Loud & Clear; Hear My Cries, a story by a victim of a crime and his experience when The Justice System failed him

On January 1, 2004, I was shot point blank from 3 feet away with a 40-caliber-hand gun leaving me crippled for life. The three bullets hit my groin, my arm and my leg and shot through my body. The bullets passed through my body and I almost died that day. I literally floated over my own body for a time before they revived me in the hospital. I was in so much pain and was on a lot of medicine during that time. I was not even aware of my surroundings for 2 months following this vicious crime. I was just going through the motions of healing from a near death injury.

When I was released from the hospital, I was kicked out of my residence because I could not work to pay rent. I was homeless for the next 1 ½ years. I could not cope physically or mentally with society on any level. I lost my home and working abilities because of the three bullet wounds that kept me from working causing intense physical pain and mental suffering. I was homeless for seventeen months and had no food, no work, no income, or home. I slept in bushes and parks and on the street. I walked and walked for so long that I didn't know what day it was. I really did not know any better at that point in my life and had absolutely no control of my circumstances. I think I woke up from my harsh existence about 3 months ago.

I have backed up bills from the Hospital, the ambulance transportation bills; surgery, x-rays and all medical bills due to injuries sustained from this crime. I am not able to function on a normal capacity. I have severe physical and mental illnesses that are not resolved. I am still trying to recover. I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. I was previously incapable of seeking help in any manor. I was never provided with services or resources from any individuals or organizations, advocates for passage of laws or public policies to ensure rights and protections from my crime victimization, nor was I delivered trainings or technical assistance by any service organizations, counselors, attorneys, criminal justice agencies, or related professionals. According to 'The Justice For All Act' of 2004 (H.R.5107), which was signed into law on October 30, 2004 by President George W. Bush as public law no. 108-405.

The Justice For All Act was put into place to ensure that victims of crimes get 8 very important things: It amends the Federal criminal code to grant crime victims the right:

(1) to be reasonably protected from the accused;

(2) to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding or any parole proceeding involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused;

(3) to not be excluded from any such proceeding, unless the court determines that the victim's testimony would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding;

(4) to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding;

(5) to confer with the Government attorney in the case;

(6) to full and timely restitution as provided by law;

(7) to proceedings free from unreasonably delay; and

(8) to be treated with fairness and respect.

http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:HR05107:@@@L&summ2=m&

This bill was amended into the United States Constitution because people like my self, who through no fault of their own, were traumatized and victimized by a crime. A good overview of the Act is found on U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy's website. He provides a Section By-Section Analysis of the JUSTICE FOR ALL ACT OF 2004.http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=The+Justice+For+All+Act&sourceid=Mozilla-search

I was fearful for my life and have been running from ghosts for the last two years. I am still and always will be living in constant fear of being hurt or shot again. I flinch at regular noises on a daily basis. Now, according to my constitutional rights, I should have been taken care of, physically and financially, by my local government officials. Instead, I was discriminated against, verbally abused, mentally tortured, and swept under the carpet by our city's finest and the district attorneys office.

I should have been referred to the VCGCB. The three-member Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (VCGCB) is a state agency of the U.S. state of California that oversees the provision of compensation to victims of violent crime, the resolution of claims against state agencies, and the collection of restitution from criminal offenders. The VCGCB is part of the State and Consumer Services Agency.

The Victim Compensation Program (VCP) provides compensation for victims of violent crime who are injured or threatened with injury. Among the crimes covered are domestic violence, child abuse, sexual and physical assault, homicide, robbery, drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter. If a person meets eligibility criteria, the VCP will compensate many types of services when the costs are not covered by other sources. Eligible services include medical and dental care, mental health services, income loss, funeral expenses, rehabilitation and relocation. Funding for the VCP comes from restitution fines and orders, penalty assessments levied on persons convicted of crimes and traffic offenses, and federal matching funds. Any victim of a crime can apply for and receive up to $75,000 for crime related expenses. California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board website

A great resource for the Justice for All Act and victims rights is the Office for Victims of Crime.

Assault with a deadly weapon

I cooperated reasonably with the detective in charge of the case by providing him with a positive ID in the form of photograph of the criminal who shot me. I was in no way whatsoever involved in the events leading to the crime. **************************************************************************************************

When in the hospital I went into emergency surgery to repair the shot gun wounds and to stop the bleeding. Immediately upon coming to from the recovery I opened his eyes and was looking at Detective who questioned him about his assailant. I stated I did not know the name of the persons who shot me. I did at that point pick out the shooter's photo from a picture book and positively ID’ed him helping lead to the arrest of the criminal. I remember the police officer because the officer said we went to High School together and remembered what a good athlete I was and asked if I still played football. We had an amicable conversation. A few days later I requested to the nurse on call to ask for the police to come and talk with me about the incident. No police officer ever showed up. I was released from the hospital and was never contacted again to be interviewed. I was homeless at this time and did not have a valid telephone number and address. I was never called to testify, but was cooperative with police when first interviewed upon release from ICU and in recovery.

This is how the whole thing went down...

I was called by my brother to his house to help move something. I was there for less than 45 minutes when the assailant arrived, and started an argument with my brother. I approached the shooter and was less than a foot away when the guy pulled out a .40 caliber hand gun, (same as standard police issue) and shot me 3 times, then turned the gun to my brother, started shooting at my brother and missed. I was in no way involved in the argument and did not assist in the crime to occur. I was not aware of any detectives trying to contact me and was quite surprised about this.

When I telephoned the one of the detectives in charge of the case on 4/21/06 , he stated,”I know what you are trying to do here. Trying to scam Santa Barbara for money." What a jackass he was.

I have gotten nowhere in a lot of time. And now I am just a statistic.

It was about two weeks before this whole thing went down that I had this gnarly premonition. I had a vision about being shot and dying. I knew something was going to happen. When that happened, I drew a picture of what I saw. I thought, "Oh, now I know how I am going to go! I'm gonna get shot!" I was at point blank range when the assailant took those three shots.

One in the upper arm,

...........one in the shin,

and the third on went in at the groin, where the leg meets the torsoe on my right side...

.......that one went all the way through and came out on my left buttcheek. One more inch to the left and that bullet would have blown away my 'decision-maker'.

I was called by my brother to his house to help move something. I was there for less than 45 minutes when the assailant arrived, and started an argument with my brother. I approached the shooter and was less than a foot away when the guy pulled out a .40 caliber hand gun, (same as standard police issue) and shot me 3 times, then turned the gun to my brother, started shooting at my brother and missed. I was in no way involved in the argument and did not assist in the crime to occur.

This was the newspaper article as printed in 2004.

current issue: Jan 29, 2004

THE GUNSLINGER who wrecked New Year’s Day on the lower Westside by shooting 33-year-old ------ , three times with a .40 caliber handgun, was arrested Monday in Los Angeles. -------, 27, was apprehended after a search led by Detective Chris Inglehart, aided by the state Department of Justice in L.A. -------- was shot on the 1700 block of Sunset Avenue after an argument; he is recovering. Also arrested in connection with the shooting were --------, 23, and ---------, 26.

and

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Man shot on Sunset Avenue

A man was shot Thursday night in the 1700 block of Sunset Avenue in Santa Barbara, police said.

The man, described by police as in his 30s, was struck in the lower part of his body around 9 p.m., according to Lt. Armando Martel. He was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, and his injuries were described as not life-threatening, Lt. Martel said.

The man, who lives in the area but was not identified, was shot on the street or the sidewalk. Police had not apprehended the shooter late Thursday but were looking for a dark SUV driven by a female.

-- Jane Hulse

.......Not life-threatening, My Asssss...phault!!! I was in ICU for the better part of a week. I have never recovered from the three gunshots. I was left for dead and lost everything, all my personal possessions, my home, my vehicle, and my family.

I met my baby girl in 2005, love at first sight of course! It was then that she started to dig and help me to find some help. She kept questioning how the justice system could just leave me indigent without so much as a blink. So, the pursuit for justice began, with endless letters, and contacts and phone calls, in order to make things right.

The following are copies of correspondence via letters and emails to fight for me so that I could recover some of my life and get some sort of compensation for what happened to me. To date I have still not received one single penny from either of the assailants, I live in pain every single day and I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder...............................

My girl began with the letters, sending them to anyone she could get an email address for that was involved in the criminal justice system

February 2, 2006

Dear Sir or Madam:

My name is -------. I am 34 years old. On January 1^st, 2004 I was shot point blank from 3 feet away with a 40-calibur-hand gun.

The three bullets hit my lower torsoe, my arm and my leg. The bullets passed through my body and I almost died that day. I literally floated over my own body for a time before they revived me in the hospital. I was in so much pain and was on a lot of medicine during that time. Nobody had informed me of any types of programs for assistance, (I was not aware of them. I did not even become aware of any help with restitution or assistance until I had a casual conversation with a lawyer this last February of 2006.) When I was released from the hospital, I was kicked out of my residence and I was homeless for the next 2 years. I could not cope physically or mentally with society on any level. I had no counseling, assistance, or information available to me nor did I have any other resources for help.

I have numerous crime related expenses. I was assaulted with a deadly weapon. All of the bills are still outstanding and have not been paid. I lost my home and working abilities due to the fact of three bullet wounds that kept me from work due to pain and mental illness. My credibility has been torn to shreds and my reputation as a law-abiding citizen disappeared. I was homeless for seventeen months and had no food, no work, no income, or shelter. I have backed up bills from Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, the ambulance transportation bills; surgery, x-rays and all medical bills due to these injuries. I am not able to function on a normal capacity. I have severe physical and mental illnesses that are not resolved. I am still in need of constant medical attention for problems that have gone uncared for much too long. I am trying to recover, but need help. I am requesting compensation because I was severely injured as a result of this violent crime. I have dependents that count on me for support. I have medical expenses as a result of this violent crime. I have members of my family who need counseling as a result of the crime.

I am seeking restitution for the following:

*Medical and medical-related expenses. *Outpatient mental health treatment or counseling. *Wage or income loss since January 1^st, 2004.

*I am physically and mentally disabled, and I would like to seek medical assistance for written verification for this. I need to seek out support. I am begging for help.

*I have child support loss for legal dependents due to my injury. I have not paid for child support for my two children, because I cannot seem to find work, and I need help to deal with the public in a normal functioning capacity in this town. I have no credibility in the publics’ eye.

*I am living in constant fear and need a home security system installed. I have fear of loud noises and I flinch to sounds

I recently got my credit report and have many $10s of 1000s of dollars worth of unpaid bills. I was never informed of Victim Compensation Program. I did not have access to information for help. I am requesting reimbursement for this violent crime that occurred on January 1, 2004.

The OCV says that they ‘put victims first’ and will be successful that any victim who needs help will find guidance and support.

I have and am currently suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. I was incapable of seeking help in any manor. I was never provided with services or resources from any individuals or organizations, advocates for passage of laws or public policies to ensure rights and protections from my crime victimization, nor was I delivered trainings or technical assistance from any service organizations, counselors, attorneys, criminal justice agencies, or related professionals.

I need to facilitate civil actions brought on by this violent crime. I want the perpetrators and responsible third parties to pay for the damages that I suffered as a result of this crime. I was fearful for my life and have been running from ghosts for the last two years.

I am requesting compensation in the manner of direct payment to myself for my crime-related expenses such as my unpaid medical bills, mental health counseling, and lost wages, rent, food, transportation, and basic living needs.

I was never called to court to testify. I did not get a chance to give the court my statement of facts.

I need the support and advocacy for the crime that I never received previously. I never received crisis intervention and follow-up counseling for emotional, personal, or financial problems resulting from this crime. I never got a referral to social service agencies, counselors or others who could have assisted with my personal problems. I need Emergency Assistance (housing, food, medical care, etc.) I need help with the process of claims for my crime-related expenses.

I send my sincere appreciation and thanks in advance for your consideration in allowing and responding to my needs.

Please ‘put me first’ so that I can succeed in finding guidance and support. I beg you to please help me to recover from this life shattering crime that was committed.

Respectfully yours,

--------

HK