Crystal walked inside the walls and heard the doors slamming behind with a large strong clang. It sounded like they weighted a hundred pounds. She was already afraid of being locked up in the place with what society considered unfit. Locked inside the walls with murderer, rapist, pedophile, thieves, drug trafficker, and who knows what other crimes they have committed. She had chosen it to be her professional career. Her Sister supported her, and her brothers were totally against it. Two of her family members were convicted felons. But they had been a prison in a different state. The point of view on the side of the inmates and staff is completely different. She had no idea what was going to happen in her future, life inside the walls.
Walking on the compound for the first time was scary. Hearing about the dangerous of work went through her head. She passed through a group of inmates on her way to her assigned post. Walking on the sidewalk, she was looking at the shadows on the ground behind her. Over time, she became less scared every day. After being on the job for about two weeks she began to realize how dangerous the job could be. She saw inmates fighting and she was expected to stop them. She manages the custody and care of the inmates. Tuesday afternoon, as she walked through the dormitory of the open bay with about 160 inmates, she realized the ratio was 160 to 2. There was only her and one other Officer in the dorm. The open bay is one spacious room with bunk beds. She was standing about six feet from the bunk when inmate Gonzales jumped to his feet and over the bed with a lock attached to the inside of a sock. He began hitting inmate Salvador in the head. Standing there frightened all she could do was say stop. The inmates acted if they never heard a word she said.
All the inmates in the dormitory ran towards her and surrounded her. She had never experienced anything like this before. For the first time in her life, she saw a man attack another man. It was particularly dangerous because he was attacked with a weapon. Salvador lay on the floor, his eyes turned back into his head. He was unconscious with no movement at all. She thought he had been killed. Suddenly, Crystal saw Officer Jones running into the dormitory towards her. He was like a knight in shining armor coming to rescue her. He was the experienced officer assigned to the dormitory who knew what to do. As she stood in disbelief of the events that she witnessed, she looked to Officer Jones for help. She is a newcomer and did not know how to manage the situation. Officer Jones shouted at her to go to the Officers stations and have the Sergeant radio for help.
She ran to the Officers Station and there was no one in there. She was scared and did not know how to help Office Jones. She had no radio and way to call for help. She was a new newcomer in training and did not have any equipment like a radio, or handcuffs. She felt helpless because she could not help Officer Jones. She looks back into the dorm and she could not see Officer Jones. Inmates had surrounded him. A million scenarios when though her head and none of them were good. What happened to Officer Jones? Was he all, right? Had he been hurt? What was she going to do? After minutes that felt like hours, the Sergeant climbed the stairs back into the Officers Station. The Sergeant had left the Officer Station to go downstairs to the bathroom. The Officers Station is elevated in the dorm. The Sergeant could see what was going on and called for aid. In moments ten Officer were standing in the dormitory with her. Gonzales was handcuffed and taken out of the dormitory by an Officer from another dorm. Salvador was still lying on the ground waiting for the medical staff to arrive. The Nurses arrived and examined Salvador. He was placed on a stretcher and taken to Medical. When in medical an exam was conducted, and the nurse was unable to help Salvador. The ambulance was called. Salvador was still unconscious. He had severe head trauma. The ambulance arrived and Salvador began to fade in and out of consciousness. When he was asked about what had happened, he could not move his mouth. He was taken to hospital and at once taken into emergency surgery. Salvador had a broken jaw that had to be repaired by surgery. After staying three days in the hospital, he was visited by the Prison Inspector and questioned about the incident. He was afraid to tell the Inspector that Gonzales had attacked him.
While Salvador was in the hospital the Institution conducted a large-scale investigation. His telephone calls were monitored. Sometimes during the telephone calls inmates will tell their family if they are having problems with other inmates. The Investigator of the Security Threat Group investigated to figure out if the inmate was in a gang. The Inspector reviewed the disciplinary reports of inmate Salvador to figure out if he had committed a rule violation while in prison. They reviewed his Criminal History prior to prison to see what crime he committed to sentenced to prison. The Video camera footage of the dorm was review hoping to figure out who battered inmate Salvador. Other inmates that were present at the time of the incident were questioned. At the end of the investigation, it was figured out that Salvador had stolen a package of Cracker Jacks from inmate Gonzales’ locker. Inmate Gonzales confronted Inmate Salvador and he would not pay fifty cents the Cracker Jacks. The stealing of the Cracker Jacks was only a small part of the problem. All the inmates started calling inmate Salvador’s nickname became Cracker Jack.
The whole dormitory had been having a problem with items in the dorm being stolen. The dormitory had reported to the Officers on duty, and nothing happened. The inmates decide to take care of it in their own way. Make him pay for what he did. When Salvador was caught stealing, the dormitory knew he was stealing from them all. The code between the inmates is do not steal. Ask for it and if they had enough, they would give it to you without having to steal it. A thief is labeled as a thief and no matter what institution they transfer to the label will always be with them. For Gonzales, it was over, he received punishment for attacking inmate Salvador.
For inmate Salvador his problem were just starting to begin. During the investigation, inspectors discovered that inmate Salvador was a drug trafficker on the street. He was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell, endangering a child and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was sentenced to twenty – five years in prison for his crimes. While monitoring the telephone calls, Inmate Salvador was talking to his wife Julie. The relationship between him and Julie began three years before his arrest. He was one of the main drug traffickers in Port St. Lucie. Deputy Sheriff Solomon was head of the Drug Squad in Port St. Lucie. He had worked for years on a sting operation to catch Salvador. Salvador had sold cocaine to Solomon’s teenage son Jack. Jack became addicted to drugs. Jack’s habit had become more than he could afford. He became a drug dealer for Salvador to support his habit. Jack had attended Narcotics Anonymous for years and one day he fell back into his cocaine addiction. Cocaine looks like a fine, white, crystal powder. Street dealers often mix it with things like cornstarch, talcum powder, flour, or other white substances to increase profits. Drug users snort the cocaine through their nose. Jack meet Salvador in the Paradise Night Club on Metzger Road. This was the beginning of the events that led to the death of Jack. One snort of cocaine is to many and a million was not enough. Jack died from an overdose of cocaine. Deputy Solomon was filled with hatred and vowed never to let Salvador get away with killing his son. Solomon worked for years without ever giving up on the arrest of Salvador. The day Salvador was arrested and sentenced to prison Solomon had little justice. Salvador bought two hundred pounds of cocaine from an undercover agent. Solomon followed him home with the Drug Swat team. He knew that when the police arrived, he had been set up. Julie and Sarah, his little daughter, were in the house with him. He ran and hid in the ceiling.
The Swat team broke down their front door with guns drown, Julie was sitting on the rocking chair with Sarah. Solomon entered the house and began to search for Salvador. He was the man in search of justice. He had been dreaming of this day for a long time. The moment when he would be able to avenge the death of his son. Salvador jumps from the ceiling on Solomon as he walks under him. Solomon fell to the ground with Salvador on him. Salvador beings to smash Solomon’s head on the floor. He ran through the back door into the woods. The St. Lucia Canine Special Forces Unit had been deployed to the area. Canine Mann, Bloodhound, had been training for six months, picked up the smell of Salvador and followed him for miles in the woods and swamp lands. Members of the Special Forces Unit ran behind Mann. Salvador ran for miles in the woods and swamp hearing the dogs behind him. He came the swamp and walked through the water for about fifty feet. He knew the dogs would lose his track and stop chasing him. Mann is well-attuned to smell. Mann can track specific scents through varied materials, including water This makes Mann extremely useful when searching for people. Mann continued to track him along the edge of the swamp. Mann had been trained for only six months; however, he was born natural for tracking. He tracked Salvador to where he was hiding in a cave. Mann went into the cave with the members of the Special Forces. Salvador was arrested and taken to the county jail. After a year and six months, Salvador had his trial and was sentenced to prison. He experienced a culture shock. The free world to the prison world. His life was changed forever.
