In my last writing I left off at me and my family preparing to go in and talk ed toto the investigating officer handing the police report filed by the mom of the young man I had met on my birthday. In my mind, all I had to do was to go over to the police station, tell them my side of the story, let them know I didn't know he had lied about his age, tell them all that had happened and go home. Simple as that, right? WRONG! Man was I ever wrong!!
I was escorted to the police station by my close family member who had called the day before to let them know I was coming. The thing he said before I went inside still sticks with me today. He said, " just go in and tell them everything and tell the truth". So, I walked into the police station, still a little nervous, met with a police officer and proceeded to tell them what happened on July 26, 2009. I remember while i was talking to her, I happened to look down at her desk and see a brown paper bag labeled "evidence" I'm not sure if it had my name or his name or what it was, but I knew from looking at the outside that things were not about to go as smoothly as I had originally thought it was.
I continued to tell the officer all the details of that day, I don't think I left out any details, not sure if that was out of fear, or I just was trying to do the best I could to clear myself. Once she finished documenting everything, I remember her saying ok, we can move on now to processing and booking or something like that. All i know is, it was at that moment I realized I wasn't going back home right then. I don't recall every detail of what happened, but I do remember her starting the paperwork for my arrest, getting fingerprinted, taking a picture and doing all the things I had seen only on TV. I was beginning to feel like I was on the wrong side of a Law-and-Order SVU episode. I remember something about calling the judge to set a bail or waiting to go to court on the next available date, the whole time I'm listening to them, I'm trying to figure out where this is going and what it means for me. Millions of questions started going across my mind. How long is this judge going to take, how long will I have to be here, where am I going to be, how much will this bail be set for, who has money to pay for this bail, how long will it take to pay this bail, and how long would it be before I'm able to go back home? I recall them contacting the judge, I'm not sure if they set a bail then or we were waiting for it to be set. I do remember the officer saying she would put in a good wood to the judge for me, letting him know I had turned myself in without any issues and that I had been very cooperative during the questioning by telling them everything they needed to know.
After the booking, and the phone call, and the picture taking, then came the worst part. They said I had to wait to hear back from the judge to set a bail. I'm like oh ok, where do I wait? In my mind, I'm hoping and praying that I get to wait in one of the offices or outside in a chair or best cast scenario, wait at home. Well, I didn't get any of those options, I was told that an officer would be there soon to escort me to the jail to wait to hear something, well, that made my heart sank, I was officially headed to jail, like real life jail. I had gone from coming in to "talk" with an officer to being taken to jail for lock-up all in the span of a few hours. I think I must have gone numb, I didn't know how to feel, what to feel, anything. I was terrified, nervous, devastated, all of the above. This was my first time heading to jail to be locked up. My escorting officer arrived, handcuffed me and lead me to the truck to proceed to the jailhouse that was only a very short drive away. As I got in the truck, I took a deep breath and thought about my mom, my son, and my family and could only wonder when I would see them again. I couldn't even comprehend how a car ride on my birthday that steered from loneness and sadness could lead to a ride in the back of a police truck.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and any ones before. If this is your first time, please feel free to go back and read the ones before. I am open to any comments, questions, or remarks. This one was so far the hardest one I have written yet, even though it was hard I was able to finish it. I knew this journey wouldn't be easy, but the further alone I get, the harder it will be, and hopefully the more of a blessing I can be to others. Thank you and God bless!
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