Baby Gabriel's mom violates four probation conditions

PHOENIX - Baby Gabriel's mom, Elizabeth Johnson, is behind bars in New Mexico for violating her parole.

"I like fighting for people who are unpopular," said Marc Victor, criminal defense attorney who represented Johnson in her 2012 trial, "and that was an unpopular case and everybody gets a fair trial. Everybody gets a day in court."

Johnson's story sparked national outrage when her son Baby Gabriel went missing in 2009. The well-publicized trial turned Elizabeth into a hated mother. She was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to commit custodial interference.

According to court documents  Elizabeth signed her probation stipulations. She is now back behind bars after allegedly violating four of those.

"She’s obviously not thrilled," said Victor who has talked with Johnson recently. "She feels like she is being treated a little differently than everyone else. She feels like her probation officer is going to back her and say that she’s actually done a pretty good job on her probation and these are minor violations and the person who supervises her in New Mexico apparently didn’t want to violate her. The decision was not made in New Mexico. This decision was made in Arizona."

Here is what Johnson did to run afoul of her probation. She allegedly had contact with police, and when that happens, she is supposed to report it to the New Mexico’s probation department. She didn’t. Court records also show Johnson was associating with a known felon and didn’t tell her probation officer. Johnson left the state without permission and she failed to tell her probation officer she was getting married.

"She’ll be transported to Arizona," said Victor, "and when she gets here she will get an initial appearance and an arrangement. I will sit down and talk with the probation officer here and I will speak with the prosecutor and we will take a look at what the evidence is behind the allegations and then make some decisions and then we will proceed."

Johnson will be extradited back to Arizona in a couple of weeks, according to the Arizona Probation Department.

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