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Pre-sentencing

Interview with Sally, Pace, Baby, Jamie, Gerard, Manuel, Jay, LKai, Josie, George, Terry, Pebbles, Miles, Mish and Jessica

JM: Tell us about the pre-sentencing process:
Sally: WELL I WAITED FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS TO BE SENTENCED AND TO SEE THE JUDGE, THEIR ROUTINE ACTUALLY SUCKED BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY SENTENCE ME UNTIL I WENT TO JAIL SIX TIMES AND IT WAS CRAZY, I KEPT THINKING WAS NEVER GOING TO GET A SENTENCE, THEN I FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS MY PUBLIC DEFENDEER WHO DIDNT SHOW THEN I WAS LIKE DANG SO THE PRESENTINCING WAS PRETTY HECTIC.
Pace: Usual no drama
Baby: Insane, My charges changed monthly, evidence grew, I had a Public defender till my case got switched to santa ana. Had my bail bond removed because the case was over a year old so first time I had a private attorney I was told My bond was no good I could not leave the court room till I got another one and only had till 12 then I would be back into custody! this was 14 months after I bonded out and never missed a court date! so there went another 2000.00
Jamie: it wasnt a pre sentencing i was raided
Gerard: I was booked at around 5:00 am on Friday which meant that I would have to spend all Friday and the weekend in jail before I could see a judge on Monday. I was taken to Orange County jail where I went through what is commonly referred to as "the loop." It's basically a series of smal cells that housed between 5 and 40 inmates and we got moved back and forth, cell to cell over many hours as the deputies figure out who is getting bailed out, who is going to stay, etc. Many of the cells were pretty small and overcrowded with one open toilet. After not having much space for myself due to crowding in the first few cells, I realized that when we get moved to a new cell, I should try to be the first one out the door of the old cell so I can stake out a spot in the next cell. Having a spot against the wall allowed me to lean back and relax a bit. Sometimes there were enough space to lay down and take a nap.
Manuel: long court days weeks apart
Jay: Was hard, I had no idea what to expect. Going to court from jail is a long uncomfortable process.
LKai: Well I had unpaid tickets that turned into warrants, so I was pulled over by CHP and taken into jail the same night.
Josie: the loop or intake is hell. they move you from tank to tank, make you take a shower before putting their clothes on and its always super cold in the tanks. i sat in the loop for approx 30 hours before being housed in a cell. then i was on 22 hour a day lock down. and there was no free phone calls while being intaked.
George: I spent about three weeks in jail until my wife raised bail money, but we didn't intend to move forward until I was out of jail, so my attorney arranged continuances until I was out on bail. I was accused of writing about 20k in bad checks to the Post Office. Everything really came down to how much restitution I could make prior to sentencing. More money meant a lower sentence.
Terry: THE PRE-SENTENCING PROCESS TAKES AN AVERAGE OF FIVE TO SIX MONTHS OF JAIL TIME THAT WILL COUNT AS TIME SERVED OFF OF WHATEVER SENTENCE IS GIVEN. ITS PROBABLY AROUND FIVE TO SIX COURT VISITS BEFORE ACTUAL SENTENCING UNLESS YOU TAKE THE CASE TO TRIAL, THEN THOSE COURT VISITS DOUBLE BEFORE SENTENCING. EACH COURT VISIT TAKES ALL DAY, VERY UNCOMFORTABLE, FROM HOLDING CELL TO HOLDING CELL, LONG AGONIZING RIDE IN VANS FITTED WITH CAGES.
Pebbles: I violated my probation and went to the IRC from there was taken to THE FARM on a bus. From there I would go back and fourth for court because I had signed a three joint suspension and was fighting a prison term. I was real worried and naive about the jail.
Miles: I was railroaded into pleading guilty my very first court hearing. If I didn't plead guilty to a sixty day sentence, I was to be taken into custody until case was resolved. I plead guilty and got a seven day furlough to resolve my life committments until I served my sixty day sentence.

JM: Did you have police stop by your house for questioning? If not please give us details on how you came to be arrested.
Sally: NO I DID NOT BECAUSE I HAD NO USE FOR THIS AND NO ONE EVER ASKED ME ABOUT THIS OPTION.
Pace: No
Baby: No I was thrown in jail because I need a blood transfusion and pulled over while I was driving so I would not hurt others and pasted out in a parking lot. Woke up to Orange County Sheriff and this living hell
Jamie: busted in is more like it with guns they even helh a gun to my sons head and he was only 15 years old
Gerard: No.
Manuel: no
Jay: No..
LKai: No.
Josie: i was transferred from la county custody to orange county.
George: No. I was unaware of the warrants. A business associate got upset about a business deal, and he ran a background check, which indicated the warrants. I was living at an RV park at the time and the police arrived and arrested me there after the business associate reported to them where I was.
Terry: I HAD POLICE COME TO MY PARENTS HOUSE WITH K-9 POLICES DOGS WANTING TO KNOW IF I WAS HOME BECAUSE I WAS WANTED FOR INVESTIGATION FOR A HIGH SPEED CHASE THAT HAPPENED EARLIER THAT NIGHT. THEY RAN MY PROFILE, AND I WAS WANTED FOR VIOLATION OF PROBATION FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT AND HAD PRIORS FOR THAT OFFENSE THAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR, PLUS I FIT THE DESCRIPTION OF SUSPECT.
Pebbles: I violated my probation for the first time by hanging out where I grew up a known gang area, using drugs, and having weapons, having live ammunition,hanging out with known gang members, and various more things that I could name. By the time I went to getting arrested I had over 50 counts of violations!!
Miles: I was driving down the street I lived on, and was charged by a car head-on. That car was a police car that veered to the side of me when they got close. They started yelling at me to stop the car,I thought they were crazy which scared me so I stopped. They did the whole you know why I stopped you routine. I was informed that they stopped me because the road was wet and I was driving 30mph which was the posted speed limit, but because of the pavement being wet I should have been driving 15 - 20 mph. I stated that I never heard of such a thing, and that everyone would be getting pulled over if that was the case. I had been drinking but not irresponsibly, I felt pretty sober.

JM: What was court like? Please give as many details as you recall.
Mish: My court appearance took less than 10 minutes. Then I was sentenced.
Sally: I WORE A BLUE SUIT THAT SAID ORANGE COUNTY JAIL SJX AND ORANGE SHOES... I'LL NEVER WANT TO WEAR NAVY BLUE CLOTHING AGAIN...LOL
Pace: Usually the same. Better than LA county
Baby: Every court appearance was lip biting, I was always dressed in a suit, and taken for a attorney. I watched the judges take people that showed up in court on time did what they were suppose to be throw into jail just because the judge was in a bad mood. Every month I went to court I never knew when it was my time to get thrown in.
Jamie: hell if you have a public defender they dont even listen to you they more or less say what they want. you go up to see the judge by the time you sit down in the cage bam its time to go back down stairs you dont even know what happened
Gerard: Because I wasn't bailed out (no one knew I was in jail), I went to court in a full-on orange jumpsuit, messed up hair and tons of facial hair since I was in jail over the weekend. I was handcuffed and placed in a small cage to the right of the judge. I felt like an animal getting ready to get slaughtered and in a sense, that's what happened.
Jessica: If you don't understand the court process it is very difficult. They don't explain things to people clearly enough.
Manuel: very unformal
Jay: It was quick, a formality.. Pled "not guilty" and went back Two or three times to iron out the details.
LKai: I believe it was in 2008 or 2009, that they built a courtroom inside the jail facility itself. So what you do now is go to court in the jail itself with other inmates instead of being bussed to the court itself. This was a nice experience, since the judge knows you'll be in your jail clothing and such. So the feeling is mutual.
Josie: they sent me to "video" court, which had a live judge. there were no public defender attorneys and everything moved extremely fast. i felt as if all my rights were being violated and i was given no choices.
George: Frustrating and irritating. The DA handling my case switched several times, so my lawyer had to regularly start over. In addition, I had no real resources to make the restitution, so everything was really designed to create delays that would enable me to earn more money at my sales job.
Terry: COURT WAS LIKE THIS LONG DRAGGING PROCESS OF GETTING UP EARLY AS FOUR AM FOR A NINE AM COURT VISIT THAT WOULD TAKE LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES, ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH FOR SIX MONTHS. INITIAL APPEARANCE,ARRAIGNMENT,PRE TRIAL COUNSEL, BOND HEARING, PRE TRIAL PLEA HEARING, TRIAL DIVERSION, ECT... ICE COLD UNDERGROUND HOLDING CELLS, BAG LUNCHES, TIGHT HAND CUFFS AND SHACKLES, MULTIPLE STACKS OF PAPER WORK, NO SUN LIGHT WHAT SO EVER.
Pebbles: Court for my first probation violation sucked because that was my second time and jail and I was just looking to get out. I was stuck with a public pretender that just wanted me to go to prison for 3 years with half time which he said was a deal!!! I signed for 120 days for my first violation when others only got 60 days with half time!!!
Miles: Court was a crowded specctacle, it was a mass processing of charged citizens into quick results weather sentencing, or pleas. I remember the District Attorney speaking of me in a tone that matched her mean taunting looks she would periodically throw my way. It was a joke! Justice was not being served in that court room.

JM: What were your original charges? What did you end up being convicted of?
Josie: failure to pay was my original charge. i was given a probation violation and sentenced to 30 days. i didnt even know i was on probation prior to that.
George: I was charged with 42 counts of commercial burglary, and I pled guilty to them in the end.
Terry: POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA, FLEE/ ELUDE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER- CONVICTION
Pebbles: My original charge why I got probation was POSSESSION WITH THE INTENT TO SELL AKA SELLS OF MARIJUANA.
Miles: Dui, Driving on a suspended license, wreckless driving were the original charges, and I believe dui and driving on a suspended license is what I was convicted of.

Read about sentencing in the Orange County Jail