ROLL CALL ~ A Prison List (True Prison Story) (58 page)
Read ROLL CALL ~ A Prison List (True Prison Story) Online
Authors: Glenn Langohr
“I’m sure she has.”
“Good. That’s what we wanted. We left the cut lock on the ground next to the gate on purpose to get a spin cycle going in the media.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Troy will explain it to you.”
I called my Dad. “I’ve got evidence of corruption!”
“What?”
“Trust me! There is video and audio evidence against detective Pincher and others! I can’t explain it right now but Mom used to tell me everything happens for a reason when you believe in God and I’m finally seeing it come true!”
“Good boy!”
“What?”
“Good boy! I haven’t said that to you since you were seven years old and I couldn’t hit a baseball by you. I had a dream the other night and saw it. I saw how much you responded to the encouragement and then saw how much I discouraged you later. You’re a good boy and I’m proud of how hard you fight for what you believe is right. Get me that evidence and I’ll take it to the proper authorities.”
“Dad, only give it to the governor!”
I called Sarah next and explained. I gave her Jade’s phone number.
After talking to Raymond Junior on the phone, Damon and I drove out of the gated community across the street to a Sushi restaurant to meet him. We parked Troy’s van in reverse so Junior would know who we were and watched him park and walk toward us. “Are you Vince’s friends? I just got back from visiting him in the hospital. He’s out of his coma and they are going to transfer him into the jail tonight.”
Damon said, “Thanks for going to see him that means a lot and says a lot about you.”
Raymond Junior said, “Let’s go inside and eat, it’s on me.”
We went inside and I could see what Vince saw in Raymond Junior. He looked true and loyal and like he cared about people. Sitting at the table I asked him, “What did Vince tell you?”
“He said he got beaten unconscious for digging up dirt on the Hadley rape case.”
“Is that all he told you?”
“He said there was more he wanted to tell me, but couldn’t. He said he hoped his homeboys got a hold of me. Were you to in Pelican Bay with him?”
Damon said, “It’s too early to talk about that kind of stuff.”
I said, “You have to earn our trust piece by piece, inch by inch.”
Raymond Junior asked, “What should I call you guys?”
Damon said, “Call us Comrades.”
I said, “Call us brothers.”
Then I explained the three strike proposition his Dad got involved in and told him the truth about what we were doing. I studied Raymond Junior’s body language. His expression looked hurt that he’d been duped by Vince the whole time, then frustrated, then mad. I explained that Vince’s notes told us how much he liked and respected him and that it wasn’t his plan for it to go down the way we were taking it. I reminded him of how Vince had tried to get his Dad to sponsor a nonprofit foundation to help ex-prisoners re-integrate back into society.
Damon told him why he and Vince went to Pelican Bay.
Raymond Junior said, “Vince never even said anything about that.”
It looked like Raymond Junior was back on our side. Then his phone rang. I listened to his Mom tell him, “Your father is missing! Do you know where he is? I just filed a report with the Sheriffs and they asked me if he was with another women, or at a friend’s house! Would you come home and help me look for him?”
Raymond Junior went home and called us. “A reporter from the news is coming to interview my Mom about my Dad’s disappearance. Can I do anything to assist you?”
Raymond Senior, Damon, Troy and I watched the reporter’s interview in the bonus room on a big screen T.V.
The reporter: “The Sheriff’s office put out a report of your husband missing under suspicious circumstances, but allude to the possibility he might be at a friend’s house.”
Raymond’s wife: “The lock to the gate’s been cut! The horse he rode back on is in the barn! He’s been kidnapped!”
I watched Damon put his president Nixon mask on and yell, “We’re going to be indicted for kidnapping! That’s a life sentence!”
I said, “If we would have sent our video to CNN without this report they wouldn’t have played it until they got hold of Raymond Senior to make sure he authorized it.”
Raymond Senior said, “You didn’t kidnap me. I came over here on my own after meeting you on the horse trail!”
Damon changed the channel to CNN and we all watched the reporter announce breaking news.
“This just in. Raymond Senior has been reported missing under suspicious circumstances. His wife believes he’s been kidnapped, as she reported to the media. We have just received a video feed allegedly from Raymond Senior. We’re waiting for the F.B.I. to review the video. Stay tuned…”
I watched Damon audibly groan at how close we were. Now it looked like the F.B.I. might put a block on our voice. Troy said, “I’ll just send that video to The reporter and the rest of the news. Someone will want to be the first to break it!”
It didn’t take that long. The CNN reporter came back after the commercial break. She announced, “We have clearance from our Atlanta Studio to play the Raymond Senior video.”
We watched Raymond Senior’s 30 second sound bite and erupted in joy. I hugged Raymond Senior so hard we both tumbled to the ground. Damon jumped in and then Troy and the rest of us all rolled around in a dog pile like kids. I watched Troy sneak away and video us laughing and playing. I let Raymond and Damon jump on top of me and heard Raymond say, “I want to make another video! I’ve got more ideas we need heard!”
Ten minutes later while we were setting up another video sound bite, CNN announced an F.B.I. spokesman had a report about Raymond Senior.
“The F.B.I. in conjunction with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has concluded that Raymond Senior has been kidnapped by a California prison gang, with ties to Pelican Bay State Prison and a white power movement, to coerce Raymond Senior into being their mouthpiece to argue the three strikes law. We have phone records to substantiate this and one who was released from Pelican Bay a few years ago in custody for street terrorism, extortion and assault and battery on the police. This inmate has been in multiple race riots and took part in a shower stabbing that almost killed two innocent inmates. This is an example of a local terrorist organization funded by drugs. Another suspect to the crime we have traced phone records is a cartel level gun and drug dealer who has promised to shoot it out with the police. We believe these suspects are armed and dangerous!”
I stared at the T.V. in silence and watched Damon’s face go from joyous, to a stoic granite mask just like mine was becoming. I observed Troy staring at Damon and I for leadership and mirror our thoughtful postures. I watched Raymond Senior propose, “I’ll make another video stating I haven’t been kidnapped or coerced!”
I responded immediately. “It’s a lot more complicated than you realize, sir. We need five minutes of silence to pray about it for guidance before we problem solve this.”
I videotaped the next video of Raymond Senior sitting in the Louis the 14th chair behind the table with the chess board to his right.
“First of all, I haven’t been kidnapped or coerced in any way. The truth is, I took part in a lie when I campaigned against redefining the three strike law, as a glaring example of a form of terrorism by our own government. By definition, terrorism is instilling fear. By telling the public that CHILD MOLESTORS, RAPIST AND MURDERERS will be released if the three strikes law is redefined, it did just that, it instilled fear in our public. It was a false fear. I’m confident that the American public will see the facts as this is re-examined. Then I’m beseeching the American public to demand more TRUTH from our government. I’m proposing a third party, maybe on a NON PROFIT LEVEL, whose sole responsibility is to monitor our congress and the rest of our government and their relationship with special interest corporations. The only difference between the thugs in Las Vegas and the ones in government is the thugs in Vegas are gambling with their own money and the ones in congress are gambling with the American people’s money and then pointing the finger the other way to misdirect the attention to another outrage. I’m contacting my attorneys to speak for me, and, the individuals I’m with who are being slandered and falsely targeted, one of which is in custody for uncovering corruption on a local level. I’m asking the American people to stop believing the hype from the highest levels that lead us into a war over lies! Let’s clean up our own backyard before trying to fix someone else’s!” Troy walked into the camera’s view and brought Raymond Senior a bottle of Pinot Grigio wine. They clinked glasses and Troy said, “I support this message.”
I thought at least now it won’t look like we’re a white power homegrown terrorist group.
We sent the video feed to CNN.
A half an hour later CNN announced some breaking news!
“We have received another video feed from the allegedly kidnapped and coerced Raymond Senior. We can’t play the video. The F.B.I. has to clear it with Homeland Security. An F.B.I. spokesman is here to explain.”
“We are working with Homeland Security on this homegrown terrorist group with local task forces on the ground. We don’t negotiate with terrorists and won’t play their propaganda video feeds to give them a voice and encourage more of this extremism.”
I watched CNN go to a commercial and said, “They’re scared of a civil revolution. If that happens we’d be made an example of in a swift execution in the name of freedom.”
Damon said, “Martial law.”
The CNN reporter came back and announced, “We have a legal expert from Harvard here to consult about the three strikes law and the proposition 66 that failed years ago.”
“My research on proposition 66 brings me to the conclusion that child molesters, rapist, and murderers would not have been released if the law would have passed to redefine certain strikes under the current law.”
Troy said, “The federal government can’t block us from sending the video on UTUBE!”
I smiled as a vision flooded my thoughts.
We set up one more video feed. Raymond Senior was sitting in the Louis the 14th chair and stood up as he spoke. “Fellow Americans…Leaders of the free world… Does that statement sound a little hollow to you? Isn’t it time we tell our government to start showing our own Americans who are struggling with addiction compassion. We’re getting closer and closer to the point where you are either working for the government or the target of the government. Now that we’ve given an example of big government manipulating the public on a state level in California with the prison union; you can see they were scared they were going to lose their stronghold to keep building more prisons and giving themselves pay raises. I propose we flip the script. In the name of compassion, forgiveness and rehabilitation let’s look at how we can utilize the inmates who aren’t incarcerated for violent crimes.” Raymond Senior picked up a chess piece and moved it on the board and continued.
“We have to find a way to place some of these prisoners while they are incarcerated so they have A JOB ALREADY and another skill so they don’t get out of prison in our fast paced society without any placement. What if we helped our struggling auto industry by providing them with some workers at minimum wage to help them compete and give rehabilitation a real chance, by giving low-level non-violent criminals a chance to dig some new roots? How about we explore ways to build more industry with these prisoners to produce more “made in America” products in a way that ensures these prisoners jobs when they finish their sentence. Industry, not incarceration for petty drug crimes! What if we put every alcoholic in prison? The pendulum has to swing the other way before we’re breeding more and more prison gangs and violence!”
“I work for Internal Affairs now, Jade. I’m not with the Orange County task force anymore. I live in Marina Del Ray and work out of an office in downtown L.A.”
“John Maltobano, I have a feeling the detectives are going to kill my ex husband and his friend. They uncovered some corruption related to the Hadley gang rape case and they have other video evidence of corruption! Can’t you do anything?”
“Where is this evidence?”
“I don’t know! I can’t call him on the phone…”
“My son doesn’t live here anymore! You already know that! His Lincoln Town Car isn’t out front! Don’t you have to have a warrant to search my house Detective Pincher?”
“We have reliable information that led us to believe your son was hiding out here and is involved in a criminal conspiracy. We have to take your computer and all the cell phones we find into evidence for our technicians to dissect. If your son has sent you anything in emails or any other video feed you better give it to us or you’ll be charged as a co-conspirator.”
I studied Damon’s face and body language, his forehead was creasing in intense thought. I felt something too. Something was closing in on us. I asked Damon, “What’s our exit strategy?”
