Probation

Well, I am appealing the case. The judge gave me the maximum fine and since I already spent 7 days in jail on the Disorderly Conduct charge and the new charge (they changed it when I got to court and deceived me into thinking it was still a DC charge) is a class C misdemeanor, they may rule for a maximum 30-day sentence and say the 7 days I already spent do not count. But today, I file the appeal and will appear at the probation officer's place. Even though they said I didn't have to if I appeal, I am going to, just to be on the safe side because they only put me on probation in order to violate me, so I want to make sure I do everything right - even though none of that matters in Decatur County, TN...I have no real idea how any of this works, which is how I came to lose the case the first time around. They knew the warrant was worthless, so they deceived me into thinking the "new" charge, a Class C misdemeanor, was the same as the original one, just more specific or whatever. This apparently rendered the original warrant - which was made after my arrest - useless to the judge, who is as crooked as they come (Ricky Woods, Decatur County, TN) and had already decided I was guilty before the hearing began. He read the newspaper while I tried to testify on my own behalf!

You may recall that I was trying to get a private attorney. Well, the one I found wanted $500 up-front and I simply could not come up with that, no matter how hard I tried - I even got a title loan on my car. I offered him partial payment, but he said he could not accept that. When I got to court on the 1^st, I requested a lawyer be appointed me and the judge told me, "This was your day - you said you were going to have an attorney." I explained the situation to him and he told me to sit down and the DA (Adam Jowers - Decatur County, TN) would talk to me.

The DA told me that if I plead guilty, he would ask for a $10 fine and court costs and I told him I could not afford that and I was going to plead not guilty. He came back a few moments later with a piece of paper, charging me with making a non-emergency phonecall to 911 and explained that it was "the same" as the Disorderly Conduct with which I had been charged.

When called to the table, I again requested a lawyer be appointed to me, but when he did not reply, I told him I guessed I could represent myself if I was not allowed one - which I guess I was not. The DA had me sign a waiver, making it a hearing of merit instead of a preliminary hearing, which I hesitated to do, but the way they were rushing things and not giving me information, I felt pressured to do so, and did.

In his opening statement, the DA not only entered the new charge as a Class C misdemeanor - not a Disorderly Conduct charge by any means (though it carries the same sentence) - even though I was assured during the hearing that I was still being charged with Disorderly Conduct, not in addition to, but by this "new" charge. In other words, they played semantics and spin to deceive me. Also in his opening statement, the DA changed the date on which the non-emergency 911 phonecall supposedly took place to the day after I had been arrested - the 12^th instead of the 11^th - even though the warrant specifically stated the 11^th three times and the scant "evidence" I had (several screen caps from the computer, showing that there was no activity after the 11^th) were never admitted. Had I known they were going to change the date along with the charge, I never would have agreed to that, period!

The sheriff (Kenny Fox - Decatur County, TN) perjured himself several times on the stand, but both he and the arresting officer said that the warrant was not with them when they came to arrest me at my house and Kenny Fox admitted he had not written the warrant until Monday, the 13^th, which was a date on which he had to appear in court. He claimed the date was an error he made three times while writing out the warrant, which he did not do until 2-3 days after the false arrest.

The 911 operator stated that my name and address came up on the caller ID and never once said she felt scared or frightened by the phonecall, even when directly questioned as to that; she said she "didn't know what to think" and that it was "confusing." She said she decided to send a unit out to my house because she didn't know what to think.

Later, I had to quarrel with the Decatur County, TN assistant DA, Adam Jowers, to see a copy of the log the 911 operator brought with her. It was handwritten. Though the 911 operator claimed she had made the decision to send a unit out to my house to check on the call and was unaware of any previous calls made by me or the situation at-hand, the log specifically stated I had a conflict with a "girlfriend" and Kenny Fox said to send a unit out to pick me up if I called. The 911 operator perjured herself on the stand.

Sheriff of Decatur County, TN, Kenny Fox, said that the address at which the warrant says I was arrested - an address which does not exist - was a "general address for the housing projects" where I live. When asked if he was in the habit of assigning "general addresses" to other subdivisions and neighborhoods, sheriff Kenny Fox did not reply. Kenny Fox then said that, when I entered the jail, I refused to give them my name, so they had to hold me past Monday, the 13^th (when I should have gone to court), because I had been booked in as a "John Doe." Again, the 911 operator said my name and number came up on the caller ID and she had decided to send a unit out to my house to investigate. The arresting officer stated he arrested me at my house.

The warrant has the wrong address, the wrong date, and was never signed by me. Sheriff Kenny Fox (Decatur County, TN - Badge #793) admitted on the stand that the signature at the bottom of the warrant (violator's signature) was his when directly questioned as to that fact. Further, the warrant implicitly states that, "On 08/11/07 Mr. Christophe Lynn did create a hazardous and physically offensive condition by calling 911 acting in a violent behavior. Mr. Lynn was under the influence of a [sic] alcoholic beverage. Also Mr. Lynn was making unreasonable noise which prevents others from carrying on lawful activities."

Nowhere does it state anything about a non-emergency call to 911 and the 911 operator testified under oath that she did not feel threatened or frightened by the call. The date for my court appearance is correctly listed as the 20^th of August; that makes it 4 times that Chief officer, Kenny Fox, of Decatur County, TN, specifically listed the "wrong" date by "accident."

The warrant contains the wrong address, the wrong date, an unspecific charge later changed, and was never signed by myself. I was held for 7 days on a Disorderly Conduct charge (which carries a 12-hour stay, not 7 days) - 3 of which were spent in the "drunk tank" - without bond. Bond was granted on the following Friday (the 18^th) and set at $500, even though I have no prior convictions because I have never been arrested before in my life for anything.

While being held, I was told that the bond was $350. We found out on or around Wednesday that they had me listed as a Public Intoxication in the computer, so they changed it to Disorderly Conduct. That made the bond go to $500. I was repeatedly taunted, mocked, insulted, and threatened by the guards. I was told repeatedly, "You did this to yourself because you wouldn't cooperate."

When the arresting officer came to the door, he stood in the doorway and asked me to come outside to talk to him. I told him I would not, because he was trying to entrap me. He said he would not leave until I came outside to talk to him. When I acquiesced, he said, "Now I'm gonna be a nice guy and let you lock your door."

When led into the station to be booked, the guy filling out the form asked me my name and how to spell it. He then asked me what "they" call me (Chris), then he asked me how to spell it, then said, "Well which is it - Chris or Christopher?" When I told him either, he asked me, "So what's your real name?" I repeated "Christopher" and he asked me how to spell it. I repeated it and he said, "Well, what do your friends and family call you? How do you spell it? So which is your real name? What do they call you on the street?" After several minutes of this Abbott & Costello routine, I finally said, "You're not going to write my name down, no matter what I tell you! You're being obstinate and I'm tired of it. Quit provoking me." He then accused me of "not cooperating."

He left the room and another officer came back with the warrant and asked me to sign it. I tried reading it and could not understand it because I had been drinking and was extremely upset, so I asked for a lawyer and the officer told me, "Oh, we don't need to go through all that. Just sign it!" I refused because - as I stated - I felt I was being intimidated and under duress, and was once again told I was "not cooperating."

So today, I have to go file an appeal and then go by the probation office. Supposedly, I do not have to see the probation officer once I file the appeal, but I have to take him a copy of it. I have no idea how this works from here and playing it by the rules hasn't worked so far, so I don't know what to expect. If I do not reappear today, they may have locked me up again for something - after all, they don't need a reason to do so, apparently.

So I wrote this version of the events, just in case, and I am publishing it so there is no doubt as to when it was set forth.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008