently had something better to do this weekend than sit in the Rappahannock Regional Jail. So by the time a jury pronounced her guilty of grand larceny yesterday in Spotsylvania Circuit Court, the 40-year-old Brandywine, Md., woman was long gone. Had she stuck around, she would have heard the jury announce a guilty verdict and recommend that she serve five years in prison. Juliano, who was convicted of a November 2001 theft from the Home Depot in North Stafford, was beside defense attorney Joseph Brown throughout the trial and closing arguments. But sometime between the time the jury began its deliberations and the time it announced it was ready with a verdict, Juliano disappeared. Deputies searched the building and the parking lot but found no sign of the now-convicted defendant. She had been free on a $20,000 bond, so she was not in custody while her trial was in progress. Even with her gone, Judge George Tidey received the jury's verdict and held the sentencing hearing that resulted in the five-year recommendation. He then issued a capias for her arrest. If she is not picked up by March 7, her bail bondsman will be liable for her $20,000 bond. According to prosecutor Sarah Deneke, Juliano and three other people stole several hundred dollars worth of tools from Home Depot by smashing a fence with a sledgehammer and sticking tools outside the fence. They then drove around to the other side of the fence and picked up the items, Deneke said. They were arrested a short time later when they tried to pawn some of the stolen items, she said. The other three suspects got six months to serve for their roles in the theft. Juliano, who has several prior theft convictions, was the only one tried by a jury. To reach KEITH EPPS: 540/374-5404 kepps@freelancestar.com
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