Lots has happened in my life since that dark and horrible time in my life that I last really used this blog. I’m going to try to update as best I can.
My now ex-wife and her sister formally filed criminal charges against me. I discovered this only when what appeared to be an advertisement from an attorney came in the mail. It said that I had a warrant out for my arrest! Not believing everything I read, I looked it up through Indiana’s online court system. It was true.
This news came to me on a weekend, lawyers typically don’t work on the weekend – but the one that sent me the flyer/ad did! So I hired her. I wanted to get that warrant taken care of as soon as possible. I felt like I was running from the law, and it kept me up at night. Unfortunately due to the charges, there was a 24 hour hold if I were to turn myself in. That was the test I gave the lawyer. She was ineffective in removing that hold, which I read lawyers can get done. Due to this, she refunded the retainer I had paid her and I moved onto another attorney, purportedly the best in town.
The retainer and fees were almost triple what the first lawyer charged, but it was worth it. Every penny. He was able to get that hold removed, and I turned myself in. That was an interesting experience, one I had never experienced before. I sat in the “drunk tank” for 3 hours. There was a gentleman who was apparently passed out/under the influence in there, and another gentleman who was speaking another language primarily. He could speak some english, but his accent was very thick. I couldn’t make out what language it was exactly. Then came along an inmate from one of the state prisons, he said he was convicted of murder and there for a court hearing in the morning. He and I had a good conversation. It was odd/scary/weird at the same time. A good friend posted my bail money, to which I paid back asap.
The charges, which I won’t explain in detail were 2 felonies. I was looking at a maximum of 6 years in prison for the events of that night. It destroyed everything I had worked for my entire life, my character.
My lawyer told me 1 piece of advice, that really was odd to me but makes sense when I look back upon it. He told me to just live my life and not try to get into trouble. Don’t try to investigate or solve anything, that was his job.
He filed for discovery documents and mailed me copies. In it were pictures of my ex-wife and her sister, the police report, everything from that evening. I was appalled at the gross mis-representation of the situation by the police officers. The pictures were such a staged thing to me.
I didn’t have much communication with my lawyer except for our initial visit, and the court date. But man did that guy work miracles, some of them wouldn’t come to light until a year down the road.
He was able to negotiate the charges down to the lowest level a criminal charge can be, an A misdemeanor. He was also able to get those charges changed as he put it, “on the front end.” This meant, I wasn’t taking a plea bargain.
I am one to always take responsibility for my actions, and while I do feel like I acted improper that evening, I will always state that I had never had an anxiety attack like that in my life. I do not understand how this might have played into a trial, but it was something on my mind.
My court hearing was quick, and very confusing. I spent more time watching a video about pleading guilty to a crime than I spent inside the courtroom. I was convicted and sentenced to 1 year of probation, with the sentences running concurrently, meaning both sentences ran at the same time.
Due to this conviction, a report was sent to the state police and then onto the federal government. My 2nd amendment rights had just been removed, and for a while I thought permanently.
I was then told to report to the probation department immediately after leaving the courtroom. While there, they took an intake interview and made a follow-up appointment. I then had to go a block down the road and take a drug test, as no drugs or alcohol was a part of my probation requirement. I was unable to urinate and was threatened about being thrown in jail until I could. This is when the reality of the matter set in for me. After about three months, I was released from supervised probation and moved to unsupervised. I didn’t have to see my probation officer (who is a pretty cool guy), I didn’t have to do anything but live my normal life. I was one step closer to getting this monkey off my back.
When my probation term was finished, I received an amazing surprise. One my probation officer and judge just couldn’t believe. My lawyer somehow got wording in my guilty plea that once my sentence was finished, the charges would be dismissed.
They were.
