Messages allude to alleged setup of teacher

The estranged wife of a Fullerton high school teacher and her boyfriend documented in a series of text messages nearly every step of a plan to plant a shotgun and marijuana in the instructor’s car, according to court documents released Monday.

Gregory Abbott, 31, a teacher at Sunny Hills High School, was arrested last month when police, acting on a tip, searched his car in the school parking lot and found a shotgun, marijuana and prescription drugs. Abbott, of Placentia, has taught history at the school for seven years.

Devon E. Abbott, 33, and her boyfriend, Soloman B. Silver, 42, were arrested separately late Friday. Their arraignment, which had been scheduled for Monday, was postponed.

Almost immediately after word got out about Gregory Abbott’s arrest, police held a news conference, saying the teacher was the victim of an elaborate setup. At the time, they said his estranged wife and her boyfriend were “persons of interest.”

“The consequences for Greg Abbott were unimaginable,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Keith Bogardus. “He faced a loss of his job, his reputation, his liberty, potentially the custody of his children.”

The plan took several days to implement, according to the complaint.

Three days before Gregory Abbott’s arrest, prosecutors contend, Devon Abbott sent a text message to Silver, telling him where to find her husband’s car. Two days later, Silver repeatedly called police, saying he had seen Gregory Abbott pointing a shotgun at people, authorities said.

“I seen where he put it,” Silver allegedly told officers at the Placentia Police Department over the phone. “He put it in his back seat underneath the seat. . . . It looks like a shotgun to me.”

That night, with police failing to arrest her husband, Devon sent a message to Silver indicating she was getting desperate, according to the court documents.

“We gotta do something,” she wrote. “I don’t want my kids in that car . . . feeling like all our plans slippin away.”

The next day, Silver called Fullerton police to say Gregory Abbott had just sold him drugs, according to the district attorney’s office. Police went to the school and asked the teacher for permission to search his car, where they found an unloaded shotgun, about a gram of marijuana and prescription drugs.

Gregory Abbott was arrested without incident and taken to the Fullerton City Jail, where he was held for a short time.

That morning, Silver allegedly sent a text message to Devon.

“I DID IT,” he wrote. About an hour later he sent another message “YES ITS GONNA HAPPEN! WE . . . GOT HIM!”

Devon Abbott was arrested late Friday at a home in Mira Loma. Silver was arrested as he got off a plane at the San Diego International Airport. He was returning from a trip to the East Coast.

They each face several felony counts, including conspiracy to falsely charge a crime and transportation of marijuana. If convicted on all counts, they face more than six years in prison. Both remain in jail. Bond for Silver, who was deemed to pose a greater flight risk, was set at $750,000. Devon Abbott’s bond was set at $50,000. They are scheduled to appear in court July 10.

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paloma.esquivel@latimes.com