Meet Juror No. 4361: Denver Author Charged With Perjury After Faking PTSD

Susan Cole thought she had a clever way out of jury duty. The author and Denver cosmetologist dressed up as a mentally unstable homeless person suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from military service and domestic violence. It worked . . . at least until Cole called a radio station to brag about her dubious success. Now, the former Juror No. 4361 has returned to court now as a criminal defendant.

Cole reportedly called Denver’s “Dave Logan Show” to brag about her successful performance, explaining “I put black eyebrows on, red lipstick on, left my hair in curlers and wore a tee shirt that read ‘Ask Me About My Best Seller.’ . . I put my lipstick on like someone who really didn’t know how to put lipstick on.”

One listener was reportedly Denver District Court Judge Anne Mansfield, the judge that excused her. Cole identified herself as “Char from Denver”, but an investigator with the District Attorney’s office was able to quickly find the case. Given her false statements on her past, the case presented a straightforward case of perjury. Calling herself “Char from Denver,” Cole told Judge Mansfield “I broke out of domestic violence in the military. And I have a lot of repercussions. One is post-traumatic stress disorder.”

During the show, Cole bragged that “For about two weeks after when my roommate and I would think about it, or I would tell my clients about it, we would cry we would laugh so hard.” The felony charges for perjury and attempting to influence a public servant may now take the laugh out of the lark.

Cole later admitted she used “Char Cole” as her pen name. She is the author of the book, “Seven Initiations with El-Way’s Secrets,” which promises readers that it will “renew your spiritual outlook and help you deal with difficult relationships and situations.” It uses passages from Genesis and Revelations for such spiritual awakening. This is one “difficult situation” where Cole could share a new revelation: converting jury duty into jail time is, spiritually and legally, a bad idea.

Source: Denver Post