As the defendant jumps out of the car my partner and I approach him and immediately slap the cuffs on him. Now we already know the defendant has a warrant and failed to appear in court but he insists that he just appeared and everything had been taken care of. Being the nice guy that I am, I sit him on the curb and listen patiently to his story. He tells that his paperwork is in the house and wants to get it for us. He insists that he went to court. “No, send your Father in”, I tell him. “He won’t be able to find it. I know where it is and he doesn’t.”, he says. We go back and forth for a few minutes and I finally lose my patience and tell him to get up. “You’re going to jail”.I know he didn’t go and I’m not about to let him in the house.

I lift the defendant off the ground and escort him to the car. Once inside, he starts complaining that he needs to use the bathroom and is nearly begging me to let him go back into his house to use the restroom. I’m starting to get suspicious. There are really only two reasons why someone goes to great links to get out of handcuffs. One is so they can fight and run and the other is their hiding something and they want to get rid of it. My instincts and his body language tell me that he has drugs on him. He’s not getting out of these cuffs.

A few minutes into the drive he starts to close his legs really tight and is almost in tears. “I really need to use the restroom or I’m gonna pee my pants”, he tells us. My partner alerts me that he needs gas and suggests that we let him use the bathroom at the gas station. Okay, why not. As I’m walk him to the restroom I remind him that any attempts to fight or escape will result in an immediate taser deployment (I love my taser). He agrees but what he doesn’t realize is that I’m gonna accompany him to the restroom. Once inside I remove the cuffs and stand behind him and warn him not to even sneeze. “Pee”, I tell him. Nothing. “Stage fright?”. “I can’t pee with you standing behind me”, he says. On go the cuffs. “You can pee at the jail”, I respond.

Oddly enough he stops complaining about need to relieve himself. When we arrive at the jail I ask him if he has any dope on him. I already know he does, his body language says it all. He finally admits to holding Meth. I remove it and throw it away, giving him a major break. It’s a felony to bring drugs or alcohol into a jail and San Benito County Jail is famous for jamming people up for it. Not sure why I did it, this guy’s has been a jerk since we arrested him. I guess I just have a soft spot for drug addicts. The booking goes smooth and we go on our way.

Three days later I learn that the defendant called one of our offices and complained about how he was treated. You must be kidding me. I cut this guy a major break and he complains about me. I never get complaints and believe me there have been times that I should have. Not this time, though. Anyway, last week my partner calls me laughing. He tell me that this guy rebailed through us and didn’t go to court again. Unfortunately for me I can’t be there when he arrests him. I beg him to leave any drugs on him but I would be suprised if he makes that mistake again. A couple hours later my partner calls me and tells me that he had the defendant with him and he was holding quite a bit more dope then last time. He left if in his pocket even though he was begging my partner to throw it out. All my partner says to him is “Karma”. Yes, the jail charged him with bringing drugs into a jail and based on this guys past history, he’ll do some serious jail time. I bet we don’t see him again.

Meth is the worst drug to hit the streets in the US since the cocaine epidemic of the 80’s. However, I believe that Meth is having a far worse social impact on America. It destroys lives and the people around them. It’s an ugly drug and anyone connected to a Meth addict will tell you that the addict has little regard for themselves and even less for their loved ones. They are truly owned by the drug only care about thier next score.

I could tell you one hundred stories of the addicts that I have arrested but they would all be them same. Mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, children and siblings all tell me the same thing: “(insert addict’s name here) has changed and I don’t even know him/her anymore. We have tried everything and don’t know what else to do for him/her. I think jail is the best thing for him/her. I’m tired of worrying about his/her safety. Please let me know if you find him/her.”

When I do find them, the majority are living from house to house, living with people who are either using the addict or are being used by the addict. Most of them own nothing except the clothes on their back and no longer take care of themselves. They all smell like Meth.  I have also noticed that none of them see that they have a problem and when confronted about their family’s concern they shrug it off or pathologically justify their behavior. I wish there was more I could do but I think I am just wasting my time.

There is also an illusion by the families that the addict is going to recover by spending time in jail. I am afraid that all this does is delay an eventual relapse. The state and local government must do more to punish the manufacturers and distributors of Meth. They also need to do more to prevent the flow of Meth into the US from Mexico. Drug dealers need to spend serious time in jail.

This time she got caught stealing from a local supermarket and we bailed her out again. I wasn’t surprised as we are notorious for re-bailing someone who has already proven a lack of concern for the judicial system. CT on the other hand is homeless and laws and court mean nothing to her. I don’t believe she set out to miss court, she probably has no idea she even had a court date. Her only concern is how she’s going to eat, where to sleep and where’s the next score’s coming from.

I’ve spoken to several other homeless people who have spotted her in Central Park and the local liquor stores. So, today I drive between the Goodwill Store, Starbuck’s and the park, nothing. Yesterday we walked the creek searching for homeless shelters and anyone that would help out. Sometimes we give them money but most of the time they have no problem ratting on each other.

So now I just sit and wait. Doing surveillance for too long can get pretty boring and I have been know to doze off if I sit too long and my attention span today is short today. If I get a solid lead then I have no problem sitting a waiting for hours, just to get eye on them; once. Just enough to let me know you are there.

CT’s bond is not that big so I’ll drive around looking for her until I get distracted and I’ll work one of my other 40 cases. More on CT later…