Mom Is Shocked Her Brand New BF Cant Be Around The Kids Custody Court 😒

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]Um, I have read the motion and the response. Uh, Ms. Murray. Thank you. Um, Judge, this is the plaintiff's motion for a temporary order. The parties have three children ages seven and a half, three and eight months. This is a divorce case in which you already issued a one-year PPO in a companion file in December of 2025.

[00:00:18]Um, as set forth in my client's motion, um, on a temporary basis, she's requesting, um, joint legal custody, that she have primary physical custody, and the court establish a parenting time schedule for the defendant. I think we definitely need a referral to the friend of the court and a requirement that the parties use a communication app when and if his bond conditions allow, um, any communication with my client. Um, I would indicate when we filed the motion, as the court is aware, defendant was already on probation on a deferred sentence for a DV conviction where my client is the victim. Since filing the motion, um, unfortunately, he was re-arrested, um, in a horrific incident where he physically assaulted my client again, took her keys and threw them into the street, physically got into her car, took a Starbucks unopened coffee bottle and smashed it into her boyfriend's face, grabbed the youngest child's car seat out of the car so that it fell to the ground. Eight-month-old sustained, luckily, only very minor injuries to his foot and some cuts. CPS is investigating, has already talked to my client and, uh, the older child, has photographed the youngest child's injuries, and at this point has only told my client that they are waiting to speak with, um, Mr. Gates. Um, I have the name of the CPS worker. Um, this most recent incident is on top of sort of nonstop phone and text threats that my client has received from Mr. Gates. Um, he's on a $10,000, uh, bond and there's a no contact order right now. Um, Mr. Carpenter is Mr. Gates's criminal defense attorney as well as his representative in this divorce case. I obviously um disagree strongly with his factual recitation in his response and would only say I think that reads more like a made-for-TV jury closing speech than anything else where you blame the victim for everything, take no responsibility, want the court even after his client played guilty in the first case, um wants this court to think that the Walker police, the prosecuting attorney, Judge Christiansen and the 59th District Court are somehow incompetent and don't know what they're doing here.

[00:02:32]Would also indicate that the police talked to the 7 and 1/2 year old regarding what she had witnessed here before any adult including my client had spoken with her at all and to my understanding that she confirmed um exactly what my client had said had happened here and what she saw her father do. So I think at this point the court is looking at um a dad who um I'm sure loves his kids but has some serious anger management challenges and unfortunately as a result there there clearly threats to my client but also to the children. Um so we would ask at this point as I said earlier that this matter be referred to the friend of the court for a full evaluation and recommendation as to custody, parenting time and child support, that you order um that the parties use OurFamilyWizard for their communication once his bond conditions allow it and that till then any communication would have to go through presumably his mother who's been the third party who's been willing to help.

[00:03:32]Um and my client to her credit has worked with the mother and even allowed some overnight contact for Mr. Gates with the children since this incident occurred. I think the parenting time schedule my client would suggest at this point which I think is generous would be alternating weekends and maybe a midweek evening um Um, assuming CPS um doesn't have a problem with that.

[00:03:54]We would also ask until the friend of the court looks at child support that the court simply order that child care costs, which will be expensive in the summer for three children, just be split by the parties for right now. And that once an appropriate child support amount is determined, it can be retroactive to June 1 with credits for the child care.

[00:04:13]And, um, that's my client's position right now. Thank you. Um, as I already indicated, I have read the motion and the response and I'm not going to We're not going to litigate the criminal case right here. So, I just want to make that comment before I ask Mr. Carpenter to respond.

[00:04:26]No problem, Your Honor. I appreciate the fact that you've read everything. I would just like to point out that since the parties separated, they've been exercising parenting time on a 2-2-5-5 schedule. We've been able to facilitate the parenting time exchanges without my client violating the no contact order.

[00:04:39]We've even since the latest incident, the parties have continued to do the 2-2-5-5 schedule. My client just had the kids, um, for his two week overnights.

[00:04:46]We would ask that the 2-2-5-5 be rescheduled to be the adopted as the order of the court. That's what they're doing. It's what they're still doing.

[00:04:52]It's what the kids know. It's clearly an established custodial environment. My client is in the marital home with the children with their toys, their beds.

[00:04:58]Uh, Ms. Curry is, as always, a very effective advocate, but this, uh, the criminal case did not go down even remotely how she was told. There is no audio tape that was recorded by Ms. Leach that is provided to police. I have it in my possession. Uh, Your Honor, if this case doesn't settle, you're going to hear it. You're going to hear who the aggressor is for. You're going to hear Ms. Leach telling my client at the beginning my my client objected to this violent convicted felon, Mr. Bowman, being around the children. And Ms. Leach was threatening him, "You're about to get your ass beat. You're about to get your ass beat." Just before her violent felon boyfriend got out of the car and did exactly that to my client.

[00:05:33]Uh, that's what happened. That's what's on the tape. Ms. Leach claims to have, uh, an injury. She And something that wasn't talked about is my client wasn't arrested for for the fight with her boyfriend. He was arrested because she told police that my client hit her.

[00:05:46]That's not on the audio tape. That didn't happen. She showed an injury which is clearly an old injury that is in the process of healing. We'll deal with this in the criminal matter at the criminal trial. I'd also like to point out, my client's probation officer isn't violating him because this is a very very weak case. And I realize the police show up, there's a lot of, you know, there's yelling, everybody's upset. So, they're using the arrest of my client just to separate the parties, but this is a very very problematic prosecution and we will deal with that in the criminal court.

[00:06:14]But in the meantime, I would simply ask that the status quo be maintained and I I think that my proposed order addresses everything.

[00:06:21]I would also like to point out, I don't know that there Miss Miss Leach was fired from her job and Mr. Holman doesn't have a job. So, I don't know if there are going to be summer daycare expenses, but I would I would agree that to the extent that there are, it should be shared between the parties. All right, thank you.

[00:06:35]Ms. Berry.

[00:06:37]I would just indicate that my client has her own apartment. Um, she had originally lived with her parents when she had to separate because of the domestic violence from um, Mr. Gates.

[00:06:48]She's been more than reasonable here because he worked in the mobile home park where they lived, she allowed him to stay there. She now has her own apartment.

[00:06:57]Um, I think her I think trying to say that she again made up any of this is ludicrous and assumes that the police don't know how to do their job. I don't think Walker is known as a hotbed of coddling domestic violence survivors and um, charges were brought here a second time against him.

[00:07:16]All right, thank you. Um, I guess my only question is, do you dispute um, Mr. Carpenter's statement that they have been exercising the 2255? They were doing that. He insisted on it, she did it, it stopped obviously when um, this incident occurred and she doesn't think now, given everything that's going on and what the children witnessed, that that many back and forths every week is a good idea. Nor does she know how stable Mr. Gates is right now. All right, so that's why I think her suggestion for alternate weekend and a midweek so they didn't have to go too long without seeing them would be best for the children right now. And obviously we can revisit this down the road.

[00:07:52]You're right. My client is still doing the 2255. My client had the children just the past two days. He's There was only two days this past week that that was without for me. The The last week Wednesday and Thursday. Okay, they're still doing the 2255. Ms. Curry.

[00:08:06]They are not doing the 2255 right now. I mean she's allowed overnights. She allowed an overnight last weekend through his mother. She allowed another overnight last night. She's tried to allow the children to maintain some contact with him, but they have not been doing a 22 55 since his arrest. I'm sorry, that's simply false. Okay, all right, we're not going to going back and forth is not going to solve this here.

[00:08:26]Obviously we need an investigation.

[00:08:28]Um and I think I haven't heard anybody say that we don't. Um so for on a temporary basis um the court will award joint legal and joint physical custody of these children to both parties. Um it sounds like that there isn't an established custodial part of uh environment with both parties. Um however, due to the pending um criminal charges uh I think at this point I think the 2255 is is too many transfers back and forth.

[00:08:50]Um so I will order the um alternating weekend schedule um from Friday at 5:00 until uh Sunday at 5:00 um and then a um also a midweek overnight uh Wednesday night, okay?

[00:09:07]Yes.

[00:09:08]Okay.

[00:09:09]And um Let's see. We need uh it's the defendant's mother's been the exchange person for the children, the third party because the PPO didn't exchange children. Is that what I I heard?

[00:09:20]She has been. They The PPO didn't really prohibit exchanges. Um but now his bond conditions do. It They bar any contact.

[00:09:30]So my client had worked with his mother and dropped off the children there.

[00:09:34]Okay. So uh why don't we just say a third party?

[00:09:38]That way, if for some reason she can't do it, somebody else can um that's appropriate.

[00:09:44]Um I do think it's appropriate at this time that there be um no contact with the children by either parties' paramours.

[00:09:53]Um and specifically this Alate woman.

[00:09:58]Um that all parenting communication be through OurFamilyWizard.

[00:10:02]Um if the attorneys need, I have a template that I use and and the two of you can can tweak it to fit this particular case if if that would be helpful. That would be helpful, Your Honor. Okay. I'll ask my I'll ask the clerk Okay. Um I can My my attention I I know that this is Ms. Curry's motion, but um I can tweak the proposed temporary order that I have prepared to include that language.

[00:10:22]>> Okay. All right.

[00:10:24]That's fine. I just would like to see any order, obviously, that Mr. Carpenter wants to draft before it's submitted to the court. Otherwise, I'll be outside.

[00:10:33]I will not submit it on Wednesday. I'll send it to you.

[00:10:36]I'll send it in Word format, so Okay.

[00:10:38]And I'll I'll ask Ms. Vinal order to send you the both of you a copy of my template because there may just be some things in there that it's a good idea for this case that you may not have thought of.

[00:10:46]Um let's see. I will refer the issues of custody, parenting time, and child support to the Pinellas County Family Law Court. I'll waive the fee.

[00:10:54]Um I'll award the defendant temporary exclusive use of the marital home.

[00:10:58]Um each party has exclusive use of their respective vehicles.

[00:11:01]Um I'll enter a a mutual asset pres- preservation order, no dissipation, transfer, encumbrance of marital assets without consent or court order.

[00:11:11]Um I'll reserve the 2025 tax exemption issue um pending uh further order of the court.

[00:11:18]Um prohibit both parties from discussing this case with or in front of either of these children. That includes with with third parties in front of these children.

[00:11:26]Um And I think I covered everything. Is there anything else? The only thing would be the child support you're going to write ask that the the friend of the court determine that and make it retroactive to June 1 and that in the meantime the parties share 50/50 the child care costs. And I believe I heard Mr. Carpenter agree to that um on the condition that that that it's actually needed that that they're working.

[00:12:04]And he