Amber Rachell Thompson had an excuse for not appearing at a scheduled court hearing for a minor drug charge. The 29-year-old Clearlake Oaks resident told authorities she had a doctor’s appointment.
After a subsequent investigation, however, the Lake County District Attorney’s Perjury Investigation Unit arrested Thompson on a felony warrant charging her with one count of perjury, two counts of presenting false evidence to the court, two counts of preparing false evidence to the court and two counts of forgery.
Thompson failed to appear for a court hearing on Jan. 24. At a later court hearing she testified that she was at her doctor’s office in Lakeport for a medical appointment. According to the District Attorney’s office, Thompson presented a “Patient Discharge Form” allegedly signed by her doctor stating he had seen her on that date.
However, this doctor had died in November of 2016, three months before the appointment.
In another proceeding Thompson reportedly changed her story. This time she told the court she was actually in Sacramento at a different doctor’s office on Jan. 24.
She again provided the court a doctor’s form stating she was there and the purpose for her visit.
An investigator with the District Attorney Office assigned to the perjury unit discovered the Sacramento doctor does not perform the procedures she claimed she had done, and in fact he only issues marijuana certificates.
Law enforcement investigators allege this doctor’s form was in fact altered and the doctor’s name forged
Thompson now faces a maximum sentence of eight years for the crimes charged. She remains in custody on a bail of $35,000.
The Lake County District Attorney’s Office has received national recognition for the Perjury Investigative Unit and their stance on perjury.
