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Pre-sentencing

Interview with Raymond, Brenda, Reta, Ronnie, Germz and Jimmy

JM: Tell us about the pre-sentencing process:
Raymond: Pretty much just every two weeks you would be back in court. 1st time was for an arraignment, 2nd was for the plea bargain and the 3rd was an attorney conference. Where they tell you what the deal was and ask if you want to take that or take it to the box.
Brenda: It took me a year to get sentenced on my case. It was a very long dragged out process. which included going to court twice a month and meeting with attorneys.
Reta: It was nerve wracking because first you had an arraignment hearing then a plea hearing and then sentenceing and all of this takes a period of six months in jail. I was in the whole time and wasn't able to bail out.
Ronnie: It took me about 8 months to get to trial. I was in Santa Clara the whole time.
Germz: i sat in county jail waitig a month at a time before each court date .i went through all kids of race riots and catching more time inbetween each court datei was stressing so bad because i was looking at spending the rest of my life in prison i even thought about ending my life before i actually went to court
Jimmy: I was in jail for 3 days before my arraignment, after which I was released on my own recognizance. I had multiple pretrial hearings and during this time I had to report weekly to a pretrial officer and remain within a certain geographical area unless given permission to do otherwise. I also had to submit to weekly urine tests.

JM: Did you have police stop by your house for questioning? If not please give us details on how you came to be arrested.
Raymond: I was in a stolen car hitting burglaries. They had gotten a description of the car and when we were hitting another place they rolled up on us and that was it.
Brenda: In my case the detectives were looking for me.They came to my house and job looking for me. I spoke with them and set up a surrender date but was arrested before the surrender date. I was arrested at a hotel for being a a room paid for with a stolen credit card.
Reta: I was arrested for a probation violation. I was out on a work release from another violation related to drugs and I finished that but didn't make restitution so that put me in violation.
Ronnie: My first time I was 19 and I was going to a vocational trade school and I went down there with a stolen tools and I got caught that way. I acutlly busted myself for selling stolen tools because I sold it to my teacher and he knew the guy we robbed. The cops came to the school, then my home and then they caught me.
Germz: i was on a high speed chase. i started in menlo park and got lost. i ended up on a small street and couldnt get away. so i gave up.the cops said they were pulling me over for running a red light. i told them just run my name and you will find out. they ran my name and came back with there guns drawn. all the back up were behind the cars with their guns drawn. i came out through the window and put in cuffs. they told me i was a parolee at large and got booked intoo santa rita where i picked up my third strike ,but got it reduced to 9 years
Jimmy: The police came to my house with the specific intention of arresting me. They said they just wanted to talk to me but they lied. I was reported to the police by someone else for a crime for which there is a "pro arrest" policy. I was taken to a police station for questioning, then I was taken to jail

JM: What was court like? Please give as many details as you recall.
Raymond: Basically, it was nothing new to me. I kinda knew what to expect. I will say they were really strict especially for a county jail.
Brenda: When you had a court date you had to be up at 4am. you were feed breakfast and allowed to take a shower. You left for court about 5am to 6am. Your hands got shackled and your feet and you were escorted to the bus. taken to court in the freezing cold and put in a holding cell tell court starts at 9am. there are two to twenty girls in s holding cell (tiny) one stainless steel toilet for all to use. and we are called out one at a time. If you have morning court you hope that you make the morning bus back if not you have to wait till five pm to get taken back to jail and you are normally not feed depending on how the officers feel that day.
Reta: For me any time I go to court it's very intimidating. You had a judge and people there deciding your fate. You stand up and say whatever your public defender is telling you to say. I didn't really understand it all and I had to trust it was the best thing for me. Before going for my sentencing I had gotten into a fight and was on lock down. This put me in a red jumpsuit and I think the judge might have held that against me.
Ronnie: I knew I was going to prison so I was kinda stressed out. I wasn't sure how long I was going to be away. I couldn't believe what I got myself into.
Germz: to start off we have to sit in a cell thats made for like 8 people, but they pack in thirty plus. we sit there and listen to everybody tell lies about how hard they are and what they did or didnt do. its hot muggy and the air is so stale you want to vomitthen after your called ,you go to court and come back and do it all over untill you get back to your cell
Jimmy: My initial appearance was for my arraignment. I was transported to the court from jail in prison garb and appeared in court chained to 3 other people. I was given a choice of plea: a guilty plea would have led to a four week sentence with weekend release, so I plead not guilty. I was then taken back to the jail and released about 5 hours later.

JM: What were your original charges? What did you end up being convicted of?
Raymond: 2nd degree burglary and receiving stolen property.
Brenda: I was charged with False identity, counterfeiting, possession of stolen property, hit and run, drug sales, possession of drug paraphernalia and stolen checks. I had 42 charges when arrested and was sentenced to 18. I was charged with so many because they charged me for every check I had and every piece of mail.
Reta: Original charge was for grand theft but I was convicted on violation of probation from that charge.
Ronnie: 2nd degree burglary, auto theft, possesion of stolen property. Pled to possession of stolen property.
Germz: burglary,forgery,fraud possesion of fraudulant notes , auto theft,and petty theft. i got charged for all of it and convicted
Jimmy: My original charge was felony battery. This was quickly reduced to a misdemeanor and I ended up pleading no contest to disturbing the peace.

Read about sentencing in the Santa Clara County Jail