Angela Garmley testified Monday morning that she sent former Murray County Chief Magistrate Bryant Cochran a photo of herself in a skimpy outfit "to keep him happy" so she could win her case in his court.
Ms. Garmley also said she agreed to the judge's alleged request that she come to his courthouse office in a dress and no panties. She said she did drive to the courthouse dressed in pants, but she never went inside.
She told a jury at Federal Court in Rome, Ga., "I thought it was stupid. If I had to do that for justice, it's not worth it."
Cochran is facing a six-count sex and corruption indictment, including allegedly having drugs planted on Ms. Garmley's vehicle.
Ms. Garmley said she had never met Cochran when she went to his office at Chatsworth seeking warrants after she said three people pulled her from her car and attacked her as she lay on the ground. But she said her husband, Joe Garmley, had known him for about 18 years.
The witness told a federal prosecutor that she and Garmley are in the process of a divorce and have been "off and on 5-6 years."
She said her children are 25, 22, 13 and 8.
Ms. Garmley said her parents had stayed in Joe Garmley's trailer park for 25 years.
She said it was on Easter Sunday 2012 when she was attacked by a man and his wife and another woman. She said while she was down the women were striking her and the man was slugging her in the back. She said her oldest daughter, though she was pregnant, came to her aid. Her husband also helped.
Ms. Garmley said Murray County Sheriff officers told her to go to the courthouse to get warrants since the alleged attackers had fled the scene.
She said she went with her sister and daughter. She said Magistrate Cochran came out and asked, "Which one is Ms. Garmley?" He then called her back. She stated, "He said just me."
The witness said Cochran asked about her going through a divorce and wanted to know "if I cheat."
She said he stated, "I heard Joe had a pretty wife, but d---, you're fine."
Ms. Garmley said at one point he was asking if she posted anything on Facebook about the attack, and she said she did but deleted it. She said he then asked for her phone and took some time going through it. She said when she got it back it was on her photo album.
The witness said the judge told her his wife "was not taking care of his needs at home and he needed a mistress."
Ms. Garmley said Cochran told her that if she would come in with the dress and no panties "I would be happy with (the hearing) Friday."
She said, "I agreed to come back. I wanted justice."
The witness said after she got out of the office she told her sister, "Wow. He's a pervert. He wasn't interested in my case at all. He just wanted to get in my pants."
In regard to the picture she sent, she said Cochran "wanted to see what he would be getting."
Ms. Garmley said she and the judge exchanged phone numbers and they began texting and calling. She said he once asked "if she liked to give and receive" and she said she told him she did. She said he asked if she liked sex rough or not rough, and she told him rough.
She said she became angry when Cochran told her husband that she was the one who propositioned him. She said she demanded that he "tell Joe the truth."
Ms. Garmley said she recorded one conversation she had with Cochran, and it was played to the jury.
Cochran asked about Joe Garmley, "Does he have access to your messages? That is the only thing that can come back and bite me in the tail."
He also said, "We've not done a thing. I know we joked around some on the text messages."
Ms. Garmley said she told Joe Garmley her side of the story, and he became angry and went to several officials demanding that Magistrate Cochran resign.
She said she and Cochran had one more meeting - at the playground at Spring Place School. She said she intended to record the meeting, but when Cochran spotted her phone he told her "No phones."
Ms. Garmley said Cochran "wanted to talk to me in person."
She said he "begged me to please calm Joe down. He didn't need that. It was during the election."
The witness also said that Cochran told her he was going to tell his wife about their dalliance.
Clifford "CJ" Joyce was among those she smoked meth with, she said, and he is the one she blamed for planting the drugs. She said he came to her residence at 1:30 a.m. shortly before her traffic stop. She said he was acting extremely nervous and asked to use the bathroom. Then he asked if there was a back door. When he was told there was only a back window, he crawled out it.
She said her car was parked by the window.
Ms. Garmley said after CJ left "I knew he'd done something. I was worried to death." She said she called over another friend and he helped search her house. She said she did not search the car because it was locked, and did not think to look underneath the vehicle.
Ms. Garmley admitted she has been involved in buying ingredients for meth production and in using meth. She was arrested in Whitfield County in July on a charge of distributing meth.
She said she would often buy ingredients for the couple she says attacked her leading her to seek the warrant. She said they fell out after she stopped the ingredient buying.
She said when she was hauling drugs she would keep it in her bra or her glasses holder.
Ms. Garmley said on the day she was arrested in 2012 she had been smoking meth with friends. She said her young daughter and her friend were at the house where the party was going on. Asked where they were, she said they were in a bedroom with the mother of friend Randy "Bubba" Crook.
She said that day that Crook had asked her to go buy $80 worth of meth from "Yank."
The witness said during the party she stepped on a nail and it hurt so much she could not drive. She asked Jason Southern, who was at the party, to drive her home. The vehicle was stopped near her house after an officer saw the bright lights on and turned around to check it.
GBI Agent James Harris said former Murray County Capt. Michael Henderson, who was at the scene of the Garmley arrest, said it was Bryant Cochran who called in the tip on the drugs being under the vehicle. He said Cochran said he got the tip from Mike Winkler.
An FBI specialist found that Cochran deleted numerous text messages at the time he was meeting and talking with Ms. Garmley. He deleted two on April 8, 17 on April 9, 53 on April 10, 32 on April 11, 3 on April 12, 5 on April 13 and 1 on April 14.