Juli Anne Armitage returned missing photos
The criminal prosecution of a local wedding photographer who allegedly cheated more than 50 couples out of their nuptial photos appears to be reaching its end.
Juli Anne Armitage met with prosecutors four times in the past month to return to her clients boxes of slides, negatives and photos from weddings she was hired to shoot but never actually delivered a finished product for.
Because of her cooperation, prosecutors on Tuesday reduced the four grand theft charges down to one. Armitage pleaded guilty to four of 17 counts against her in May.
A restitution hearing will be set July 15 and Armitage is expected to refund thousands of dollars to the couples who hired her.
“An overwhelming majority of these couples are going to get their pictures back,” said Santa Monica Deputy District Attorney Adam Radinsky. “Pictures they thought they would never see again.”
Armitage became the focus of a criminal investigation late last year after a string of small claims cases were won against by former clients and a handful of complaints were made to the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Consumer Protection Unit.
The city in December charged her with 17 counts of grand theft, saying she took an average of $2,000 each from dozens of local couples and failed to deliver on their wedding images.
Since then, more than 50 couples have contacted the city, saying Armitage either didn’t show up at all or failed to deliver the high-end product she advertised.
Armitage, who cleared about $50,000 in debt in a bankruptcy filing earlier this year, said the whole matter rose out of bad bookkeeping. She said she never intentionally withheld pictures from her clients.
Many of the couples who worked with Armitage described her as flaky but well-intentioned and wondered how she allowed her problems to escalate.
Armitage’s attendance in Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins’ courtroom earlier this year was so sporadic that Kamins was forced in April to issue a $50,000 bench warrant for her.
704,A week later, Armitage was arrested for allegedly jaywalking in Ventura, where she now resides. She spent 11 days in jail while attorneys hammered out her plea agreement.
As part of the plea, Armitage has been assigned a formal probation officer and asked to complete 180 days of psychiatric counseling. She will not be barred from working as a photographer, though the court did demand she accept only 10 percent down payment for her jobs and take no more than 50 percent of her fee before photo shoots take place.
Armitage will not face any fines or penalties, prosecutors said, so that every available penny can go to the couples and not to the court system.
Radinsky said consumers should learn from Armitage’s story. He recommended contacting the Better Business Bureau before hiring a photographer and never paying full price until after the final product is delivered.
If she abides by all the parameters of her plea, Armitage will be taken off of formal probation.
When he negotiated the plea, Kamins said he was offering Armitage a life-saving rope that she could either use to climb out of trouble with or hang over her head. He credited Kerry Golub, her fill-in public defender, with finding a resolution to a highly emotional and protracted case.
But others have questioned the way Armitage was treated by the justice system, saying she should have been pursued in civil — not criminal court.
“Any deal probably sounded better than going back to jail that night,” said Paul Cohen, Armitage’s bankruptcy attorney. “There are many a criminal defendant that plead guilty for reasons that have nothing to do with their guilt or innocence.”
“Any deal probably sounded better than going back to jail that night.” — — PAUL COHEN Attorney
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 26, 2003. Read the original PDF.