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Judge Lynwood Lewis Jr. of Northampton Circuit Court said a recent criminal case could be made into a Lifetime movie.
It was the case of 63-year-old Wayne Wallace Guthrie, of Mckae Drive in Gloucester, N.C., and 59-year-old Amy Adcock Jarman, of Bogue Forest Drive in Newport, N.C. Both pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of giving false information, which enabled them to get married in 2018 near Machipongo in a union that was declared illegal and void because Guthrie already had a wife.
On Sept. 12, 1992, 32 years ago, Guthrie married his wife, Connie, in New Jersey, and is still married to her.
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Defense lawyer Tucker Watson represented both Guthrie and Jarman. The unlawfully wed couple were no longer in a relationship and dissolved the business they had together. It was unclear if they traveled to Virginia together for the trial.
Watson said “Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie have reconciled to some degree. They still have a business together.”
“This is getting better and better,” said the judge.
Guthrie was initially indicted in July on felony counts of giving false information and bigamy. Jarman was indicted for felony giving false information. Guthrie and Jarman obtained the Virginia license on May 17, 2018, after providing false information on the application. They were married at Hungars Church about a week later.
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Guthrie told authorities it was a drunken mistake. But the minister who married them, the Rev. Daniel Lee Crockett, told Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton that Guthrie did not appear intoxicated.
In a plea bargain with Thornton, which Judge Lewis accepted, the two suspects agreed to enter guilty pleas in exchange for the reduced charges. Lewis gave both of them suspended six-month sentences and fined each $2,500. The agreement also called for suspending all but $1,000 of the fine for Guthrie and all but $500 for Jarman.
“This is the first one of these cases that I’ve ever come across,” the prosecutor said. The incident was realized after Connie Guthrie reported it to the court. She was okay with the plea bargain but told Thornton she wanted handwritten apologies from her husband and Jarman, which were received before trial.
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“This was an illegal marriage,” said Thornton. “I don’t know the reasons for it. Ms. Guthrie was non too happy about it … she has many hurt feelings.”
Jarman was prohibited from contacting Connie Guthrie or her two daughters or from being on her property.
Guthrie is in the seafood and trucking business.
