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  • So, I was assaulted on Sunday...

    Yeah, this story is a new one. I didn't think anything could top my experience with the crazy woman who thought we were the wrong store (a war story that I need to repost since nobody saved it before the site went down )

    I don't know why, but man, have I encountered some violent customers working at this company (but I love it). This incident happened on Sunday, but because of a police investigation, I promised not to relate this incident to others not directly involved. The investigation was concluded today with the little prick behind bars but the court date is supposedly a few weeks out.

    Basically, I was assaulted at work on Sunday and I broke rule #1 in self defense. This post will give you some more insight into my own mind as well.

    The rule the I was referring to was #1 of CS, where we don't advocate violence towards SCs

    My teacher said basically the same thing, "Hit back, not first."


    This was my first day back at my showroom since I messed my foot up, and I just got off the crutches. It was about three hours before closing and there were about 3 people in the store I was trying to help.

    I aplogize for the language in this post but I am absolutely livid (and somewhat scared) over this incident and everytime I think about it, it upsets me greatly. Plus, most of the language came from his side.

    In walks this wanna be gangbanger guy. I don't think too bad of these people. Come sin, white sports jersey, white workout shorts, bandanna on his head, covered by a hat that was sideways. Basically, take the bastard love child of every white rapper for the appearance and Paris Hilton for the intelligence, and you'll have an idea. He was my size, 6' and around 220lb, if I had to guess. (That's 2 meters, 100kg for the rest of the world )

    I go downstairs to help him, where our clearance center is. I notice his car out in front, it's a white Civic, completely riced out. My car is riced out too, so I think "Hey, cool, I can talk with him about cars as my opening line."

    He sees a leather set on clearance for 650 bucks, originally over double that. There's some slight damage on it, as with all our floor samples. The guy basically starts off cool, and starts to haggle with me.

    SC: "So, I tell you what, man. I give you 300 for the set, cash, right now."
    Me: "Sorry, I can't do it. I don't have the authority or the ability to change the prices on anything. My manager does though, so if anyone can do it, he can. He'll be back in tommorrow morning, if you want to talk to him about it."

    Now 9 times out of 10, this is enough for most people. The 10th one though always takes the position that you are lying to them, and demand you reduce the price or you will lose the sale.

    Guess which one this guy was?

    SC: "You're lying to me man. Look, there's a hole in the seat. Knock off a few hundred for that."
    Me: "We already did. Thats why the set is 650, when it sells brand new for about 1500. I told you the truth, I can't take any more off the price. The manager sets the prices on the floor samples and I cannot change them."
    SC: "Man, this is bullshit."
    Me: "I can split up the SET and give you the sofa for 300, but that's all I can do. If you can do me a favor, I need to help these folks that just walked in, I'll be back in a second."
    SC: "Whatever."

    I was getting annoyed at this point. I swear, do I stutter? I CAN'T HAGGLE. We also have a policy that we help the customers that want to get something new before we help the ones that are looking at floor samples. Nobody needs convincing on a floor sample. It either sells itself or it doesn't. Plus, the floor samples are knocked down so much on price anyway that we get no commission on them anyway, as opposed to the ability to make a hundred or so on a new sale. Once again, 9/10 people understand this and this is just the law in sales. You try to close the one who you have the best chance of closing before you move on to the other ones. You don't ignore them, but I admit I'll devote more energy to the couple who comes in and knows what they want, and need it right away as opposed to the ones who come in and go "I'm just looking." Triage. It happens when we're packed.

    So I go help the other folks, and make a pretty good order. We still have a few others in the store along with the gangbanger. I check on the others then go back to help the gangbanger.

    There are a few things I need to mention, and this is the time to bring up the first one. The clearance center is very jammed with furniture and is hard to navigate. Secondly, it's in the far back, and the only exit is the loading door but that takes quite a process to open and is in no ways a quick exit.

    Me: So, did you want to get it? Or did you see something else you wanted?
    SC: Look man. I'm paying here, right now, in cash. Just give me the set for 300.
    Me: (annoyed) Sir, I told you what I can and can't do. I cannot haggle.
    SC: (monotone) 400.
    Me: 650 plus tax.
    SC: (annoyed) Fine, 450.
    Me: 650 plus tax.
    SC: (angrily) 500 then! What the fuck?
    Me: I'm not doing it, I've told you I can't do it, and I told you who you would need to talk to about it. Now, do you want to get the set at 650 plus tax, because there are other customers I need to help and I cannot help you anymore unless you decide you want to get it.

    I was pissed at this point because he had cursed very loudly, when there were other people in the store, including a couple with a kid who was no more than five.

    SC: (doing that gangster move where he kindof waves his hands in front of his body as a tell off) Man, FUCK you. This place is fuckin' BULLSHIT.
    Me: I'm sorry you feel that way, but please, don't use that language in here. There are other customers and small children in the store and they don't need to be exposed to that.

    This guy then started to get REALLY pissed, and I started to get apprehensive. It was about here the adrenaline started.

    SC: Fuck you man! I'll say whatever the fuck I want!
    Me: Then please leave before you do it.
    SC: (Getting right up two inches in front of my face and doing an intimidating glare) Yeah? You can't do shit about it.
    Me: Please leave, now. (and I start to try to get past him, remember how I said it was packed back there?)
    SC: (Steps in front of me) We're not done here, motherfucker.

    At this point I had had enough and was EXTREMELY pissed off. Time for a fun fact about me. When I get very angry, I never show it. I get completely calm and lower my voice, and my glare alone makes people step back. I NEVER fly off the handle. I never curse, I never scream. I've had my closest friends back away from me when they see me get that angry.

    Me: Move. Now.

    This was the wrong thing to say. The other three people in the store are watching the exchange, so there were witnesses. I see him scowl, and then the motherfucker shoves me, HARD. I end up hiutting my knees on the back of a piece of furniture and literally go backwards over it, and I catch the back of my head on the corner of a dinette set we have back there on the way down. It HURT. I see stars, my vision swims, and I hear the woman scream. I think to myself that I have to get back on my feet because if I'm down on the ground I'm defenseless.

    Fun fact 2: I have a multiple personality disorder. Personality 2 is very, VERY violent and that little love tap was enough to make him mad.

    Fun fact 3: I've taken martial arts for 3 years.

    The guy is gloating, like every street fight video on the internet. "Yeah! What up now, motherfucker? What you gonna do now, bitch? Ohhh shit son, I just knocked you the fuck out!" etc, etc. I stand up, and strangely, at this point I'm not feeling any pain, but I do put my hand to the back of my head and bring it away with blood all over the fingers.

    You know how you always have a few seconds warning before someone lashes out and hits you, so you have time to duck, or at the very least, brace yourself? Apparently, I give no warning :-)

    I lashed out and caught him solidly right at the base of the nose/upper lip. I felt a pain in my fingers, and his nose just *exploded* with blood. He staggered back, blood started pouring out of his mouth, and I saw the damage. I bent in at least three of his teeth and my ring knocked one out, which ended up on the floor. He shouted a few obcenities, and ran towards the door screaming. The other customers were in complete shock as to what just happened, as was I, and I remember chasing him towards the front of the store. The lady who screamed had a pad and paper as she was trying to get measurements from me, and I yelled "Get his liscence plate number! Get the number!" as she was near the door, and god help her, she wrote it down. He ran out of the store, hopped in his car (his shirt wasn't white anymore) and took off like a bat out of hell, almost hitting another car in the process.

    I have to leave now, but I shall post the second part of this when I get home tonight. The next part involves the police, and in a few weeks after the court date, there might be a third part. We'll see.
    Last edited by MadMike; 09-22-2006, 07:31 PM. Reason: Clarification
    "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

  • #2
    Okay, now that I'm back home (went out to a movie with some friends) I can continue the story of what happened.

    Call me a bad person, but one of the things that was very important during my martial arts training was that when your confronted with a threat, you do what you can to quickly neutralize that threat. He started it, I ended it. I wasn't thinking about revenge, I wasn't thinking to do as much damage as possible because if I was, I could have hurt him much worse than I did.

    It was basically reflex, and it did happen very quickly. That's only the third time I have ever struck someone (and I have NEVER struck anyone first, I've only retaliated to defend myself)

    In retrospect, I might have been able to get him in a lock or a submission maneuver until the police showed up, but I knew I was bleeding, I knew I was hurt, and I reacted the way I felt I needed to.

    I didn't do it to purposely knock the guy's teeth out, I did it because I wanted to protect myself and he was a major threat.

    But anyway, back to what happened. The lady wrote down his licence plate information and the husband called the police on the cellphone. They had a cruiser nearby and he showed up within five minutes. By then I had a compress on the back of my head and I was feeling a little dizzy.

    The officer got there and all of us told him what happened. We went into the back area - you could actually see a trail of blood from the door back there and it was on some of the furniture too. There was also some blood where I whacked my head on the table.

    The wierdest thing though, was that sitting there on the ground was what was left of the guys tooth. Just sitting there. The officer was really cool, asking me if I needed an ambulance. He took the info from the two people that were there, and they went on their way, saying they would come back later.

    I called my manager and explained the situation. He was up in LA and unfortunately, nobody could cover for me. I stayed for another hour, the dizziness went away, and I left early.

    Monday night, I got a call from the police station. They wanted me to come down to the station, because they caught someone with the description. The way the officer explained it to me, that since it was only about ten minutes since it happened, they put out a bulletin to the local hospitals to look for someone matching the description we all gave. Sure enough, he went to one of the local hospitals, and the police were notified. He was detained. When I got down there, sure enough, it was him, and I pointed this out to the officer.

    It turns out he had a few warrants out for his arrest, and the car wasn't even his, it was stolen. This was just the latest thing that set it off. THe officer mentioned offhand that if I hadn't have done that to him, they would have had a hard time catching him, because they always seemed to just miss him. Turns out he was 27 years old.

    One of the civilians who worked there told me as I was walking out that "Personally, I'm glad someone did it to him. He put his girlfriend in the hospital, twice, the second time he put out a cigarrette on her arm."

    It's still up to me if I want to press charges on the guy, but I don't know if I should. You see, I have a very high profile, recognizeable car, and you always worry that violent people have violent friends...

    It seems that they already have enough evidence to put the guy away for quite a long time. I'm worried that he'll make bail and come back.

    Because of this, they transferred me to another showroom via my request until the trial, which they told me will be in October.

    I don't know guys. I mean, there was no permanant harm done to me. I just have a knot and scab on the back of my head, it didn't even need stitches. He definately got the worse of it, but from what I was told about the guy, it seems karma paid him back enough with what I did to him. Think I should press charges?

    I do know that they don't pay me enough for this shit.
    Last edited by MadMike; 09-22-2006, 07:30 PM.
    "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

    Comment


    • #3
      I spoke with the officer today and explained my fears and concerns, and he basically gave me the best possible option.

      They already have enough evidence to get the guy behind bars for about ten years if it all holds up, so he said me giving my testimony is purely optional.

      However, I WILL need to go to court if he decides he wants to take legal action for dental bills. I'm sure that it will be laughed right out of court, and so is the officer, but if I am summoned I HAVE to attend. Basically, I told him to have the DA give me a call if any of the evidence looks shaky and they need yet another report of assault.

      Also, I could have an officer testify in my place if it comes down to that, since I feel threatened.

      It doens't look like he's going to make bail but if he does, I'll be the first to know. I mean, a restraining order is nice and all, but they don't really do anything to stop a pissed off violent individual.

      ON the plus side, I'm sure his future cellmates will thank me. Less teeth to get in the way...
      "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

      Comment


      • #4
        Let me give all you guys an update. I kind of had a gag order until myself and the DA decided what we were going to do.

        I am pressing charges but not in the traditional sense. The guy was unable to make bail and has a court date set for mid October.

        I met with the district attourney and the police and due to my work schedule I would not plan on attending the court date. So I gave a written statement to the district attourney (turns out he's also being sued by the state for reasons I can't mention) and an officer will be there in court in my stead.

        I am not suing for any type of damages, since I know I will get none from this guy. What is actually happening is that my statement/charges are going to be combined with that of the girlfriend's and states into one big lawsuit instead of three seperate ones.

        My statement will basically go a long way into proving his violent nature and it will put him away for a very long time if he is convicted. With all the different charges, and I'm not at liberty to say all of them, he's looking at 20+ years.

        Talking with the police, we decided this was the best solution. I should get news on the guy in October, so I'll update you then on it.
        "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

        Comment


        • #5
          SHIT.

          I just got a call from the police to let me know the guy had a buddy bail him out, so we'll see what happens with it.

          I'm back at my old showroom, the one the incident took place in. Oh joy.
          "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

          Comment


          • #6
            Well, he came back. Last night. I wrote this this morning and didn't want to post this until I heard back from the police about it.

            This happened right as I was closing. I've been carrying around pepper spray for this very reason, and yes, due to the advice of others on this forum, I did get a restraining order. Sure enough, a piece of paper didn't do jack shit.

            I got messed up alot worse than I did when he came in the first time, but so did he

            Short version: I got bruised ribs and a knife to the arm. He got knocked out cold and won't be able to walk again without alot of surgery and therapy.

            As I'm locking up, I set the alarm and start to walk to my car. I park it in an alley behind the store to try and keep it less visible. Turns out that didn't work.

            As I'm walking out there, a car pulls up behind me at the end of the alley, essentially blocking me in so I can't get in my car and bail. Doors open, and Wigger gets out of the passenger seat, and his buddy gets out of the drivers seat.

            I'm scared shitless at this point, because I'm boxed in and I have nowhere to go, and you can see this guy has murder on his mind.

            My hand goes to my keychain immediately and I hold the pepper spray at arms length and the convo goes like this. Sorry for the language.

            W: I'm gonna kick your motherfucking ass right now bitch. I'm gonna fucking kill you for what you did to me. (Of course, he sounded funny cause he was missing a few teeth)
            Me: Get the fuck out of here, right now.

            He then starts walking towards me and I see him pull something out of his pocket. It's a switchblade, and he starts going on about how he's going to cut me. I try to nail him with the pepper spray but I end up aiming a little too low and hit his chest. He freaks, and throws the knife at me. I raise my hands to block it and it nails me in the left arm and ends up giving me a nice gash. It didn't stick, and it wasn't deep enough where I needed stitches but I didn't know it at the time.

            So I yell "fuck!" and drop the pepper spray and grab my bleeding arm when he comes up and kicks me in the stomach, bending me over, then he kneed me to the forehead. I go down and I remember he was kicking me in the ribs, laughing the whole time, and started screaming "get up motherfucker! Not so tough now, are you?" His buddy didn't join in, he was doing lookout. I'm able to roll away and get back to my feet. My left shirt sleeve is red from the elbow down, and I'm dripping blood down my arm.

            Remember what I said earlier about when I get REALLY mad, I tend to lose myself? I'm cornered, and I'm bleeding. I was furious at this point, and I tell him one more time to leave. He doesn't, his buddy's laughing and cheering him on, and now that I'm on my feet and know what's happening, I'm much better prepared this time when he comes at me.

            He throws a few punches at me which I step back from or block, I kick him in the jewels and he bends over. I wrap my arm around his neck in sort of a reverse headlock, and just fall over backwards. His head goes CRACK against the concrete and he's out like a light. If any of you follow wrestling at all, the move is called a DDT.

            His scalp was split open from about his hairline to maybe an inch or two back, all the way to the bone. It also turns out, and I do feel a bit of remorse for this, that I had inadvertantly stepped on his foot when I fell over backwards. As a result, it torqued his left knee enough to bend it the wrong way.

            I get up and turn the guy over with my foot onto his back, he's breathing fine. I look at the car and his friend has eyes the size of dinner plates. I just look at him and say "You wanna try?" He yells "HOLY SHIT! " and jumps in the car and rockets away. Great friend, huh?

            I go open the showroom again and call 911 and let them know what happened and to send an ambulance, not for me, but for him. I go back outside and take my shirt off, and use it as a compress against his head to try to stop the bleeding in his scalp. The cop shows up about 3 minutes later, and it's the same officer who came out initially, and the one I was dealing with on the whole issue.

            First words out of his mouth when he sees the guy laid out and his knee bent the wrong way: "Jesus Christ, did you have to do THAT to him?"

            Paramedics show up and the damage done to my arm isn't as bad as I thought. The gash is about 10cm long and maybe half a centimeter deep, enough to bleed like crazy but not enough where I need stitches.

            I DID get handcuffs on me while I waited for things to sort out. I was sitting on the curb, and the best part was that Wigger woke up as the paramedics were working on him. Sees his leg. Starts SCREAMING. "Oh god, my leg! What did you do to my leg? Oh god, I'm never gonna walk again! I'll kill you, motherfucker!" and he starts crying. Big, wet tears coming down his face. He's sitting there bawling like a five year old and I must admit, it's music to my evil little ears.

            The officer (Officer P) lets me up and takes the cuffs off, then two other cruisers show up to get evidence. They confiscate my pepper spray, and they also pick up the knife from where it fell. I end up getting home after giving another statement, around 2 in the morning.

            I just got a call back from Officer P. It turns out, I most likely won't be charged. It happened on work property, the restraining order was broken, and his prints will most likely be found all over the knife. I have to go in later today and give a blood sample to prove my blood matches the blood on the knife, so it doesn't look like I picked it up and slashed him with it or anything. There's a mountain of paperwork I'm going to sort through regarding this, and I'll probably be down at the station a few more times before this is all over.

            He goes straight to jail after he gets out of the hospital, with no chance of bail whatsoever. I think I opened myself wide to a countersuit with this, but I'd much rather do that than be gutted with a knife. I know at the very least if I hadn't fought back, I'd be in the hospital for quite a while, or I might not even be around to post this.
            "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

            Comment


            • #7
              Update:

              Went in and gave my blood sample. His prints WERE found on the knife, (duh) and my blood matched what was on there.

              I also had a blood test done and it's not showing any irregularities, so that's the good news with that.

              Bad news: The trial has been pushed back towards the beginning of December, if he gets out of the hospital by then.

              I also found out that in talking to the District Attourney and my own personal attourney, that it would not be benificial to sue the guy or to get a charge of attempted murder on my end.

              The reason? I wasn't roughed up enough for any jury or judge to seriously think the guy made an attempt on my life. Stupid, I know, but that's California for you. It might still happen, but I'm not counting on it.

              BUT, the guy is now getting nailed with assault with a deadly weapon at the very least, and combined with everything else, I hope he enjoys the hospital bed. He now is looking at about 40 years.
              "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

              Comment


              • #8
                UPDATE:

                I got served a summons! I'm being sued by the guy for his medical bills and dental work (around 70k so far, with the stipulation that I would be responsible for any future medical bills as a result of the injuries I inflicted.) This is coming around in two weeks with the preliminary hearing with a different judge than the one who gave this asshole bail. I go in on December 4th for this. Where the fuck he got the money from to attempt to sue me, I have no idea. But I'm sure there's always going to be SOME lawyer willing to take the case.

                Do they have late night TV in prison? I could swear they do, after this...

                Now, the way this preliminary hearing works, is that the judge hears both sides of it and then determines if there is enough evidence for it to go to a full blown trial or not.

                I'm not getting a lawyer, I'm representing myself, at least, at this level. I got all the paperwork from the original incident, the restraining order, the paperwork/bloodwork from the second incident, and I plan on going talk to my buddy at the police station and getting copies of all the photographs that were taken that night.

                Plus, I'm going to get a good tan. Why? When you tan a fresh scar, it looks UGLY. It's going to turn into this long deep purple thing on my skin. I hope it ends up being really hot that day so I can wear a short sleeved shirt.

                My plan is to get this thrown out and make the judge see that both incidents were self defense.

                This is separate from the state trial, which has a starting date of Dec. 19th.

                So, one question. Should I go to the courthouse dressed as Phoenix Wright?
                "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

                Comment


                • #9
                  Just got back from the courthouse.

                  I'm not supposed to talk too much about this as far as it relates to the state trial, but I can say what happened with this little skirmish this morning.

                  I get to the courthouse and I see ghetto superstar there while waiting after I check in. He's there with his attourney. Remember how I said I was going to see if I could get my scar "accentuated?" He went to the extreme on his. He showed up in a brace clear from the hip down to the ankle (the type you wear when you break a femur and they need your ENTIRE leg and hip immobile, I believe), wearing a neckbrace, and his head was buzzed so you could see the scar where they put his head back together. Apparently, the split started at the hairline and went back about two inches. In short, playing the pity card, so I didn't feel nearly as bad as I would have about the scar and the tan.

                  The scar itself has healed VERY nicely over the last two months but is still noticable. I guess I have the fact that it's a knife wound to thank for that. Incisions tend to heal faster, I guess.

                  The lawyer didn't look too professional, he didn't show up in a suit, and I did. As we're outside waiting to go in, I've got my briefcase filled with folders and documentation about everything that happened: Copies of the original reports, witness statements (gathered from the couple who was at the showroom when the first incident occured), restraining order, photos, statements from the police, etc. Ghetto superstar looks at me from across the bench in the waiting room and just snarls a threat, or something to that extent. His lawyer instantly jabs him with his elbow and tells him to shut up.

                  They call us in and it's just one judge there, no jury or nothing. Ghetto Superstar's lawyer goes first and describes how if I had truly been acting in self defense, I wouldn't have nearly done what I had did, that I was a horrible person, that I was out to kill him. "Excessive, brutal, and completely unnecessary force used against my client," was my favorite part of his whole statement. Ghetto just sat there, looking absolutely pathetic.

                  So then it's my turn to go. I state that I was assaulted not once, but twice, by this individual, and that I felt the suit was vindictive. I stated that I truly had feared for my life and if I had not acted in the way I did during the first incident, I could have been seriously injured (also pointing out there was a five year old in the showroom when it happened) along with the other patrons in the showroom, and the second time, that I felt my life was severely threatened.

                  Ghetto superstar then gets the chance to present his evidence, consisting mostly of medical bills and my own testimony where I admitted that yes, I had struck him, and yes, I had split open his scalp and broke his leg.

                  This next part is a bit of a blur. The back and forth between the lawyer and myself went on for a few rounds. He tried to claim that I continued to beat on him the first time and doing what I did was unneccessary. I showed the judge the statement from the witnesses along with the original police report stating that I had indeed only struck him one time before he left. On the second incident I told the judge everything that had happened, and the lawyer got to tell his side too, and even tried to claim that Ghetto had come back that second night just to talk with me! At this point I really had to stop myself from just going "what the "

                  So I present my side with pictures, the scar, and the actual documentation of the bloodwork of me going down to the station and the examiner finding my blood and his fingerprints on the knife.

                  The lawyer is pissed at this point because he KNOWS the kid lied to him about the facts of that night. I can see it in his eyes. If I had to guess, the lawyer did not know about the knife. He did not know about the bloodwork fingerprints. He never made a motion to file Discovery (this basically means you can file a court motion to be able to get all the info and documents that the other party are using to prepare their case). The only reason for this was because I know GS was going to try to rush this in before his state trial which starts on the 19th.

                  The judge says he can't consider that into evidence because it's part of another case that has not been started or resolved (the state trial coming up) and I'm thinking "shitshitshitshitshit... "

                  Then I suddenly realize something that just might do it for me and my heart is racing. I pointed out that I believed that he was making his appearance worse to garner sympathy from the court. The judge asked me why, and I pointed out that any time someone is released from a hospital, there has to be a long statement from the doctors stating the summation of the visit, injuries, and what's better, outpatient care. I broke my neck back in 1999 and the list they gave me strictly for the occupational therapy and outpatient therapy was extensive. The judge had all of our paperwork, and he dug through it until he found it. I asked him if there was any mention of a neckbrace or leg brace, or if any was released to him from the hospital to be used as part of his outpatient therapy. (When I broke my neck, I recieved alot of things from the hospital to help with my therapy. And there was a list of all of them.)

                  THERE WASN'T! They had released him with a knee brace, but not an entire immobilization setup like he had, and there was no neckbrace!

                  The lawyer still gives his closing statement after we present everything. Goes on for five minutes about how violent I am, what a horrible thing I did and how his client is never going to walk again, and even had the balls to say that because he had a knife and I was still able to do that type of damage to him with my bare hands, that I should be considered dangerous!
                  The judge asks me if I want to make a closing statement and I can almost remember it verbatim because my heart was beating hard enough to blur my vision with each beat.

                  I basically summed it up like this: I believe this suit is completely vindictive, and these are the reasons. The motion also includes dental work along with the injuries to his head and leg. As the initial statements by myself, the plaintiff, and the witnesses show, and according to the police report, the injuries to his mouth happened during the first incident. No motion was made in the two months between the two dates in question for medical damages. I also had a restraining order filed after the first incident and regardless of wether he came to talk to me that night or not, he still broke his restraining order while he has a state trial pending. I was injured and acted as quickly as I could to end the threat to myself. I also point out that he had been released with none of the medical apparatus that he was now wearing, and he was doing it to get sympathy from the court. I also refuted the statement that I was a violent person by stating to the judge that my criminal record is clean. I had never been in trouble with the law, and the only black spot on my records is a single vehicle accident on my driving record from over two and a half years ago.

                  The judge then calls for a recess to deliberate for ten minutes taking all our paperwork with him. I go to the bathroom, almost throw up because I'm so nervous. Get back, judge comes back in and basically says that after reviewing the evidence that the case is being dismissed as vindictive! He bangs his gavel and it takes every bit of willpower to not fall over backwards into the chair with huge sigh of relief. The baliff returns all my paperwork to me after the judge leaves and as I put it back in the briefcase, the lawyer approaches me and tells me that I should be prepared for them to file an appeal. (Why, so you can get your money, asshole?)

                  As I turn around to walk out, I lean over next to Ghetto, and cracking the biggest smile I can, say "That makes me 3 and 0. See you in a few weeks."

                  Total time in court: Around 30 minutes if that. It seemed so much longer.

                  Driving home, I just had to pull over and laughed for about half an hour. I can relate EXACTLY to Aaron in that moment. His ordeal started with a bottle of vinegar - mine started with someone wanting a deal on a torn sofa.

                  Already talked with the lawyer I did originally (he's a friend of the family so I can seek legal cousel from him) and he thinks that Ghetto's lawyer is bluffing. If he isn't, theres going to be no way he can get in an appeal before the criminal trial starts in two weeks, or if he does, all I have to do is ask for a continuance until the conclusion of the state trial because :gasp: I'm testifying and need to prepare my testimony. If he does appeal, yeah, having a guilty verdict slapped on him for everything else will get him slapped down alot harder than he did today, because then the judges CAN take that into account.

                  Thanks for the help everyone, and to those that PMed me with court information, I found it invalubale in preparing my defense today. I owe alot of this to all you guys.

                  State trial soon, so we'll see what becomes of it.

                  :salutes to you all: I love you guys.
                  Last edited by Ree; 12-06-2006, 10:53 PM.
                  "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

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                  • #10
                    Alot happened the last few days since the state trial started. I have not actually been to the courthouse but have spoken with the DA over the phone a few times.

                    I've been informed that the defense attourney has asked for a continuance until after the holidays. Early January should be set.

                    I think this matter is just about closed. I have decided to give a long written statement instead of actually going to the courthouse, because I work on commission and I cannot come in any day they want me to. I might still be called upon by the DA to testify instead of the written statement, but it all depends on if I have that day off (we're all shortstaffed, and fankly, after the months of this, I'm sick of the whole issue.). I think ghetto superstar wants to be an annoyance since the farther he pushes back and the more I have to rearrange my schedule, the easier it will be to get a written declaration thrown out.

                    I DID get notice that he was appealing the civil decision, but nothing will be able to be done until his criminal trial is over. I know it's just out of spite. I'm not even amused by it at this point. I basically do the same motion in my avatar and think to myself "Aw, jeez, not this shit again,". Ghetto knows his life is over and all anyone else involved can hope to do is to not get caught in the blast when he self-destructs.
                    "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

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                    • #11
                      IT’S OVER.

                      Finally, it looks like the situation is finished, at least for now, I wanted to wait until I heard officially.

                      I had given a written statement and had an officer testify in my place in court since I could not get the day of the trial off. I had assumed the trial was still going on, but it ended a few days ago and the officer called me a few minutes ago.

                      Ghetto was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault and battery, and violating a restraining order among a few other things. Not all the charges stuck, but enough did to get him locked away for the next fifteen years with no possibility of parole.

                      There will be almost no chance of appeal because Ghetto has no more money, apparently. I have not heard back from his lawyer that was going to appeal the ruling in my favor – I would bet he dropped Ghetto like a sack of bricks. The only thing that might possibly happen now is that his lawyer DOES plan to appeal the decision, which I doubt he will, now that his client lost the criminal case.

                      I am so happy to be done with this situation, it has been a nightmare. And to think back on how it all started. God.

                      Thank you so much for all your support through all this, and following it. It’s been an insane five months, to say the least.

                      I'm just crossing my fingers hoping I don't here the word "appeal" anytime in the near future.
                      Last edited by MadMike; 01-24-2007, 07:49 PM.
                      "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Okay, let me clarify as best I can.

                        Our showroom isn't really upstairs/downstairs in the strictest sense of the word - it's more of a split level with a small staircase between the two of them. (The building is built on uneven ground, hence the split-level.) Our showroom was a biker garage in a former life. The upper level was the showroom for the bikes and the lower area was the garage/shop.

                        The only entrance to the store (that is used) is in this upper level. People are able to go down to the lower level via half a dozen stairs.

                        The lower level itself is it's own showroom divided into two sections. The side facing the street and parking lot has plate glass windows. There IS a door here as well but it is locked 24/7 unless we have a furniture delivery coming in, then we sometimes open it. For all intents and purposes, this door does not exist for customers.

                        The back area facing the alley has a large metal overhead trucking door like they have in loading docks. It is in this area near the back where we keep our clearance product, since people who buy it can just take it out of the back loading door.

                        There's a sort of "hallway" of furniture separating the two areas that is very distinct, as we don't mix clearance product with normal product. The family and woman who screamed was in the lower level where myself and ghetto superstar were, but in the half of the showroom facing the street where we keep the NEW product that people have to order. Ghetto ran for the door he came in(he had to run up the stairs to the upper level, and trailed blood). However, his civic was in the parking lot, parked in front of our (non-used) door. This was the one the woman was near and was able to look out of and get the liscence number of his car, since it took Ghetto a few seconds to go back upstairs, out the front door, and circle around to the lot.

                        I hope that ended up clarifying it, I forget sometimes that not everyone is stuck in that showroom for 11 hour shifts

                        I am also not a lawyer, and the police officer did not take the stand persay as far as I know, but he presented the evidence to the court. I had talked with the DA (Remember, the state was suing him, NOT me) and explained that since I was unable to get the time of work since he had already filed a continuance and I feared he would do it again, I provided a written statement and all my copies of the the statements and paperwork (for example, the proof that he violated the restraining order since the paramedics picked him up in front of a store he shouldn't have been anywhere near) since the issue happened. From what I was told, the point was to help establish his violent nature and the DA would take care of the rest.

                        After the civil situation, all enthusiasm I had for this just vanished, honestly. Had I pushed this with my employer, I could have gotten the time off. But I was so fucking sick of the entire mess at that point I just talked with the DA and told him I wanted the situation to just GO AWAY. He understood and said it would be best if I did what I ended up doing, which was the written statement. They already had enough evidence to lock the guy away for quite some time on a ton of other charges (the assault and battery on his girlfriend for example), so ultimately, I don't even know if my statement was even admissable as evidence. I'll try to look into it to see but you all have to understand I have absolutely no desire to follow this anymore. I've lost half a year to the stress of this situation and while most of my posts about it have been lighthearted, this has been grinding away at me and I've been on edge ALOT more than I've been letting on, and for that, I apologize.

                        Officer P simply told me over the phone that he had been convicted of the three specific charges along with others and didn't say what the other ones were. I'm assuming that they involved me (the restraining order and deadly weapon) but with this guy, who knows? Maybe his girlfriend had a restraining order and the conviction came from him putting her in intensive care the second time.

                        Ghetto hired his own lawyer for the civil case and had a public defender for the criminal trial, I do know that much. Don't know how that worked out, but it did. I wonder if it is a case of the left hand not knowing what the right was doing?

                        He has the right to appeal and probably will if he finds a way, but the issue is with the state now, and not with me. I'm done with the issue, and I told everyone involved that. I'm moving early next month and really don't need the stress :-)

                        I know people have and will continue to call this story into question and there is nothing I can do to make it airtight or plug all the gaps because not even I know everything going on behind the scenes and I'm trying not to speculate on too much. Truth is stranger than fiction, it seems, and I have to admit, after experiencing this first hand, I find stories like Vinegar Boy to be far far more believable. :-)

                        No, I did not press charges against him, the only legal action I took against him was to get a restraining order. I was never subpoena'd either, and I made it very clear to the DA that I did not want to get drug into the continuance that I was afraid was going to happen again.

                        There were other charges against him, and I guess they didn't try too hard to get me into the court after I expressed my inability to do so because they had enough to hang him out to dry without me being in court. Or maybe what Wagegoth said was correct in that the defense attourney decided not to push, I don't know. I never spoke with the defense attourney obviously.
                        Last edited by MadMike; 01-24-2007, 07:50 PM.
                        "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Took these pictures of the scar a few days ago and wanted to clear it with Rapscallion before I posted them. I borrowed my neighbors digital camera to take pictures of an unrelated item. It's healed really nicely and in another month or two the pink should be gone completely.

                          Sorry about the quality, but they should be visible. And yes, that is a V mask, and no, I will not take it off for reasons I expressed earlier.

                          Only thing you should be able to figure out from this is that I'm Scottish, as I have as much hair as Robin Williams.

                          Also took the pictures with a sign, to try and ward off any potential thoughts that I had just spent a few minutes on Google!

                          Thanks to Raps for hosting these on the CustomersSuck! server!

                          http://www.customerssuck.com/media/scar1.jpg

                          http://www.customerssuck.com/media/scar2.jpg

                          http://www.customerssuck.com/media/scar3.jpg

                          http://www.customerssuck.com/media/scar4.jpg

                          This last one isn't hosted on CS, but this is the most closeup shot I could get without it being washed out.

                          http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/8923/dscn10691fe.jpg
                          "Time shall help me face my painful memories with indifference, and with more of it, I won't feel the need to face them at all..."

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