The Only Time I Went to Jail

I’ve only been to jail once in my life, and it wasn’t fun. But I’m glad I don’t have more experiences to write about on this subject 😁

It was the summer of 95′, I believe. I was 22.

I was hanging out at my good friend’s house that night. It was probably 2am, and we were sitting around chillin, enjoying the weekend. We had a few people over, and I was playing guitar, singing, and entertaining everyone.

Then my friend asked me if I would drive him over to another one of our friends’ houses. I forget why exactly, but he needed to get something from him or something like that. I’m not sure.

So I said that I would, but told him not to take any drugs with him because I didn’t want to be ridin’ around at 2 o’clock in the morning with drugs in my car.

He assured me that he would leave all the drugs at home lol 🏡

So we headed out. I had an old 1981 white Camaro at the time. We made it to our destination and hung out for about 30 minutes. Then we left and started making our way back home.

We were about halfway home when the blue lights exploded behind me, almost blinding me as they reflected in all my mirrors.

So I pulled over, and the officer approached my window. He told me that he pulled me over because one of my taillights was really dim. He asked me a few questions, and I answered them. I was cool, calm, and relaxed. I’m not worried at all about anything.

Then he walks around to the passenger side and starts talking to my buddy. He was really nervous and kind of stuttering, not giving very good answers. But I didn’t think much of it because that’s just how he was a lot of the time.

So then the officer comes back to my side and says to me, “Your friend is acting very nervous. Do I have your permission to search the vehicle?”

And then I say, “This is just how he is sometimes, officer. Sure, you can search. We have nothing to hide.”

So he tells us to step around and stand at the back of my car while he does his thing. And we did.

So the cop 👮‍♂️ is on the passenger side looking around when suddenly he screams at us, “PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE AND DON’T MOVE!!!”

And I’m just like 🙆🤦 Then I say to my friend, “WTH, man?! I told you not to bring anything!”

He said nothing.

So it turns out he had a little baggie of drugs on him that he threw onto my floorboard because he got scared.

Then the officer cuffs us both, puts us in the back of his unit, and hauls our butts off to the county jail.

I got thrown into a small holding cell, just me and this weird dude.

The guy wore grooves on the floor just walking back and forth for hours, never speaking or even acknowledging my presence.

He had what looked like an old Polaroid photo in his hand. It had been ripped open, and I kid you not, he was licking whatever substance was inside it. He just kept walking back and forth, non-stop for hours, licking on that thing.

It was insane. I was just like, “Where am I right now?”

Finally, they came and got me, booked me, and put me in an open pod with maybe 40 other guys.

I was exhausted and ended up sleeping. The next day, I woke up, and it really hit me. I was in jail. 🫥

It was supper time now, and they brought us some food. So I sat down to try and eat. It was garbage. I just couldn’t do it.

Then this older guy sat beside me and tried to start up a conversation. He looked to be in his 40s, maybe. He asked me what I was in for, so I didn’t go into detail, but I told him a little bit about what happened.

Then I asked him the same thing. What did he do to get himself in such a wonderful place?

He proceeds to tell me this story about how his girlfriend’s parents don’t like him and don’t want the two of them together, so they’re trying to cause trouble for him.

That didn’t really add up for me, so I asked some more questions. How come they don’t want yall together?

Then he says, “They think she’s too young for a relationship.”

So I asked how old she was?

Then he says, “Well, she’s 12, but I love her, and they can’t stop us from being together.”

At this point, I just stood up, grabbed my tray, and walked away. I found somewhere else to sit.

I spent 3 days in there, giving serious thought to my life. Then my parents came and bailed me out.

I got myself an attorney and went to see him at his office. I told him everything that happened. He said to give him a week or two, and he would be in touch.

A few weeks went by, and my phone rang. It was him. He said he had some great news. He’d gone to see my friend in jail and gotten him to sign a statement saying that everything was his and that I had no knowledge of it.

That was such a great thing for my friend to do for me, and I’ll always appreciate him for that.

My charges were eventually dismissed, and he ended up getting charged with other things as well and stayed in jail for a while.

He and I are still friends today. He’s a Christian now and active in his church. He turned his life around, just like me.

Turns out that night in jail wasn’t the end of either one of our stories.

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