13. Escape from Florida Attempt #1

I have this plaque hanging on my front door. It is a scripture and reads:

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unaware." Heb 13:2

God would put me to the test with those words when an inmate I had never met in a Florida jail decided to come to my home after his release.

The court date being postponed until January was actually a blessing in disguise. We hadn't figured out how to get Todd out of Florida in case the judge ruled in our favor, probation. In the event they did release him, I was willing to save up for a plane ticket for Todd to fly home to Long Island, but he had written that he'd rather come here to see me. A normal woman would be taken aback by such a request but I had some experience with homeless drug addicts while doing mission work with my church. Once I even rescued a man in the middle of the night from a crack house in a neighboring city. He spent a week in my home, sobering up and coming down off the drugs. When he felt ready, I put a $100 in his pocket and sent him on his way. To date, I've never heard from this man again and don't know if he made it or not. I doubt it. Drugs and alcohol are hard addictions to overcome. One can not simply turn the addiction off. It takes weeks or months of counseling and medical attention and almost always requires hospitalization. If Todd were going to come here, to my home, I'd have to make preparations.
Being Catholic, the first place I turned was to the Church. I googled catholic churches in Polk county Florida and came across St. Thomas, in Bartow. I telephoned the priest there, told him what I was up to and he'd said he'd be glad to help. He said he was a regular chaplain at the jail I was speaking of, and would look in on Todd during his next visit. I made lots of phone calls. I lined up a rehabilitation center, job interviews and I even lined up a sponsor for Todd. Someone who was in recovery himself and could help Todd in ways that were foreign to me. I penned a letter and sent it to Todd's attorney hoping the attorney would use it to sway the judge's ruling in our favor. Todd was a drug addict and an alcoholic. In order for him to ever beat those addictions, he would need long term therapy, counseling and medical care. Something that wasn't available to him while he was incarcerated. Added to that was the fact he had been a witness in the most infamous mass murder case in the history of Polk County. As a result, there was a valid contract out on his life.
I was ignorant to the correctional system though. I didn't realize that when one is placed on probation, that person cannot leave the county that issues the probation, much less the state. I did more research. I found a clause called "Interstate Compact". If approved, this clause allows probationers to transfer that probation to another state. If Todd were to remain in Florida, his life was in danger and I had to prove this to the judge. I telephoned the state attorney that represented the state in the Serrano case as well as that producer from the New York news station and asked them if they would write a letter on Todd's behalf. They agreed. I forwarded the letters along with the outline of my plan to the attorney and to Todd to have with him at the hearing.
December 31, 2006
REF:Leslie Todd Jones
DOB 03/01/63
SSI# xxx-xx-xxxx
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is xxxxx xxxxxxx and I have agreed to aid in Mr. Jones' recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. I have had a great deal of experience in these matters. I have served as a Volunteer Counselor with xxxxxxx County Youth Court Services in xxxxxxxx, xx and I have worked as a Confidential Informant with the City of xxxxxxxx xx Police Department.
I have outlined a plan of rehabilitation for Mr. Jones upon his release from Polk County Correctional Facility.
Upon his release, he will go immediately to St. Thomas Catholic Church located at 1305 Mann Street in Bartow, Fl. There he will meet with Father Mitchell. He will also find a duffel bag filled with clean clothing, toiletries, cash and a plane ticket to xxxxxxxxxx, xx. Fr. Mitchell will escort Mr. Jones to the airport in Tampa, Fl.
I will personally meet Mr. Jones flight when it arrives in xxxxxxxxxx, and then transport him to xxxxx House, a rehabilitation center located at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The telephone number for xxxxx House is xxx-xxx-xxxx. They are well known for their efforts in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. At xxxxx House, Mr. Jones will meet with physicians and psychologists specially trained in addiction. The programs run anywhere from 12 to 24 weeks. Mr. Jones' length of stay will be determined by the doctors there.
Upon his release from xxxxx House, Mr. Jones will come to my home. I have prepared a room for him and he will be given free room and board as well as a small salary in exchange for "handyman" work. My address is xxxx xxxxxxxxx Drive, xxxxxxxxxx, xx xxxxx and my telephone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. I might add that I will not tolerate any form of alcohol or drug use. No exceptions.
Mr. Jones will be required to attend at least one meeting a day at a 12 step program known as The Recovery Club, located at xxxx xxxxxxx Drive, xxxxxxxxxx, xx xxxxx. The telephone number for The Recovery Club is xxx-xxx-xxxx. Their meetings are held every day at 8am, 12pm, 6pm, and 8pm. Mr. Jones will be free to go to any or as many meetings he chooses, depending on his work schedule. I only require one a day. Transportation will be provided. I have also arranged for Mr. Jones to have a personal sponsor, Todd xxxxx. Like Mr. Jones, Todd xxxxx has battled a lifetime of addiction to cocaine, crystal meth and alcohol. Mr. xxxxx has been "clean" for about 10 years and attends at least two meetings a day. I have the utmost respect and admiration for him. I also have a lot of faith that he would be the right sponsor for Mr. Jones. You may contact Mr. xxxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx and his address is 8505 xxxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx, xxxxxxxxxx, xx, xxxxx.
As for employment, I have arranged for three interviews. One with Lt. John xxxxx with xxxxxx County Sheriff's Department. He is in charge of internal affairs with the sheriff's office but also owns a concrete company that employs about 30 men. Lt. xxxxx has had experience with addiction with own son and is willing to "do what he can" to help Mr. Jones get on his feet. You may contact Mr. xxxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx.
The second interview will be with xxxxxxx xxxxx, owner of xxxxx Heating and Air. You may contact Mr. xxxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx.
The third interview will be with x & x Construction. Their phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx. They are located here in xxxxxxxxxx at xxx xxxxxxx Industrial Road. Mr. Jones has had experience in heavy equipment and this is an earth moving service. It may be the best option for him based on his experience.
If all this fails, Mr. Jones will be transported to Labor Ready to obtain day labor work until he can find permanent employment.
I will also aid Mr. Jones into having his driver license reinstated.
Mr. Jones will also be expected to attend regular church services. I am a devout catholic and believe that you can accomplish nothing without God. Mr. Jones will be able to choose his own church as long as it is a New Testament Christian church. I require that he goes at least one time a week. Again, transportation will be provided.
As you can see, Mr. Jones is a lucky man to have found someone like me willing to help him. I don't do this for everybody but Mr. Jones has shown to me that he is ready to change and willing to tackle all that is necessary to do so. He is aware that his recovery is not a temporary step, but rather a lifetime commitment. It will have to take priority in his life, above all else, permanently.
One of the reasons I am willing to do all this is that it has come to my attention that Mr. Jones has done a great deal in aiding Floridian authorities in convicting mass murderer, Nelson Serrano. Something Mr. Jones did on his own and without coercion. That shows to me that he is worth saving. As a result of this action, his life is in danger. Coming here to xxxxxxxxxx will be the next best thing to the witness protection program.
He has done the state of Florida a tremendous favor and I feel that the State of Florida needs to return that favor.
You may contact me either at my office, xxx-xxx-xxxx or by my personal cell, xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Sincerely,

Norma DePlume

PS: If the Interstate Transport Agreement transfer is approved, Mr. Jones' new probation officer will be William xxxxxx. His office number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Christmas came and went that year. Todd spent the holiday alone, as usual, in his cell. He had my photo though. It was all he had. Because this story is factual I do have to admit that Todd, being your typical man much less a felon, did jokingly ask me to send him more "revealing" photos. I wrote back to him and said,"that would be like showing you your Christmas present early and then wrapping it back up and putting it under the tree". He knew what I meant and he realized that I was not "that kind of girl". He wrote back and apologized for even asking. It only gave him more respect for me. He never asked again and I never sent him any more pictures. We had been lucky to get away with it the first time, I wasn't going to risk trying it again.
I spent my Christmas with family but I too, felt alone. I was lonesome for a man I had never met. I was beginning to become more and more lonesome for Todd as the days went by. I sent Todd a Christmas card saying, "You're in my heart now, stay there". I took out a $500 loan and packed a box as I had said I would do. I filled the box with clothing, toiletries, money for a plane ticket, a prepaid cell phone and a bible. Addressed it to Farther Mitchell c/o St. Thomas Catholic Church, Bartow, Florida. I carried this box in the trunk of my car, ready to ship at a moments notice. There was nothing left for me to do but to await a court date and pray the judge would would rule in our favor.

6. Unsinkable Souls

Un-sink-able Soul : Person who faces any challenge with hope, humor and heart. See stick-to-it-ness. See perseverance. See pit bull. See also victory.

The first book I sent this mysterious inmate, the first of many, was a Chicken Soup Book. Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul. It had been given to me at a particularly low time in my life and had lifted my spirits. Knowing that he was locked up in solitary confinement, void of any extrasensory stimulation, I hoped it would do the same for him. "Is there anything else I can do?", I asked. And the requests began. Ever so slightly. It wasn't money as I expected. He wanted names, and addresses and documents. These small tasks would eventually get me involved and a host of situations, including an unsolved homicide that occurred in Polk County over a decade ago.

The first thing he wanted to know was if I had a computer and did I have internet access. The deluge of requests poured in. He sent me a lists of addresses he needed. The Lakeland Ledger, the Tampa Tribune, NBC News Action 8, Associated Press in Florida and an attorney. "She represented me in the Serrano matter. I really need her phone number" he wrote.

Then he wrote that he had a huge problem. He told me to Google the name "Lighthouse Ministries" and when I found it, I was to call the number and ask for a guy named Tony. I was to tell Tony that a resident named Billy had stored Todd's legal papers somewhere at the shelter and to please find them and then Todd would make arrangements to have them picked up. It was urgent as these documents could not be replaced.

That's really how this story began. A simple box of legal papers left at a homeless shelter. It would take me almost a year to get them back for Todd. Looking back, if I had known how important that box would become in my life, I'd have driven to Florida that night to retrieve them myself. Now I sit and type my story as fast as I can. At the moment of this writing, there is a legitimate fear that a I will soon hear a knock on my door from a process server or a sheriff's deputy with a subpoena asking for my computer. (If my blog stops, it will only be temporarily. I have made arrangements if the inevitable happens. I've learned to be savvy and err on the side of caution where lawyers and law enforcement are concerned.)

I made the call as requested. I spoke with Tony and told him why I was calling. Tony put the phone down for a few minutes and I could hear him hollering at this Billy person in the background. Evidently, storing one of the resident's belongings was a big no-no. Tony came back to the phone to tell me he had found Todd's box of papers stashed in the boiler room. I could make arrangements to send for them. As for Billy, he was evicted from the shelter that day for his part in storing these papers, i.e.; breaking the rules. I've often worried about Billy. I've worried about what happens when a homeless person gets evicted from a shelter. He had done Todd a great deed in hanging onto those papers. Somewhere on the streets of Lakeland Florida, is a homeless person that's got a heart of gold. When all this is over, I have every intention of coming back to Lakeland and searching for Billy, if he's still alive. And when I do, he won't be homeless anymore.

I wrote to Todd telling him his records were safe and I listed all the addresses for which he had asked. Now I had some questions for him.

(excerpts from the original letter dated 11/2/06)

Tell me more about your cell. Do you have a window? What about the other guys in area? I mean, I know why you are in ISO (solitary confinement) but - gulp - why are the other guys in there? Do you get to go outside? Can you see the stars? Do you sleep okay? Do you ever get cold? What do you miss the most? What's the first thing you want to do when you get out? You mentioned a counselor, do you have someone in there you can talk to besides other cell mates?

I had lots of questions. I had no idea what it was like to be behind bars. Especially in ISO, aka "the hole". I often thought about locking myself up in my bathroom as a sort of psychological experiment. Just to see what it was like and how long I could take it. I was beginning to worry about this inmate. Of course, I'm a Christian, I care for everybody. When you are a Christian you can't help but care. What I didn't see then, was that I was beginning to care a little more each day for this guy. And I anxiously waited for Phyllis, my mail lady, to bring me the next letter.

5. Nature Versus Nurture

Encyclopedia defines the nature versus nurture debate as the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities and personal experiences in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits. Does a person's DNA determine who will succeed in life and who will become an addict and a criminal? Or rather is it the person's early childhood development and upbringing that determines that? I used to believe the latter. That is until I met an unusual inmate in the Polk County Jail.

In my second letter to Todd Jones, DC # 0622141, I thought it best to relate my childhood and upbringing. If I were going to be able to encourage and comfort him, and eventually convince him to turn away from his addictions and criminal ways, then I'd better get down to his level. Or so I thought.

"I grew up on a small farm in Mississippi", I wrote. I never knew my father and my mother was an abusive alcoholic. My childhood memories were all painful. I dropped out of school and left home at the age of fourteen. Thumbing my way to a small town in Texas. "No one came to look for me", I added. Except the perverts, drug dealers and pimps that prey on young girls traveling alone.

I overcame all that and managed to land a small job, lying about my age. I had always taken care of myself. When I was eighteen I married a man 13 years my senior. Like my mother before him, he too turned out to be an abusive alcoholic. By the age of thirty, I finally broke away from this union and found myself sleeping on a dirty mattress on the floor of a rundown shack on the wrong side of town with my now two children. Despite it all, I managed to get my GED and land a four year scholarship. I eventually found a better job, a better place to live and had raised my children on my own. "If I had done it, then you can too", I suggested. I ended the letter with one of my fumbled scriptures. "Again", I wrote, "I can't say exactly where it is in the bible, but it goes something like, suffering begets endurance, endurance begets perseverance, perseverance begets character and it's our character that makes us who we are".

His letter back to me wasn't exactly what I had expected. He had a childhood just the opposite. He came from a wealthy and loving family in East Hampton, Long Island, New York. He had grown up in a life of luxury. He graduated high school and went on to trade school where he studied his passion, automobile restoration. He was first introduced to cocaine at a party for a famous Sports Illustrated model (name withheld). In 1998, he moved with his common law wife and two children to Lakeland, Florida to be near her family. It wasn't until coming to Florida, did his life take a turn for the worst. "Oh and by the way", he wrote, "that scripture you mentioned is Romans, Chapter 5, verses 3-5".

So much for the nature versus nurture debate. If anyone should have wound up a drug addict in jail in a small town in Florida, it should have been me, not him. I scrapped together 10 bucks for a money order and sent it back to him. I wanted to be sure he had plenty of stamps and envelopes so that he could write back to me. I had found his story fascinating and wanted to hear more. How does a rich guy from the uppity side of New York wind up a homeless drug addict in a Florida jail? The answer would shock me.