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Grandparents offer $125K father to walk away from custody battle of toddler
OGDEN -- A tattooed father sporting body piercings and a criminal record turned down a $125,000 "walking check" from grandparents fighting for custody of his daughter.
The offer made more than a year ago was only the beginning of what has been a rocky road since Tyler Meibos' daughter was born in February 2007.
Two different cases are pending in 2nd District Court that define the tug of war over the now 14-month-old girl: The grandparents' adoption case and Meibos' paternity action seeking to set aside the adoption. The two have been combined before Judge Roger Dutson with a status conference set for next week.
The case is also complicated by the fact Meibos, 22, has been sitting in the Weber County Jail since his arrest in December for his part in a drunken fight.
"The $125,000 shows the intent of the maternal grandparents to buy him out, to push him out, to excise him from his daughter, because they didn't like him," said Dan Drage, Meibos' lawyer. "There are men out there who would have taken the money in a heartbeat. But Tyler loves his daughter."
"It's subjective, their dislike of him," said Drage, an Ogden attorney. "Body piercings and tattoos are not the basis for terminating parental rights."
Grandfather Blaine Burnett, father of Amber, the baby's mother, made the $125,000 offer in a hospital waiting room as Amber was in labor, according to court records.
The two never married. "Amber's parents were not happy that she was pregnant," Drage said.
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The reporter sure didn't get his facts straight. It was not a barroom fight. It was a "go into someone's home, restrain those in it and beat the crap out of someone while they are asleep with a bar" fight. Two different things. Takes a real man to beat someone while they are asleep. I wouldn't want him around my child either! My understanding is that his lawyer is friends with the reporter. Standard- g your facts striaght!! Amber is very much involved with the child. Tyler has been in and out of jail many times. He has also stabbed someone in the face! Interesting! He was just convicted of the "bar fight" and got 5 years to life for it. Does that change your opinion? This kid has a long history.
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