Sherri Papini will appear before judge this afternoon for decision on her pre-trial release
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Sherri Louise Papini is expected Tuesday afternoon in Sacramento federal court, where her attorneys will argue that the Redding woman — accused of fabricating her November 2016 kidnapping and then lying to the FBI about it — should be released from custody after spending a weekend in Sacramento County Main Jail.
Papini, 39, was arrested at her Shasta County home Thursday by FBI agents and spent the night in the Sacramento County Main Jail after being booked at 7:38 p.m. As is routine for new inmates, she was placed into a 14-day COVID-19 quarantine.
In a Zoom hearing Friday with Papini appearing on camera from the jail, attorney Michael Borges of Redding asked that she be released on her own recognizance, and said he was concerned about the conditions in the jail. Borges said Papini has food allergies and had only been able to eat part of an apple since her arrest.
He added that Papini had told her jailers about her dietary restrictions but “has not been able to eat since she was detained yesterday morning.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Alegria objected to Papini being released, saying Papini is a flight risk and poses a danger to the community.
Tuesday’s hearing will begin at 2 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremy D. Peterson.
Peterson also set a preliminary hearing for March 18, and Alegria said prosecutors were hoping to obtain an indictment against Papini before that date.
Papini is charged in a 55-page federal criminal complaint with one count of making false statements and one count of mail fraud.
The charge that she lied to the FBI during interviews could net her five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The wire fraud charge, which stems from her receipt of $30,000 from the California Victim Compensation Board for therapy, ambulance services and window blinds for her home, could result in up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Papini disappeared in November 2016, setting off a three-week nationwide search by law enforcement. She was found Thanksgiving Day morning walking along a road near Woodland with a chain around her waist and one arm and various bruises and other injuries.
Papini later told authorities she had been abducted by “two Hispanic women” and kept chained in a closet.
After she was found, her clothing was tested and investigators found male DNA that was entered into the state’s database. In 2020, authorities got a hit for DNA similar to that found on her clothing and eventually traced it to an ex-boyfriend in Costa Mesa, court papers say.
FBI agents contacted the man in August 2020 and he “admitted to investigators that he helped Papini ‘run away,’” court papers say.
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 10:15 AM.