I was sentenced by the court to 12 months with ignition interlock device on my car and in exchange 31 days of my 45 day jail sentence were suspended. This is really silly, because in my case, a super-extreme DUI, MVD will order me 18 months interlock anyway, and the times overlap.
I have not yet installed the interlock, but will be using Alcolock on 43rd avenue for three reasons, 1. recommendation from lawyer, 2. price is reasonable, 3. after calling lots of places, they seemed the least shifty. This cost is going to be $67 per month for 18 months. I am very glad that I am self-employed and make good money. It allows me a massive amount of flexibility on my schedule and allows me to pay for all of this. I honestly commend anyone who holds down a full time job punching a clock while handling all these obligations. It's hard work managing everything, and it's going to get very expensive.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Counseling
As part of my sentence, I was ordered by the City of Phoenix court to do the recommended hours of counseling that Scottsdale Treatment Institute recommended during my initial screening.
I have yet to start the counseling, but I will update this page after I have started the hours or after I complete them.
I have yet to start the counseling, but I will update this page after I have started the hours or after I complete them.
Introduction
If you're here, then you're probably like me, you were busted for a DUI or other first time misdemeanor offense that is going to land you in Maricopa County Tent City Jail. You're likely confused, frightened, shocked, or just want to know what's going to happen to you. I spent a long time googling and asking around trying to find some answers, and found some very well written resources, found them to be extraordinarily helpful and decided that I want to contribute so I can help as well.
If you have questions, feel free to comment and I'll try to get you an answer. I wasn't in tent city long enough to proclaim myself to be an expert, but I learned a lot of things while I was there that I wish I had known before going. Getting a DUI, especially your first one, is very frightening, and in my case, was an eye opener. It was enough that I looked at myself and said "even though you don't drink a lot, what good has ever come from it?" I drank maybe 1 time per month but thinking back it was clear that I 1. always got a hangover 2. always spent a lot of money 3. always did something embarrassing 4. usually drove after drinking. The average person drives drunk about 65 times before getting caught, and I'm no exception. I'm a statistic. So, in my case, I decided doing something that made me broke, embarrassed, hung over, and in one case, landed in jail, is just really dumb. So I quit drinking. you don't have to, and I'm not recommending you do, but for me, going through something that changed my whole life for the positive in the long term (even though the short term was negative) somehow made it worthwhile.
Thanks for visiting my page.
If you have questions, feel free to comment and I'll try to get you an answer. I wasn't in tent city long enough to proclaim myself to be an expert, but I learned a lot of things while I was there that I wish I had known before going. Getting a DUI, especially your first one, is very frightening, and in my case, was an eye opener. It was enough that I looked at myself and said "even though you don't drink a lot, what good has ever come from it?" I drank maybe 1 time per month but thinking back it was clear that I 1. always got a hangover 2. always spent a lot of money 3. always did something embarrassing 4. usually drove after drinking. The average person drives drunk about 65 times before getting caught, and I'm no exception. I'm a statistic. So, in my case, I decided doing something that made me broke, embarrassed, hung over, and in one case, landed in jail, is just really dumb. So I quit drinking. you don't have to, and I'm not recommending you do, but for me, going through something that changed my whole life for the positive in the long term (even though the short term was negative) somehow made it worthwhile.
Thanks for visiting my page.
CAM - Continuous Alcohol Monitoring
Part of my sentence was CAM, which is very very different from home detention. I scored big time on this one, again, because my lawyer did a great job.
Home detention - as I understand, will be a GPS ankle bracelet that will go off if you so much as go in your back yard or your patio. You'll have to report each week what your work schedule is and they will make sure you are at home when you're not at work, at work when you're not home, and that your travel is straight to/from. You'll get 6 hours per week of errand time, and trust me, they'll make sure you aren't out fucking around at your buddy's house. There will also be a Breathalyzer in your home that will go off at three random times per day, requiring you to look into it for a picture, then blow into it for a breath sample. If you miss one of these because you didn't hear the machine, or you blow alcohol, you're going to get time added at the least, or kicked out of the program at worst, which means more jail time.
CAM - what I got - is simple and painless in comparison. I happen to be wearing that ankle bracelet right now. It's pretty uncomfortable, and I can feel it taking a sample about every ten minutes, but it's not bad considering what I could be doing. I had to get a home phone line, and while they say ANALOG ONLY in big bold letters, I was able to get Cox Digital Telephone and plug the transmitter directly into my modem. Cox doesn't offer analog so this was kind of strange to me that they had the analog thing mentioned. Anyway, every night between 3-4am while I am sleeping, the ankle bracelet is going to connect to the transmitter wirelessly, without my intervention, to send the results from the day's samples, and then the transmitter is going to dial the CAM provider to send it all in. Simple and easy, really. I can go where I want and do what I want as long as I don't consume alcohol, which is easy because I 100% quit drinking after the DUI arrest.
The only drawback, and this doesn't really matter because it's with both home detention and CAM, is you can't use mouthwash, hand sanitizer, or any shampoo or shaving cream with alcohol, or really anything with alcohol. The machine is very sensitive, and while if you used mouthwash, your BAC would go up to .35 or so, then back to zero, making it obvious that you weren't actually drinking, you'll still get a phone call and have to explain yourself.
If you play your cards right, as a first time offender, you can get CAM. My fee for 11 days was $195.
Home detention - as I understand, will be a GPS ankle bracelet that will go off if you so much as go in your back yard or your patio. You'll have to report each week what your work schedule is and they will make sure you are at home when you're not at work, at work when you're not home, and that your travel is straight to/from. You'll get 6 hours per week of errand time, and trust me, they'll make sure you aren't out fucking around at your buddy's house. There will also be a Breathalyzer in your home that will go off at three random times per day, requiring you to look into it for a picture, then blow into it for a breath sample. If you miss one of these because you didn't hear the machine, or you blow alcohol, you're going to get time added at the least, or kicked out of the program at worst, which means more jail time.
CAM - what I got - is simple and painless in comparison. I happen to be wearing that ankle bracelet right now. It's pretty uncomfortable, and I can feel it taking a sample about every ten minutes, but it's not bad considering what I could be doing. I had to get a home phone line, and while they say ANALOG ONLY in big bold letters, I was able to get Cox Digital Telephone and plug the transmitter directly into my modem. Cox doesn't offer analog so this was kind of strange to me that they had the analog thing mentioned. Anyway, every night between 3-4am while I am sleeping, the ankle bracelet is going to connect to the transmitter wirelessly, without my intervention, to send the results from the day's samples, and then the transmitter is going to dial the CAM provider to send it all in. Simple and easy, really. I can go where I want and do what I want as long as I don't consume alcohol, which is easy because I 100% quit drinking after the DUI arrest.
The only drawback, and this doesn't really matter because it's with both home detention and CAM, is you can't use mouthwash, hand sanitizer, or any shampoo or shaving cream with alcohol, or really anything with alcohol. The machine is very sensitive, and while if you used mouthwash, your BAC would go up to .35 or so, then back to zero, making it obvious that you weren't actually drinking, you'll still get a phone call and have to explain yourself.
If you play your cards right, as a first time offender, you can get CAM. My fee for 11 days was $195.
Jail - Tips
Some things that came in handy in jail that I either figured out or learned from others:
Take two towels with you and keep one clean at all costs. One of them you can use to pad your butt in the tanks - you can thank me later. The other one that you kept clean is going to be your pillow in your tent. If you're a one day person, this isn't as important.
Save all your food that you don't eat. Man, this was a life-saver. You'll go long periods without eating, and I'm a competitive cyclist so I tend to eat huge amounts of food and going 20 hours between meals was just excruciating. You can also barter with uneaten food to get other things you might want.
If you don't have to be up for work release or anything, don't take a watch, you'll just find yourself looking at it and time will stand still - this was the general consensus among my homies in the yard.
If the commissary is open when you get to the tents, BUY A SODA. You'll want a bottle to refill with cold water from the spicket. If you don't buy one and they close the commissary for hours, you're going to be really sorry, because there is not a water fountain. You can always buy drinks from some of the dudes in there, but you may pay a lot more.
Save your empty bottles. I found a trick - put the bottle, long ways between the metal frame of the tent and the canvas cover if you're in a top bunk. This will move the cover further from your body and slightly reduce heat.
They'll ask for volunteers for chow, garbage, and cleaning. If you're there for more than a few days, help out, because you get some free stuff and it's appreciated by the other guys. If you're only there a day or two, it's kind of pointless, but it will help pass the time.
Bring a long book. I don't like to read because I have trouble concentrating on a book, but there were very slow dull times in the yard and having something to look at really helped pass the time.
Mind your own - watch your back. Nobody is your friend in jail, you may be in Tent City because you are a petty criminal, but everyone else here is not in the same boat. In my experience, about 2/3 of the guys there have long criminal records. I lost count of how many guys had prison or pen experience. You definitely don't want to piss those guys off, and they're going to talk to you, you'll hear their stories, and while many of them are generally friendly, affable people, they're still convicts. A guy in my tent had served a total of 20 some years in state pen (I forgot how many exactly) and told us not to trust anyone. He looked out for anyone in his tent.
If there is a fight, mind your own fucking business. I cannot stress this enough, don't try to help, don't watch, just walk away. If someone is getting his ass kicked, he's going to get his ass kicked and it isn't worth getting rolled up to Towers for tying to help, and it's really not worth going to the hospital or getting killed/hurt over it. There were some gangbangers picking on an older guy right by my bunk, and I just looked the other way. Later that night that guy ended up going to the hospital because he got his ass kicked. They were mad at his manner of speech, telling him not to say "copy that" to the guards because it made him sound like a suck up and they perceived him as a snitch. You don't want to be part of that.
I recommend an Under Armor or Nike Dri-Fit shirt, and having one made a lot of people really jealous. They are very thin and breathe well when dry, but you can get them wet without making them really heavy like a cotton shirt, which means you can soak it and put it on your head. Think of how the arabs stay cool in the desert. You can go shirtless unless there is a female D.O. (detention officer) on the yard.
Gym shorts are your friend. Of course, all of my rambling is about it being summer, but there were a lot of people who wore jeans and were really unhappy. It can reach 130 degrees in your tent, you want to be as cool as possible!
Shoes - man I wish I had done this one better. Wear athletic shoes that are very comfortable, but more importantly ones that you can wear without tying. I wore my chuck taylors because I don't care about trashing them, but having to tie and untie shoes every time I wanted to go from my bed to the bathroom or something really sucked. Slip on shoes would be rad, or just run your laces out of the top lace hole and tie them in there to keep them semi-tight so you never have to tie or untie.
Leave things you won't have in the jail at home. I left my cell phone, wallet, and everything else that I couldn't have inside the jail at home. I drove myself there so I didn't want to leave items in my car. A couple of guys brought their phones and didn't drive themselves there, resulting in hiding their phone outside the jail entrance. I never found out if their things were there when they were let out. You won't be allowed to wear an undershirt or hat, so don't bother taking one.
If someone is a legit seller of items, you'll know it, it will be so obvious. Our seller introduced himself to everyone. He was trustworthy, but a lot of guys didn't get their items because he got rolled up. If you decide to buy something from another inmate, don't assume you will actually get it. Some stuff is special order in the morning and you receive it that afternoon.
There is a lot of counterfeit money. I can't explain this one but I saw a lot of people asking guys to make change (say a five dollar bill for five ones) and later try to use the money in a vending machine and it wouldn't take it.
Lastly, NO ONE IS YOUR FRIEND. I said it before, but everyone in there is a convict, even you. You may think that guy you spent 20 hours with in processing is your best homie, and he may be your homie in jail, but in real life, you'd never be friends, and he'll screw you over first chance he gets. This is jail, not a party. People are going to tell you that this is DUI jail... it isn't. There are guys in tent city with one year sentences, they did real crimes.
Jail - Processing Out
There is one appropriate word to describe the feeling throughout the processing out of jail -
FUCK!
Yes, it is that bad. You likely didn't sleep much during your stay, you're probably anxious to go home, and now you know you're close but that process is still ahead of you.
You'll be handcuffed to someone else, walked to Estrella Women's Jail, and put in a tank. You probably aren't with your homies anymore, because they all have different sentences than you, and you likely won't make any new homies because now everyone is in a shit mood because they are all worn out. This is, by far, the worst part of the whole thing.
We were taken on a full size bus, with a bunch of transferring out women, out of Estrella, but had to stop at Towers to let the guy out who supposedly spat on a girl and got rolled up. We also picked up about 5 guys at Towers who were being released as well. When we finally got back to LBJ, it was 145 in the morning, with no end in sight, but the guards that night were on point. You'll go into a tank that will be overcrowded with your group and probably another, then you'll go into another tank while waiting for fingerprinting. This will be the smallest tank you've seen since medical, and you'll be called in for fingerprinting one by one. Once everyone has had it done, you'll be taken to a larger tank where you'll have about an hour or so to bond with your group. Everyone is happier now because this is the last step. The next person you'll see is the Sargent, who will ask you questions to verify your identity, and once you do so, you'll be escorted to the exit door.
I was the happiest I had ever been. The sun was coming up, it was 430 in the morning, it was a five hour release process, but at least I got to go home and go to sleep. The jail part was over.
FUCK!
Yes, it is that bad. You likely didn't sleep much during your stay, you're probably anxious to go home, and now you know you're close but that process is still ahead of you.
You'll be handcuffed to someone else, walked to Estrella Women's Jail, and put in a tank. You probably aren't with your homies anymore, because they all have different sentences than you, and you likely won't make any new homies because now everyone is in a shit mood because they are all worn out. This is, by far, the worst part of the whole thing.
We were taken on a full size bus, with a bunch of transferring out women, out of Estrella, but had to stop at Towers to let the guy out who supposedly spat on a girl and got rolled up. We also picked up about 5 guys at Towers who were being released as well. When we finally got back to LBJ, it was 145 in the morning, with no end in sight, but the guards that night were on point. You'll go into a tank that will be overcrowded with your group and probably another, then you'll go into another tank while waiting for fingerprinting. This will be the smallest tank you've seen since medical, and you'll be called in for fingerprinting one by one. Once everyone has had it done, you'll be taken to a larger tank where you'll have about an hour or so to bond with your group. Everyone is happier now because this is the last step. The next person you'll see is the Sargent, who will ask you questions to verify your identity, and once you do so, you'll be escorted to the exit door.
I was the happiest I had ever been. The sun was coming up, it was 430 in the morning, it was a five hour release process, but at least I got to go home and go to sleep. The jail part was over.
Jail - Tent City
Read the Processing In post first, it will help make sense of this.
After 20 hours of being in little concrete tanks, I was ecstatic to be at the Tent City. The dirt yard, with scattered military tents, depressing scenery, and sad people looked like a glorious oasis in the desert after that whole thing in processing.
I'd been told by a friend "if you see a package come flying over the fence, it's not for you" without explanation, and sure enough, not 5 minutes into being there, two water bottle size packages, wrapped in tape, came flying over the fence. This is how guys in Tent City get items to sell to other inmates, and the salesman in there knew his shit, introduced himself to every new fish in the yard, and was making sales like crazy, mostly cigarettes and sometimes Carnitas or other food items. I didn't buy anything from him, but some of my tent-mates bought Crystal Light packets (3 for $2) to make the water taste better. I was given a tour of the place by my bunkmate, a friendly young guy who said he was an ex heroin addict there 15 days for shoplifting. He showed me where the commissary was, the laundry room, showers, and bathrooms. I learned no tricks from him on how to make my days easier, but he did tell me one thing about the commissary - it will be closed periodically if we misbehave, so take advantage of it while you can. The commissary has 6 vending machines - two with food, three with soda, and one with sundries. I took the opportunity to buy a soda, which would double as my water bottle for the weekend, as there is a trough with three cold water spickets in the corner of the yard, which is right by the fence to the girls yard. Often times you can see guys gathered around the girls in the corner buying/selling/chatting them up.
After getting the tour and exploring, I went back to my tent to try sleeping, but it was just too hot. I had a top bunk in the opposite corner from the fan, so it was the hottest place in the whole tent. It didn't take long to figure out that it was a good thing I wore my Nike Dri-Fit shirt (some of the best advice I'll give) because I went to the shower and soaked the shirt, wrapped it around my head, and went shirtless. I repeated this about every 30 minutes until the sun went down in order to stay cool,
At sunset, chow was served. Now, I'd heard stories about dinner chow and knew it would be unbearable but still needed to try it. The wafer cookies reappeared, so I snatched those up, and had about 5 packets of them now, and there was some watermelon that night too. The chow itself was more bread, the same bread as the bun at breakfast, but shaped like a roll - I didn't eat it, some broccoli stems, and the soy based stew, and soy based "potatoes". I tried a spoonful and almost vomited. It was inedible by my taste. It's said that Sheriff Joe set a budget of .40 cents per inmate for food per day, and $1.15 per Sheriff dog per day, which I believe. I'm not a guy who eats fancy food on a regular basis, but this was just inedible, and judging by the trash cans full of full plates, I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Remember I said I was collecting the wafer cookies? This paid off immediately because after throwing my chow away, I noticed the commissary was closed due to bad behavior, so I would have gone to bed with no dinner had it not been for all those cookies I saved.
Getting to bed about 8pm I realized that bringing the biggest towel I could find was sheer genius. I now had a pillow, and since in the summer you won't cover up with your second blanket, you'll be able to cover that mattress pad extra good! You can get some decent sleep here, but expect to be woken up at least once around midnight when they do bed checks and make you show your jail ID, and possibly a few times when your tent mates are being loud. Remember that everyone is not on the same schedule as you, they process people in and out at all hours so you'll be sound asleep at 2am and guys just arriving to the tent may wake you up.
When I woke up in the morning, it was chow time again, that same breakfast I was given in processing, and this time they gave me a carton of milk which I traded for a second bag of peanut butter and another bread, which they give you two of. So now, I have two peanut butters, three breads, cookies, an orange, and a jelly, so probably good for the morning. The commissary was open so I stocked up on about $12 worth of chips, crackers, sodas, etc. so that I wouldn't go hungry again if we lost commissary (we did) and chow in the evening sucked (it did).
By this point, I was feeling comfortable talking to people around the yard and in my tent, and learning that I wasn't hanging out with DUI people, nope, it was 2/3 actual criminals, some with violent history, and 1/3 DUI people. This is the point I started feeling uneasy. There were three fights that day, one resulting in a guy getting jumped and taken to the hospital because they tore his meniscus. Our commissary was closed, so we went to the girls at the fence to give them money to buy us sodas and chips from their commissary. You'll pay more, because they charge 25 to 50 cents for each purchase and you have the risk of getting caught which means you get nothing and you lose your money. The guy supplying the yard with cigarettes reportedly spat on a girl and got rolled up (put in stripes and taken to Towers) but he had guys working for him and they were able to supply us with stuff stockpiled from the commissary. I got increasingly uneasy and started looking over my shoulder a lot, hiding things under my mattress and in my bag which I put under my blanket. A following page will have some helpful tips for your stay at tent city.
We ended up being on lock-down from about 6pm which meant we couldn't leave our tents due to all the fights that day. We could, however go straight to and from the bathrooms and straight to and from the water, but it was rough being confined to the hot tent. I went to bed just biding my time until I got to go. At 1130 that night, I was woken up, asked for my ID and told to get my shit and go. I was being kicked out, feeling as excited about leaving Tent City as I was to get there.
After 20 hours of being in little concrete tanks, I was ecstatic to be at the Tent City. The dirt yard, with scattered military tents, depressing scenery, and sad people looked like a glorious oasis in the desert after that whole thing in processing.
I'd been told by a friend "if you see a package come flying over the fence, it's not for you" without explanation, and sure enough, not 5 minutes into being there, two water bottle size packages, wrapped in tape, came flying over the fence. This is how guys in Tent City get items to sell to other inmates, and the salesman in there knew his shit, introduced himself to every new fish in the yard, and was making sales like crazy, mostly cigarettes and sometimes Carnitas or other food items. I didn't buy anything from him, but some of my tent-mates bought Crystal Light packets (3 for $2) to make the water taste better. I was given a tour of the place by my bunkmate, a friendly young guy who said he was an ex heroin addict there 15 days for shoplifting. He showed me where the commissary was, the laundry room, showers, and bathrooms. I learned no tricks from him on how to make my days easier, but he did tell me one thing about the commissary - it will be closed periodically if we misbehave, so take advantage of it while you can. The commissary has 6 vending machines - two with food, three with soda, and one with sundries. I took the opportunity to buy a soda, which would double as my water bottle for the weekend, as there is a trough with three cold water spickets in the corner of the yard, which is right by the fence to the girls yard. Often times you can see guys gathered around the girls in the corner buying/selling/chatting them up.
After getting the tour and exploring, I went back to my tent to try sleeping, but it was just too hot. I had a top bunk in the opposite corner from the fan, so it was the hottest place in the whole tent. It didn't take long to figure out that it was a good thing I wore my Nike Dri-Fit shirt (some of the best advice I'll give) because I went to the shower and soaked the shirt, wrapped it around my head, and went shirtless. I repeated this about every 30 minutes until the sun went down in order to stay cool,
At sunset, chow was served. Now, I'd heard stories about dinner chow and knew it would be unbearable but still needed to try it. The wafer cookies reappeared, so I snatched those up, and had about 5 packets of them now, and there was some watermelon that night too. The chow itself was more bread, the same bread as the bun at breakfast, but shaped like a roll - I didn't eat it, some broccoli stems, and the soy based stew, and soy based "potatoes". I tried a spoonful and almost vomited. It was inedible by my taste. It's said that Sheriff Joe set a budget of .40 cents per inmate for food per day, and $1.15 per Sheriff dog per day, which I believe. I'm not a guy who eats fancy food on a regular basis, but this was just inedible, and judging by the trash cans full of full plates, I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Remember I said I was collecting the wafer cookies? This paid off immediately because after throwing my chow away, I noticed the commissary was closed due to bad behavior, so I would have gone to bed with no dinner had it not been for all those cookies I saved.
Getting to bed about 8pm I realized that bringing the biggest towel I could find was sheer genius. I now had a pillow, and since in the summer you won't cover up with your second blanket, you'll be able to cover that mattress pad extra good! You can get some decent sleep here, but expect to be woken up at least once around midnight when they do bed checks and make you show your jail ID, and possibly a few times when your tent mates are being loud. Remember that everyone is not on the same schedule as you, they process people in and out at all hours so you'll be sound asleep at 2am and guys just arriving to the tent may wake you up.
When I woke up in the morning, it was chow time again, that same breakfast I was given in processing, and this time they gave me a carton of milk which I traded for a second bag of peanut butter and another bread, which they give you two of. So now, I have two peanut butters, three breads, cookies, an orange, and a jelly, so probably good for the morning. The commissary was open so I stocked up on about $12 worth of chips, crackers, sodas, etc. so that I wouldn't go hungry again if we lost commissary (we did) and chow in the evening sucked (it did).
By this point, I was feeling comfortable talking to people around the yard and in my tent, and learning that I wasn't hanging out with DUI people, nope, it was 2/3 actual criminals, some with violent history, and 1/3 DUI people. This is the point I started feeling uneasy. There were three fights that day, one resulting in a guy getting jumped and taken to the hospital because they tore his meniscus. Our commissary was closed, so we went to the girls at the fence to give them money to buy us sodas and chips from their commissary. You'll pay more, because they charge 25 to 50 cents for each purchase and you have the risk of getting caught which means you get nothing and you lose your money. The guy supplying the yard with cigarettes reportedly spat on a girl and got rolled up (put in stripes and taken to Towers) but he had guys working for him and they were able to supply us with stuff stockpiled from the commissary. I got increasingly uneasy and started looking over my shoulder a lot, hiding things under my mattress and in my bag which I put under my blanket. A following page will have some helpful tips for your stay at tent city.
We ended up being on lock-down from about 6pm which meant we couldn't leave our tents due to all the fights that day. We could, however go straight to and from the bathrooms and straight to and from the water, but it was rough being confined to the hot tent. I went to bed just biding my time until I got to go. At 1130 that night, I was woken up, asked for my ID and told to get my shit and go. I was being kicked out, feeling as excited about leaving Tent City as I was to get there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)