Syringe

Sworn Statements

I heard that two of my friends from the medical platoon had been turned in by their Commander, Captain Tessler.

One medic, Specialist Bell was known for how hard he partied.

He had a major drug addiction.

While he was in Panama, he stole some morphine from the Army medical clinic.

Using a syringe to shoot himself up, he turned grey and was found passed out on the clinic floor.

After surviving the overdose and being released from the hospital, Bell was shipped back to Ft. Polk. He was already going to get in trouble for his actions but it spooked his Commander.

Captain Tessler got scared because he partied with Bell several times at Ft. Polk using Ecstasy.

Tessler was paranoid that Bell would speak about his own drug use once CID got to him. So he just decided to turn him in first.

Captain Tessler also turned in another medic Specialist Vann because he had partied with the two of them. I couldn’t believe he would do that to his friends.

CID had already charged Bell for the Panama incident so they just added more to his plate. Vann was arrested and charged as well.

Maybe Tessler thought that because he was an Officer that no one would believe that he had used drugs with his men.

He had purchased the drugs from me through Vann. Unfortunately for Captain Tessler, he had used checks on several occasions to pay for his drugs.

So I contacted Special Agent Thundercloud and told him that Tessler was not clean, and if CID ran my bank account, they would find at least two checks made out to me for the drugs he bought.

I just didn’t think what he did was cool. If his men were going down because of him, then he was going down with them.

I filled out a sworn statement and they arrested Captain Tessler.

He denied everything.

I don’t think he even remembered writing the checks.

This was a pretty big deal for CID because Tessler was an Officer. This kind of thing didn’t happen very often.

It seemed like a domino effect was taking place because another friend got busted.

Specialist Devin, a mechanic from the maintenance platoon, got caught with Ecstasy. Devin was another soldier that used to live in Jane’s trailer.

My name got brought up during questioning and so I had to sign a statement against him.

The next take down was my friend Private First Class Chris Holmes from the chemical company. He was originally from Alexandria. It was his sister’s house that I stayed at the night I overdosed.

He got busted dealing and once again, my name was brought up. So I had to sign a sworn statement against him as well.

I felt bad about signing that one because he had helped me out.

There was no way out of it though. Once two names were tied together that was all it took.

And I was still on call to testify against my friend Private First Class Eddie Gaines, who was arrested the same night as me in Club Late Nite, Alexandria.

I did not mean to testify against any of my friends.

My name kept getting brought up during interrogations and undercover agents stated that they knew about their connections to me.

I did deliberately bust my dealer Red in Houston. I needed something to reduce the crazy amount of time I was facing.

As far as Captain Tessler, he was just wrong for what he did.

So I did not feel guilty about what happened there.

Everyone else just got burned through guilt by association.

With all of these situations, Thundercloud said that he would testify in my defense.

He would say how much help I had been to the Criminal Investigation Division Drug Suppression Team.

He was sure that the Judge would look at the amount of activity as a positive step towards rehabilitation.

I really didn’t know how true that was, but I was about to find out…

Judge Advocate General

Back to Jail

The next morning we all headed back to Leesville. Having fallen asleep in the car, I don’t remember the ride.

Once we arrived, we drove to Jane’s house to drop her off. I changed back into my jail clothes and Thundercloud took me back to VPSO. Jane’s house was just two streets over from the jail so it did not take long.

He took me in and turned me back over to the Sheriffs and said he would see me at my Court-Martial.

When I walked back into the block of cells, I noticed something strange. Several inmates were wearing t-shirts and socks that looked a lot like the ones the Army issued.

When I got to my cell I realized that all of my clothes were gone. They were wearing all my stuff!

The inmate who was sharing a cell with me said that when I left the day before, everyone thought I was gone for good. So they went through my Army laundry bag and divied up some of my stuff.

Being able to get most of my stuff back was a challenge but luckily most everyone just handed it over.

The guards took me to another area of the jail where all of the military prisoners were being kept. Some one had moved on and there was a vacant cell. This one was a little different.

It did not have a common area or a hall connecting multiple cells together. It was a two man cell with a metal wall with a door, two more metal walls on the sides, and bars at the back.

It had the two metal bunks, a toilet, and a shower. Through the bars at the back, was the walk way that wrapped around the whole jail.

On the other side of the bars sat a tv. The only way to watch it was to pay a fee for cable costs. I did not have any money and so I did not pay for cable.

Over the next couple days I settled in and started writing letters. Mostly just wondering how my family was doing back in Germany.

My brother Darren, was serving in the Air Force and was stationed in Germany at another base and my sister Dana and youngest brother Daniel were still at home with my parents.

Article 15 UCMJ

Because I ran away the second time, I was going to receive an Article 15. This is a non-judiciary punishment that defines what happened and what the recourse would be without having to go to court or talk to a judge.

Someone from my unit brought up the paperwork for me to sign. I was reduced in rank from an E-3 to an E-2 and I had to forfeit one week’s pay (must be standard because I wasn’t getting paid).

I also had to meet with my lawyer, CPT Jokinen. His concern was that the desertion charge carried more time than AWOL.

I needed to convince the judge that I had intended to return at some point during the time that I was gone. Being gone so long, changing my appearance and then running away again did not help the situation.

Besides that issue, he told me that due to the charges that had been filed against me he felt that I realistically would be serving about four years.

That did not sound good but it was better than what I was told before.

I had about two weeks before the Court-Martial and I was told I needed to write what I would say to the judge before sentencing.

In the walk way behind the bars there was a little rectangular window at the top of the wall. I stood up on the bottom of the bars and looked out to see the view.

To my amazement, just two streets over I could see Jane’s house. To my despair, sitting right across the street from her house was my car.

So close, but so far away….

Inmate Life

Inmate Life

The next day was 23 NOV, and I realized when that it was Thanksgiving Day. There was no celebration, no family, nothing. This was inmate life.

Grits, slimy eggs and coffee were served for breakfast.

Leaving the two man cell where I slept, I entered the common cell. I kept to myself and observed the dynamics of the inmates I would be spending some time with.

I was a little out of place. They wore orange jumpsuits with VPSO printed on the back and I wore the green field pants and denim shirt with Inmate printed on the back.

Most of the guys were locked up for petty crimes, nothing too serious. Every day they would sit around playing cards and dominoes, telling fishing and hunting stories.

I did see two guys that seemed somewhat normal. They were more my age with really long hair. They were arrested for stealing band equipment from a church. We talked about music and how they ended up there.

Everyone else just lay in their bunks and watched television. Westerns, war movies, or hunting and fishing shows were on all day long.

The people were not too bad but I knew better than to trust too much.

Every hour on the hour, you could hear keys jingle as Mr. Reesey made his way around the hall that went around the back side of all the cells.

He was a very tall, heavy set, red neck with black pants and a white short-sleeved button up shirt. He had to be about 50 to 60 years old. When anyone would ask him how his day was, he would always respond “It’s just anotha’ day!”

Each time he walked around the cell block he would check around for anything suspicious. As soon as he would leave, unauthorized activity would start up.

Inmates would trade items from cell to cell. Sticking an arm through the bars with an item on a string then swing and drop it in front of another cell.

The recipient would use toilet paper rolls stuck together as a retrieval tool. Then something would be reciprocated.

Mostly cigarettes, stamps and money were traded. Other stuff found its way around. Certain types of food from the kitchen could be bartered for and even sometimes drugs.

I just paid attention, kept to myself and kept my mouth shut.

In the evening a snack cart would come around but you had to have cash to purchase anything. People could send cash in the mail as long as it was annotated in the letter, otherwise it might not get to you.

This was because all incoming mail was opened and “inspected.”

I was allowed to send out three letters a week for free, any more than that, I would need stamps. So I started writing letters to my parents.

In the letters, I talked about the conditions of confinement, the food and the other inmates. I requested stamps, and a little cash for food from the snack cart.

For some reason I felt the need to discuss all my drug use and the fact that I still was craving them. It was like being in jail was a truth serum.

I wasn’t trying to brag about it, maybe just confessing it all out. In hindsight, I was probably over sharing.

I finally got to talk to my lawyer. Captain Castillo told me that because I missed my original Court Martial date, my 6 year pre-trial agreement was thrown out.

This left me with no protection from a maximum sentence of 36 years. I would be at the mercy of the court.

He also told me that in all the defense cases involving drugs that he’s seen come through, he felt like I would be getting the most time. Through our entire discussion, he seemed very flippant.

I had been scared of this type of thing and because he didn’t seem too interested in actually defending me, I requested to have another lawyer assigned to me.

My new attorney, Captain Jokinen, was a lot more compassionate. He seemed to care about what happened to me.

 He interviewed me and told me he would get to work on my case right away. My willingness to cooperate with the Army Drug Suppression Team would be to my advantage.

I was told that Thundercloud would come get me on the 30th which was eight days after I had arrived.

The days went by so slow. Staring at the walls and the bars for hour after hour, day after day. The meals were always the same, nothing changed and the drugs were still calling my name.

I was determined not to take anything else though. I don’t know if I was truly remorseful at this point or if I even realized the gravity of the situation I was in. I did know that I was messed up, my life was messed up and I needed help.

People were praying for me. I knew about some of them but there were others. Many others all over the world took the time to kneel before God and mention my name.

Some I would not find out about until 25 years later. This and God’s plan for my life at this time was the only thing keeping me alive and I would not realize it until later.

The 30th came but no one came to get me.  I thought maybe they forgot about me or they didn’t get approval or something.

The next day, a guard opened the cell door and said;

“Inmate Mike! Come with me right now…”

Photo courtesy of Brian Some rights reserved

Civilian Custody

On my way to be processed again, I told Thundercloud that there was a dealer who sold to me and a bunch of soldiers. We all had the intent of distribution. Not just one or two hits, we were buying in bulk.

There had to be a connection between this civilian and U.S. service members. I assured him that this was the case. He was my main dealer and before that he was Sid’s.

On my last run before the sting operation that took me down, I had introduced him to Eddie. There were others as well. He seemed very interested.

Letting him know that Red lived in Houston, Thundercloud said that would not be a problem. He would take care of all the particulars and coordinate a joint operation, and that he would be in touch.

Before leaving Jane’s house, I gave her a phone card to call my parents and let them know I turned myself in. I did not have the opportunity to talk to them and wouldn’t due to them living in Germany, and I could only make collect calls.

The Military Police escorted me off Post to the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office (VPSO) in Leesville. When I got there I was released to civilian guards.

They issued me a pair of green Army field pants and a blue denim shirt that said Inmate across the back. This is what I was going to wear while in civilian custody.

After changing into the uniform, they took me to their version of a holding cell called the drunk tank. When the solid metal door was opened I stepped in. There were two metal benches, a drain in the floor (no toilet), a dim light and a humid stench that permeated my nostrils.

The smell of sweat, urine and vomit was so strong that I wondered if it had ever been cleaned. Nausea overtook me immediately and I said “I don’t think I’m supposed to be in here.”

This cell was where they put people that were too drunk, high or dangerous to be placed in the general population. Since I was sober and cooperative, I did not know why I was placed there.

A guard shut the door and I heard the familiar metal clanking of keys and the turning of the lock sealing me in. So I sat in there for I don’t know how long. In places like these time becomes distorted.

Eventually I lay down on the bench and tried to sleep, but it was impossible with the odor. As time slowly passed, I began to feel trapped. No people, no window, no air and the walls felt like they were slowly closing in on me. No one checked on me or my situation. I was just stuck in there.

After what seemed like hours, a civilian inmate came to bring me some food. I was definitely in Louisiana! Red beans and rice and cornbread with a cup of water.

When he gave me the food through the slot I pleaded with him to send a guard to see me. He said he would see what he could do. I choked down the food but all I could taste was the stench of the cell.

A little while later the warden came to my cell. He opened the food tray and said “My name is Mr. Reesey, what do you want?”

I told him that I was a military inmate and that I did not know why I was in the drunk tank. He shut the tray door and was gone for a while, probably only a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.

When he came back, I heard the keys again and the door opened. He said, “Come with me.”

The other military inmates had already been there for a few days and they did not have room for me in that part of the jail. So, I was placed in general population with the civilian inmates.

I was assigned to a two man cell that had two bunks and a toilet. The bunks were just metal slabs sticking out off the wall, a pillow and blanket.

The back of the cells were made of iron bars so there was no privacy. These two man cells were lined up in a row with an opening in each. If you stepped out of the cell you were in a passage that led to a larger cell with metal benches for eating and hanging out.

I stayed in my cell with a guy who didn’t seem too happy that I was sharing a cell with him.

I slept the rest of the night, but with one eye open.

Turn Myself In

Turn Myself In

Thundercloud told me that when I got back the next morning he would meet me at Jane’s house. It would be better for me if I were to turn myself in to him.

It was about a four and a half hour trip back to Ft. Polk and so I decided to leave around midnight. I said goodbye to everyone and headed out.

After driving for a little while, I heard a metal clinking sound on the road underneath the car and at the same time realized I had no way to shift gears. It was as if the gear shift was detached from the gears.

I turned off the engine and coasted into a parking lot. As I looked underneath the car I could see a rod dangling that was once held in place by some sort of bolt or pin. Crap! How was I going to get back now?

Why was this happening? I finally decided to turn myself in and my car breaks. I could not go back or continue on. It was like someone or something was trying to stop me from doing the right thing.

I was not a mechanic and I didn’t have enough money to hire one. I thought maybe some wire or something like that could hold it together. No stores were open at this hour though.

Then I remembered that for some reason, I had a firing pin from an M-16 machine gun in my glove box. It’s a small metal rod that hits the part of a bullet making it fire once the trigger is pulled. Somehow I randomly had an extra one. I don’t even remember how it got there.

Firing Pin M-16

Sliding under the car and placing the two separated pieces of metal together, I pushed the pin into the hole and it was a perfect fit. Once back in the car and after getting it started, I took off.

As soon as the car was shifted into fifth gear, I heard a familiar metal clinking sound on the road. The firing pin fell out! Once again, I could not shift or slow down without stalling the car.

So for the next four hours, I drove without stopping. Going through every stop sign and stop light, never slowing down. I made it through Shreveport which was the only major city I had to worry about. The rest of the trip was all back road driving.

I almost forgot about the gun! I couldn’t turn myself in with that on me. And what if I got pulled over for blowing through stop signs and lights?

So I reached under the seat and pulled out the gun. I removed the bullets and threw them out the window. A little further down the road, I chucked the pistol out the window as hard as I could.

Miraculously, I was never seen by a cop or faced with having to stop for another driver. It was a straight shot back to Leesville. I stopped the car in front of Jane’s house and I never drove it again.

Letting myself in, I changed into my uniform and called to let Thundercloud know that I made it. Jane and a couple of others who were there, waited to say goodbye.

When Thundercloud came to get me, he told me he was glad that I turned myself in, but he had some bad news.

The Ft. Polk Installation Detention Facility had been evacuated to house inmates from a Pennsylvania State Prison. All Ft. Polk Military Inmates had been transferred to the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office (VPSO). This is where I would be confined until Court-Martialed.

The good news for me was that some other people were going to be taken down by CID, real soon. Thundercloud said that writing sworn statements and being willing to testify would help me at my trial.

Also he said that he would take me out of VPSO personally to work with him. Any big dealers that I would be willing to turn in would really weigh in my favor. They could be military or civilian.

I knew of one.

Some Rights Reserved by Robert Hensley

AWOL Again

The drive to Dallas was going to take about four and a half hours; giving me plenty of time to think things over. Thoughts were battling each other in my mind, but self-preservation dominated.

What was I doing? Had I seriously just run away again? I was so screwed! My life was such a mess!

I did not want to go to prison! That’s why I left. This time no one would find me.

I would not be going back to Leesville or Houston ever again. It wasn’t safe. I needed to go someplace where no one knew who I was or had ever heard of me. Dallas was a new place.

Upon arrival, I met up with my friends at their apartment. Pav and Nick were former Infantry from Ft. Polk and were living there with Mary, Sara and Nora who were sisters from Alexandria.

Pav and Nick were a couple of the guys that started taking me out to the clubs in Alexandria. Pav was from Dallas. The guys moved up there after coming back from Panama and separating from the Army. They brought the girls up with them to get away from the scene.

Staying here was safe for now, but I needed to move somewhere else. I could not go back to Germany to live with my family because I was AWOL. Going back to Houston would not be a good idea. So I had some decisions to make.

My friends told me not to worry about anything and that I could stay there as long as I wanted.

Having left on 16 Nov 89, a Thursday evening, the next morning during roll call, I was listed as missing formation. On Monday, the second week day, missing formation was listed again.

On Tuesday 21 Nov 89, I was officially listed as AWOL. At this time SA Thundercloud was contacted and so were my parents.

I missed my Court-Martial date which affected my dad’s orders to appear and his trip was canceled.

My parents never ceased praying for me once I left for the Army.  They prayed for my safety and protection while I was on the run the first time. Now they intensely prayed to God, that he would have me come to my senses and turn myself in.

On 21 Nov 89, I received a phone call from Jane. She told me that Thundercloud called her and said he wanted to talk to me. He knew that she would be able to contact me.

An overpowering and urgent feeling came over me to talk to him. I knew that I needed to, so I called the number she gave me. Once he picked up he asked me about why I left and what was going through my mind.

I explained to him how important it was to me, that I have my dad at my trial. I felt like the Army or the Prosecution was trying to speed up my trial so that he could not make it on purpose.

I basically felt abandoned. A six year prison sentence was freaking me out. I didn’t think I could survive it. I just couldn’t take it, got scared and ran. It’s the only thing I knew how to do.

He said that I needed to come back to Ft. Polk, turn myself in and get what was going to happen to me over with. He said I needed to get on with my life. He told me again, that he would do everything in his power to help me out. I knew deep down inside that I could trust him.

I felt an enormous pressure all around my body and my chest was heavy, making it hard to breathe. My head tingled almost to the point of feeling like I would pass out. My ears were ringing.

From inside my soul, I could feel the urge to do the right thing.

I didn’t hear a voice from God, but I believe he was telling me that this whole thing was over.

It was time to stop running.

For the first time since I ran away, I made the decision to face my fears.

I would walk through the fires that I had lit for myself.

Taking too many easy ways out, had made my life the mess that it was.

I had run off the road so many times and now I had to get back on the road and head in the opposite direction.

I said to Thundercloud,

“I’m on my way back.”