The murder took place in November, 2008. I hadn't heard anything from anyone after I gave my statement so I didn't know if they caught the guy and if they had did he agree to a plea? If he hadn't, would I still be needed? The whole episode went off my radar. Every so often I would look out the living room window and think about it, but that lasted all of 1 to 2 seconds.
One day this past January I got home from work and there was a message from Det. Lewis. Please call him back as it is in regard to blah, blah, blah. Great. I guess this thing wasn't over yet. I was also called by the Assistant State's Attorney (ASA). She told me how important by testimony was as it backed up what Shirlonda said in her statement. What a good witness I was because of the details I remembered. By the time I got off the phone with her I was dripping flattery.
After a couple of trial dates came and went it became real. There was an assigned courtroom on an assigned day with a real jury, judge, lawyers, and defendant. Det. Lewis would again be my chauffeur. It's actually a part of his job I never would have thought was the norm for a homicide detective. I suppose babysitting the witnesses is important, too. We don't want them to run off, now, do we?
Every Monday and Friday is casual day at work. On Monday, April 26th, I went to work dressed not in jeans but business casual. That's always fun getting sideways glances from other employees. Was I being snooty? Was I too good for jeans today? Why is Nancy not following the rules?
I was waiting on Det. Lewis' call letting me know a jury was picked and he would meet me out front to take me downtown. This was supposed to take place around lunchtime. As I slogged through the morning the minutes moved in slow motion punctuated by frequent trips to the bathroom. I hadn't heard a thing so at 12:30 I called the Assistant States Attorney to find out what was happening. The call was spotty so the ASA ended up texting me. Apparently it was proving to be difficult picking a jury. I would be picked up by Det. Lewis tomorrow morning from home. I don't think I visited the bathroom again that afternoon.
That evening I spoke with Det. Lewis to firm up the next day's plans. The issue was some kind of big accident somewhere that impeded the jurors from making it in. The court's switchboard was lit up all morning. Det. Lewis would be calling me some time between 11 and 12ish to pick me up. Okey dokey! It's not like this dragged on before so this was different!
Let's turn the page to the next day and Det. Lewis has pulled up. After I get in the same crummy car from almost two years ago, Det. Lewis and I fall into the same easy chatter. We ended up talking about his kids and his life. I think I've said it before, but he really is a nice man. We have formed an easygoing rapport that is very enjoyable.
After we pull up to the courthouse and park, he texts the ASA to find out the current status as that morning someone scheduled our courtroom for a bail hearing. What? Yes. It's true. Do you think the jury has been picked yet? You are correct. It hasn't.
Instead of waiting in the witness room, Det. Lewis takes me to, I think, the ASA office area. It is comfortable with a couch and TV. Det. Lewis sat on the far end of the couch and I sat on the other end. The secretary has the TV tuned to one of the soaps. It hasn't been since 1982 that I have watched one of those. I saw a couple of actors that I recognized from General Hospital even though I don't think we were watching General Hospital. I could not believe the cheesiness and started interjecting my own lines into the script. I was sure I was the only one enjoying my one-sided banter so I decided to read the book I had taken with me instead. Det. Lewis did a sitting up recline and quickly fell asleep. He snores.
Showing posts with label detective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label detective. Show all posts
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Two-way Mirrors - Part 4
Did you know that on the same street that the police headquarters is located and just one block down is where all of the stripper shows/bars and other X rated goodies are located? It's called "The Block" and is famous in Baltimore. Det. Lewis couldn't help but point out the irony of it all as we drove by all of the lit up signs advertising girls, girls, girls. Crazy, huh? Believe it or not, all parties concerned peacefully coexist.
We walked into the HQ's main entrance. It was a very small area with a large cop wearing a protective vest underneath his shirt sitting behind a big wraparound desk. There was room for one small table and a bench. There may have been a chair on each end of the table. Det. Lewis made small talk w/the cop while I signed my name in a notebook similar to a loose leaf binder. Once that was completed we walked through a pair of double doors and I was in.
It was a labyrinth of hallways and elevators. We made it to Homicide and it was just like as it was depicted in "The Wire". It was an open room with cubicles making up the center and on one wall was a large wipe-off board. There weren't a lot of personnel milling about. We did pass a guy sitting in his cube. Det. Lewis said hello to him. When he looked up he seemed surprised to see a civilian looking back at him.
I was shown to a weird kind of room that was the waiting area. There were magazines and a TV tuned into some kind of moronic programming. It kind of felt dirty in there like I should expect bugs to start showing up. I didn't want to touch anything so I just sat there amusing myself with my own thoughts like why was I put in this room? Am I secretly being watched? How long will I have to wait for Det. Lewis to come back? Speaking of Det. Lewis...what the hell was he doing now?
As my imagination pushed and pulled me in and out of different compositions, Det. Lewis showed back up. I really don't think I was sitting there even ten minutes but when one is in the Homicide Dept. waiting to give a taped statement, it is a little unnerving.
As we were walking to one of the interrogation rooms, he explained that he was going to tape this and another detective would sit in with us as a witness. He was going to ask me questions about that morning and all I had to do was answer honestly and to the best of my ability. It was probably right about then that my mouth went dry and I had an idea of what desert dwellers felt.
We walked down a long hall with rows of doors on the right until we came to the one especially made for us. I really am no good with estimating measurements, but the room was probably 7 x 6. The white table and chairs took up almost all of the area and the chairs were secured to the floor. I was sitting in the one that forced me to have my back to the mirror. To my right at one end of the table was the detective who I am sure was glad he had nothing better to do and across from me was Det. Lewis. The left side of the table was against the wall. The room was colorless. Was this so that it could be easily cleaned up.....if you know what I mean?
Det. Lewis introduced me to Det. I'd Rather Be Anywhere Else But Am A Polite Nice Guy And Now You Owe Me One and then turned on the tape recorder. My heart rate doubled.
It ended up not being bad at all. We went through what we had already discussed and the other Det. asked some questions of his own that made no sense to me as to what bearing they had on anything but who am I to say? Do I wear a badge? Did I promise to serve and protect?
It was over and I had to use the ladies room. So what else is new, right? After I powdered my nose I met back up with Det. Lewis and he drove me back home. He would keep in touch. He promised.
We walked into the HQ's main entrance. It was a very small area with a large cop wearing a protective vest underneath his shirt sitting behind a big wraparound desk. There was room for one small table and a bench. There may have been a chair on each end of the table. Det. Lewis made small talk w/the cop while I signed my name in a notebook similar to a loose leaf binder. Once that was completed we walked through a pair of double doors and I was in.
It was a labyrinth of hallways and elevators. We made it to Homicide and it was just like as it was depicted in "The Wire". It was an open room with cubicles making up the center and on one wall was a large wipe-off board. There weren't a lot of personnel milling about. We did pass a guy sitting in his cube. Det. Lewis said hello to him. When he looked up he seemed surprised to see a civilian looking back at him.
I was shown to a weird kind of room that was the waiting area. There were magazines and a TV tuned into some kind of moronic programming. It kind of felt dirty in there like I should expect bugs to start showing up. I didn't want to touch anything so I just sat there amusing myself with my own thoughts like why was I put in this room? Am I secretly being watched? How long will I have to wait for Det. Lewis to come back? Speaking of Det. Lewis...what the hell was he doing now?
As my imagination pushed and pulled me in and out of different compositions, Det. Lewis showed back up. I really don't think I was sitting there even ten minutes but when one is in the Homicide Dept. waiting to give a taped statement, it is a little unnerving.
As we were walking to one of the interrogation rooms, he explained that he was going to tape this and another detective would sit in with us as a witness. He was going to ask me questions about that morning and all I had to do was answer honestly and to the best of my ability. It was probably right about then that my mouth went dry and I had an idea of what desert dwellers felt.
We walked down a long hall with rows of doors on the right until we came to the one especially made for us. I really am no good with estimating measurements, but the room was probably 7 x 6. The white table and chairs took up almost all of the area and the chairs were secured to the floor. I was sitting in the one that forced me to have my back to the mirror. To my right at one end of the table was the detective who I am sure was glad he had nothing better to do and across from me was Det. Lewis. The left side of the table was against the wall. The room was colorless. Was this so that it could be easily cleaned up.....if you know what I mean?
Det. Lewis introduced me to Det. I'd Rather Be Anywhere Else But Am A Polite Nice Guy And Now You Owe Me One and then turned on the tape recorder. My heart rate doubled.
It ended up not being bad at all. We went through what we had already discussed and the other Det. asked some questions of his own that made no sense to me as to what bearing they had on anything but who am I to say? Do I wear a badge? Did I promise to serve and protect?
It was over and I had to use the ladies room. So what else is new, right? After I powdered my nose I met back up with Det. Lewis and he drove me back home. He would keep in touch. He promised.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Just the Facts, Ma'am - Part 3
So here I was in a car with a Baltimore City detective because I witnessed the aftermath of a murder. I was nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. Detective Lewis, AKA detective 2, turned out to be a very nice person that knew how to put me at ease. He was also quite the Chatty Cathy. Since I tend to clam up when in awkward situations, that was a good thing.
He explained to me where the interview would take place and what kind of questions would be asked. Nothing to be nervous about. We are just going over what happened that morning. It is just a chat between the two of us that happens to be taped in a room with a mirror with another detective as a witness.
I brought up the condition of the car. How could The City send out detectives in such crappy looking vehicles? Detective Lewis whole heartily agreed. I said it is embarrassing. Detective Lewis agreed again. I guess this is a sore spot with some of the personnel. He said if I felt that strongly about it maybe I should write the Mayor. That suggestion went straight to the bottom of my list of things to do. I was sure a deaf man would more easily hear me than the Mayor.
I brought up "The Wire". How close was it to reality? He said it was very close, actually. The comradery, the crimes, the politics all were pretty true to life. He brought up the show "CSI" as an example of the opposite. He said there is no way that a crime is solved by a finger print from a car's dashboard. He then demostrated this by putting his fingers on the dashboard. He hates these shows because they oversimplify the process and cause citizens to become frustrated when the crime fighting process doesn't happen like that in real life.
Detective Lewis brought up the murder. He said that because of what I heard, they knew that the woman knew the killer. She finally confessed to that after much prodding on their part. The murderer had fled the state but they were in hot pursuit and not to worry. They have law enforcement contacts that are helping. They will find him and bring him back. He will not get away with this.
He also explained the situation. The murderer was the former boyfriend of the woman. The victim was the current boyfriend of the woman. Let's give them all names. These aren't their real ones. The thought of using their real names makes me hinky. The murderer is Travis. The woman is Shanel. The victim is Bob.
Travis waited in the car for Bob to show up. Travis confronted Bob on the front lawn and it moved up to the front porch. While this was happening, Shanel heard the arguing on the porch and went downstairs to break the two up. Before Shanel got out the front door, Travis had taken out a knife and stabbed Bob in the lung. The lung puncture caused Bob to not be able to take a breath and scream and that is why I didn't hear the actual murder. Travis then stabbed Bob 6 more times. Detective Lewis didn't go into any further detail except to say that Shanel is the one that called 911.
We made it to HQ and parked. I will get to see where the detectives work and a real interrogation room!
He explained to me where the interview would take place and what kind of questions would be asked. Nothing to be nervous about. We are just going over what happened that morning. It is just a chat between the two of us that happens to be taped in a room with a mirror with another detective as a witness.
I brought up the condition of the car. How could The City send out detectives in such crappy looking vehicles? Detective Lewis whole heartily agreed. I said it is embarrassing. Detective Lewis agreed again. I guess this is a sore spot with some of the personnel. He said if I felt that strongly about it maybe I should write the Mayor. That suggestion went straight to the bottom of my list of things to do. I was sure a deaf man would more easily hear me than the Mayor.
I brought up "The Wire". How close was it to reality? He said it was very close, actually. The comradery, the crimes, the politics all were pretty true to life. He brought up the show "CSI" as an example of the opposite. He said there is no way that a crime is solved by a finger print from a car's dashboard. He then demostrated this by putting his fingers on the dashboard. He hates these shows because they oversimplify the process and cause citizens to become frustrated when the crime fighting process doesn't happen like that in real life.
Detective Lewis brought up the murder. He said that because of what I heard, they knew that the woman knew the killer. She finally confessed to that after much prodding on their part. The murderer had fled the state but they were in hot pursuit and not to worry. They have law enforcement contacts that are helping. They will find him and bring him back. He will not get away with this.
He also explained the situation. The murderer was the former boyfriend of the woman. The victim was the current boyfriend of the woman. Let's give them all names. These aren't their real ones. The thought of using their real names makes me hinky. The murderer is Travis. The woman is Shanel. The victim is Bob.
Travis waited in the car for Bob to show up. Travis confronted Bob on the front lawn and it moved up to the front porch. While this was happening, Shanel heard the arguing on the porch and went downstairs to break the two up. Before Shanel got out the front door, Travis had taken out a knife and stabbed Bob in the lung. The lung puncture caused Bob to not be able to take a breath and scream and that is why I didn't hear the actual murder. Travis then stabbed Bob 6 more times. Detective Lewis didn't go into any further detail except to say that Shanel is the one that called 911.
We made it to HQ and parked. I will get to see where the detectives work and a real interrogation room!
Still That Morning...and more - Part 2 May 8, 2010
I'm not sure what time Jamie and I woke up that morning but I do know that at 9 am a detective came knocking on our door. Jamie answered. Had anyone in the house seen or heard anything in regard to what had happened in the middle of the night? Again, Jamie poked his head in the house to get me. Since I had just gotten out of the shower, they had to wait for me to put some clothes on before I could step outside on our front porch. (Do you see a pattern here?)
The detective asked if I knew anything about the murder that took place. Well, now I knew someone had died except it wasn't the woman. Apparently there was a third person I hadn't seen or heard and he was the dead one. I started telling him my story. It didn't take long for him to stop me so that he could call across the street to, I was guessing, his partner to come right over. When the other detective was in earshot in the driveway detective 1 said to detective 2 that he would find what I was saying very interesting. I started from the beginning and retold my story. They peppered me with questions in a very non-threatening way. What exactly did the woman say? Do you know what kind of car you saw? What time was this? How do I know the exact time? Was I sure I only clearly saw one person? Was I sure of his build? Did I definitely not see anyone else?
They asked me if I would be willing to go downtown to make a statement. I said sure. No hesitation there. This was my civic duty. I felt the only right thing to do was to help get the bad guy.
I can't remember how long it was...maybe within a week or two...detective 2 called me. He left a message on our answering machine that he would like to set up a time for me to come in and give my statement. I called him back. He would pick me up after work, take me down to police HQ, I would give my statement, and then he would take me home. Again, no problem. This was turning into an exciting adventure anyway. I would see what it was like inside where the detectives work. Hey, I watched "The Wire". So cool.
I didn't know which detective I would see since I didn't know their names. I waited by the living room window for his car to pull up. The dogs make a racket with strangers and I didn't want to hear it. I see a crummy grey piece of crap car pull up and there is detective 2 in the driver seat. Can't the city afford nicer vehicles? It's kind of embarrassing. I get in the car, we reintroduce ourselves to each other and we're off.
The detective asked if I knew anything about the murder that took place. Well, now I knew someone had died except it wasn't the woman. Apparently there was a third person I hadn't seen or heard and he was the dead one. I started telling him my story. It didn't take long for him to stop me so that he could call across the street to, I was guessing, his partner to come right over. When the other detective was in earshot in the driveway detective 1 said to detective 2 that he would find what I was saying very interesting. I started from the beginning and retold my story. They peppered me with questions in a very non-threatening way. What exactly did the woman say? Do you know what kind of car you saw? What time was this? How do I know the exact time? Was I sure I only clearly saw one person? Was I sure of his build? Did I definitely not see anyone else?
They asked me if I would be willing to go downtown to make a statement. I said sure. No hesitation there. This was my civic duty. I felt the only right thing to do was to help get the bad guy.
I can't remember how long it was...maybe within a week or two...detective 2 called me. He left a message on our answering machine that he would like to set up a time for me to come in and give my statement. I called him back. He would pick me up after work, take me down to police HQ, I would give my statement, and then he would take me home. Again, no problem. This was turning into an exciting adventure anyway. I would see what it was like inside where the detectives work. Hey, I watched "The Wire". So cool.
I didn't know which detective I would see since I didn't know their names. I waited by the living room window for his car to pull up. The dogs make a racket with strangers and I didn't want to hear it. I see a crummy grey piece of crap car pull up and there is detective 2 in the driver seat. Can't the city afford nicer vehicles? It's kind of embarrassing. I get in the car, we reintroduce ourselves to each other and we're off.
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