Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Every crime has a story.
Every case has another side.
Real crimes, uncensored and raw memoirs from an award winning criminal defense attorney.
This is the dodcast.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Welcome to another episode of the dodcast where we bring you real crime, uncensored, Raw. Nothing is rehearsed. This is the first time I'm seeing my client since I last saw him in court.
And just like my last couple clients that I had on, the fact that he's here today is an absolute miracle because he should have either been dead or in prison and you'll find out why. But every criminal case has a story.
You know, the case doesn't start on the day of the incident. There's a backstory to every single criminal case. And in this situation, there is a story behind why what happened on that day, to the incident. There's a story as to why it happened.
And today my guest, a young man, and in 2015, he went through a pretty traumatic injury.
And thank you for coming, by the way.
[00:01:28] Speaker C: Of course.
[00:01:31] Speaker B: What happened in 2015?
[00:01:33] Speaker C: In 2015, I broke my back in high school working out in the weight room in a weight class and went through two surgeries in 2026.
Completely changed my life. Flip it up, flipped it upside down.
Was in a wheelchair for a long time. Had to learn kind of how to redo life.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Where did you go to high school?
[00:01:55] Speaker C: Granite Hills.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: What, what year in high school were you when this injury occurred?
[00:02:01] Speaker C: I broke it my freshman year and then I had the surgeries at the beginning or at the end of my sophomore year.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: So your freshman year, you were 14, 15 years old when this, when this occurred?
[00:02:11] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:02:12] Speaker B: And were you playing sports?
[00:02:14] Speaker C: Yeah, I did swim and water polo.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Would you go to the weight room a lot?
[00:02:19] Speaker C: Yeah, it was a requirement for our sports was to go to the weight room and then we would do swim as well. It was like a together class.
[00:02:29] Speaker B: On which machine did this happen?
[00:02:31] Speaker C: On the leg press machine.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Tell the viewers what happened.
[00:02:36] Speaker C: So I was leg pressing £720, you know, would tread water for three hours.
[00:02:40] Speaker B: £720 is a 14 year old?
[00:02:42] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: That is absurd. That's absurd.
[00:02:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:47] Speaker B: So what happens?
[00:02:48] Speaker C: So thought my legs were strong enough, was working out with one of the seniors that was a just a huge guy, just jacked and was trying to keep up and sat on the machine, didn't know how to do it right. Pushed up with my legs and just arched my back and just felt the crack or like a snap and just immense pain. What?
[00:03:05] Speaker B: How did you feel when you heard that crap?
[00:03:07] Speaker C: Oh, my God. I didn't know what happened. It was some of the worst pain I've ever felt.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: What happened to the weight fall on you or what happened?
[00:03:13] Speaker C: It didn't fall. It was still up. So I didn't like, fully re. Racket yet whenever it happened. So it stayed racked. And I stood up and I walked around and my coach actually yelled at me for not working out, for walking around.
[00:03:24] Speaker B: And you stood up after the injury?
[00:03:26] Speaker C: I did, yeah.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: And excruciating pain.
[00:03:29] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: So what happens after that?
[00:03:32] Speaker C: Then I, you know, actually went to practice afterwards and finished practice because my coach was a hard ass.
[00:03:39] Speaker B: You went to the pool after?
[00:03:40] Speaker C: Yep. Yep. And swam for two hours.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:03:43] Speaker C: Yeah.
Yeah.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: When did you end up going to the hospital?
[00:03:46] Speaker C: I went to the hospital two days later.
[00:03:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:50] Speaker B: What were the injuries?
[00:03:51] Speaker C: So I broke L5 thrust one in my lower back.
Basically, like broke my tailbone clean off.
And then we went through everything possible trying not to have surgery on my back because as a 14, 15 year old boy, you don't want surgeries, you don't want metal in there. You're still growing.
And so waited until the following year and had a surgery in June of 2026, and my body actually rejected one of the screws, snapped it in half. And I had to go back in, and they had to put bigger screws in. And then I was in this crazy brace with a metal rod down my leg, so I couldn't move at all. Was in a wheelchair for eight months after that.
[00:04:29] Speaker B: Wheelchair for eight months?
[00:04:30] Speaker C: Yeah. Couldn't go to school.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Couldn't go to school for eight months. Couldn't walk. Really? How long was your recovery?
[00:04:37] Speaker C: From the start of. Of breaking my back in 2015, it was probably a good three years, two and a half. Three years.
[00:04:46] Speaker B: You hired a lawyer?
[00:04:47] Speaker C: I did.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: And I know your lawyer. That's how he. He, you know, referred me over to you. Yeah. And shout out to Pejman Jassim with Jassim Law.
He told me about the. He called me, you know, the day of your incident and said that your mom wanted, you know, to talk to me regarding what happened.
[00:05:04] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: But no, you get a lawyer, you guys sue.
You're a young kid.
[00:05:12] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: You come across a large sum of money.
[00:05:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:05:17] Speaker B: Right.
[00:05:18] Speaker C: Way too much for a kid my age.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: Way too much.
[00:05:20] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:05:21] Speaker B: And it completely changed your life.
[00:05:23] Speaker C: It did.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: So you, you're injured, but now you're this young kid with tons of money, and that was a recipe for disaster, right?
[00:05:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: And what did you do with all that money?
[00:05:39] Speaker C: Well, you know, I thought to myself, like, well, I don't really have a high school career. You know, I have all this money. Let's go have fun, you know. So I took it and went and bought a brand new 2023 BMW X3M comp. You know, I. I'm a golfer, so I need to ruin my golf clubs and wanted a fast suv, so bought that and just thought I was.
[00:05:58] Speaker B: How old were you when you bought that?
[00:06:00] Speaker C: I was 22. About 223 when I bought that.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: 22 years old.
Tons of money in the bank.
[00:06:07] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:06:07] Speaker B: A brand new car.
And where were you working at the time?
[00:06:13] Speaker C: Dick's Sporting Goods.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: What were you doing there?
[00:06:15] Speaker C: I was a golf lead and a manager.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: All this money in the bank, you know.
Presumably you had all these friends now because he had all this money.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: Right?
[00:06:24] Speaker C: Of course. Right, yeah.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: So we're going to fast forward now to 2023.
Probably one of the most memorable years of your life, right?
[00:06:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Like I said, the fact that you're here today is a miracle.
So the three boys, your friends, how did you know them?
[00:06:45] Speaker C: Two of them I knew for a long time. Probably well over 12 years, maybe longer.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: You knew their whole family?
[00:06:51] Speaker C: I knew their whole family.
[00:06:52] Speaker B: Mom, dads.
[00:06:52] Speaker C: Yep, yep. Grew up with them. You know, they were a real. I mean, one of them I hung out with probably every single day. I mean, he was like the person that we would always go out together.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: Best friends.
[00:07:02] Speaker C: Yep. Best friends. Got PV together all the time, all that stuff. Play golf all the time. And then the other one we worked with, me and my best friend worked with at the time.
And you guys were three.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: All four of you were pretty close.
[00:07:16] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Right?
[00:07:17] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: And you guys drank a lot?
[00:07:19] Speaker C: We did.
[00:07:21] Speaker B: When did you start going down this spiral of drinking and partying hard?
[00:07:27] Speaker C: When I got the car, I bought the car, and I was like, I just thought I was king of the world, unstoppable. Go out to PB four nights a week, maybe even more.
[00:07:37] Speaker B: Drink and drive.
[00:07:37] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:07:38] Speaker B: Nothing phased you at the time, right? Nothing young.
[00:07:41] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:07:42] Speaker B: You're in Pacific beach, you had all these girls, you got all this money. Yep. Untouchable.
[00:07:46] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:07:47] Speaker B: Right.
So then that fateful day, Right. Where did you guys start?
[00:07:54] Speaker C: I think we started in.
I think it was University Heights. Who? Until like, Bro Breakfast somewhere. And we started drinking there. And then we drove down to Liberty Station and we, like, played mini golf and we're screwing around, drinking the whole time there. Then went to a Mexican food restaurant that's in Liberty Station as well. And we're drinking the whole time there had pitchers of like beers and margaritas. We're taking a bunch of shots. Just being blood drip.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Let's.
Let's start from breakfast.
[00:08:23] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: Who drove there?
[00:08:27] Speaker C: The buddy we worked with.
[00:08:28] Speaker B: And the buddy you worked with, who ends up being the passenger at the time he was supposed to be the driver, right?
[00:08:37] Speaker C: Correct.
[00:08:38] Speaker B: So it was your understanding when you went out that day that the three of you were going to drink, Your buddy, The passenger, the 20 year old, was going to be the designated driver, right? Yep. That didn't happen.
[00:08:51] Speaker C: No, no.
[00:08:52] Speaker B: He got hammered.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: At the breakfast place. How many did you have to drink?
[00:08:57] Speaker C: At least three probably. I think they were. I had two bloody Marys and then I think it was a beer maybe.
[00:09:04] Speaker B: Okay, so you had three get in your car and you drive to Liberty Station. Or did buddy passenger drive?
[00:09:11] Speaker C: No, the DD actually did his job for one stop and drove us from breakfast to Liberty Station. But then after that, then he started.
[00:09:18] Speaker B: Where did you guys go at Liberty Station?
[00:09:19] Speaker C: I went to the mini golf area. Like where the little nine hole courses.
[00:09:25] Speaker B: How many drinks did you have there?
[00:09:28] Speaker C: Probably another three.
[00:09:30] Speaker B: So you had three breakfast, three playing mini golf. What kind of drinks?
[00:09:36] Speaker C: They were canned cocktails.
[00:09:38] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: And buddy passenger is not holding up to his bargain at this point. Nope, he's getting hammered.
[00:09:44] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: How many did he have?
[00:09:47] Speaker C: He probably had two while we were at mini golf. And then we went to the Mexican food restaurant and that's whenever we were ordering like pictures of things and I. And he started filling up glasses and we were so drunk we just had. We didn't, we didn't pay attention.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Do you remember how many drinks you had at the Mexican restaurant?
[00:10:06] Speaker C: I couldn't tell you. I know I took three shots and that was probably along with another three drinks.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: Okay, so probably so at this time, I mean you're probably 12 drinks in.
[00:10:15] Speaker C: Oh, at least.
[00:10:16] Speaker B: And what time is it?
[00:10:18] Speaker C: Probably four o' clock maybe.
[00:10:20] Speaker B: And buddy passenger smashed. How many do you think he had?
[00:10:29] Speaker C: At least five. Probably three at the. Yeah. Two at the mini golf and another three at the restaurant.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: How were the.
Your other two friends over with?
[00:10:37] Speaker C: Oh, hammered.
[00:10:38] Speaker B: Everyone's just.
[00:10:39] Speaker C: Yeah, just.
[00:10:39] Speaker B: Just gone shit faced.
[00:10:40] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:10:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
At some point. Why did you guys decide to leave?
[00:10:46] Speaker C: I guess it was just time to go. I know we finished eating, paid, and we were like, oh, there's nothing else to do around here. So we were going to go back to our buddy's house that we. That's where we started where we all met in the morning and we get back to the car and our DD goes, well, I can't drive. I drank. We're like, what the hell do you mean you drank? Like we were so drunk we didn't pay attention. And. And he was drinking. And so then my other buddy that was as shit face as me, if not more, decided to drive us back from a Liberty Station to El Cajon, which we made it back somehow, I don't know how.
And then I guess on the way we were going back, we had the great idea of driving up these back roads to a liquor store to get some cigars and more alcohol.
[00:11:25] Speaker B: You're the driver now?
[00:11:25] Speaker C: I am the driver.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: Do you remember where you took over?
[00:11:30] Speaker C: We got back to the house and I guess I got. We had to be there because that's where my car was, in the house.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: You don't really remember?
[00:11:37] Speaker C: I don't.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: You don't even remember getting behind the wheel?
[00:11:40] Speaker C: Nope.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: So now you're driving, you guys are all in the car, brand new BMW fast X3.
[00:11:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:53] Speaker B: And you start speeding, your buddies are telling you slow down. Do you remember that?
[00:12:00] Speaker C: Nope.
[00:12:00] Speaker B: You don't remember that at all, Right? Yeah. So your buddies were in the background telling you slow down, slow down. And not only did you not slow down, you hit the gas. Right. How fast did you end up going?
[00:12:16] Speaker C: 132.
[00:12:18] Speaker B: 132mph. And that's from your event data recorder?
[00:12:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: They impounded the event data recorder. They did the testing of it in 132 miles per hour.
What happened?
[00:12:34] Speaker C: We were going up crest these back rows up to liquor store. And this is the only thing of the entire drive I remember is it was a two lane road.
I merged or switched lanes between two cars. And there was just a sheer rock wall in front of us around a turn.
And I just remember turning the wheel. And then I woke up outside of the car.
[00:12:53] Speaker B: Do you remember flying off that cliff?
[00:12:56] Speaker C: Nope.
[00:12:58] Speaker B: And just for the viewers, he basically flew over, flew off a cliff.
And now you're laying in your vehicle after an accident and you look back at one of your buddies. What did you think?
[00:13:16] Speaker C: I thought he was dead.
[00:13:17] Speaker B: How'd he look?
[00:13:18] Speaker C: Terrible. Not moving, limp, just laying there.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: He was supposed to be the designated driver, Right? Was that the designated driver?
[00:13:28] Speaker C: No, that was a different one.
The designated driver and another of my buddy were gone. They never saw him.
They, I guess climbed up to the top of the hill. I don't know where they went.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: You don't remember that at all?
[00:13:42] Speaker C: No.
[00:13:43] Speaker B: All you Remember is flying off of that cliff, making impact on the bottom, and then looking back and you think, your friend's dead.
Was he bloody? Were you bloody? I mean, what.
[00:13:58] Speaker C: I was bloody.
I remember this. This is one of the only things I remember. I had a teal shirt on, and it was just bright red, just covered in blood. And then he was laying there in the back of the. Of the seat, like, fully sprawled across the seats. And I just limp. I. I remember just like, just screaming, you know, for him to wake up.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: And he wouldn't wake up.
[00:14:22] Speaker C: Wouldn't wake up.
[00:14:23] Speaker B: What's the next thing you remember?
[00:14:25] Speaker C: The next thing I remember is. Is some people coming down the hill.
I guess they were the cars that I. I passed going up it, and they stayed down there with us or with. With me and the buddy that was unconscious.
And then the car lit on fire while he was still in it, and they. They pulled him from it.
[00:14:43] Speaker B: Do you remember the car being on fire?
[00:14:46] Speaker C: Barely. I. I remember like, like smelling the. The smoke. Like you're, like, smelling the fire. I don't. I don't remember seeing it, but I remember smelling because I was like, a little bit away from it.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: So car's on fire. Now your buddy's in the car.
What do these good Samaritans, what do they do?
[00:15:04] Speaker C: They. They pull him from the vehicle, and he's still limp. Still limp.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: And you remember that, seeing him, seeing him on the ground, and they're just dragging him across to get away from the fire. Right. And do you remember where they put him?
[00:15:17] Speaker C: I don't. It was by me, but I don't remember where.
[00:15:20] Speaker B: What happened to the car?
[00:15:23] Speaker C: Just demolished. I mean, I. The. The only thing I remember then is, like the vision, it just keeps going back and like my vision keeps going in and out, and then the next thing I remember is there's like a water hose being sprayed down from a fire truck, and it's just sitting there. And then I remember. I don't even know how I got back up to the top of the hill. And that was it.
[00:15:47] Speaker B: What happened to you?
[00:15:48] Speaker C: I woke up.
Then I went. Came in and out, woke up, been a hospital. Then after that, don't remember the ambulance ride or anything.
And then I was cuffed and taken to jail.
[00:16:00] Speaker B: What were your injuries?
[00:16:03] Speaker C: My back. I had to have another back surgery, a really major one, and then broke my nose.
Laceration on my head, arms.
I mean, a lot of lacerations.
[00:16:16] Speaker B: What happened to all your buddies?
[00:16:18] Speaker C: The one that I thought was dead, he ended up being in A coma for a couple or a few days?
[00:16:26] Speaker B: A couple weeks.
Yeah.
[00:16:28] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:16:29] Speaker B: What about your other two friends?
[00:16:30] Speaker C: I don't really remember their injuries.
[00:16:32] Speaker B: All three of them had severe injury.
You obviously had severe injury. And again, the fact that all four of you survived, I don't know how that happened.
[00:16:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I don't either.
[00:16:44] Speaker B: I mean, it has to be from the BMW, right? So the BMW was the worst thing that happened to you?
Was really the worst and best that happened.
[00:16:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:55] Speaker B: What I think happened is that BMW saved all four of your. All four of you, yeah.
Do you still talk to these kids?
[00:17:04] Speaker C: Nope, not at all.
[00:17:05] Speaker B: Have you seen them?
[00:17:07] Speaker C: I saw. I worked with two of them.
I saw them both maybe two or three times whenever we worked together, but that was it.
[00:17:16] Speaker B: Not only did you lose them as friends, you lost your entire friend group. Right?
[00:17:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:23] Speaker B: Nobody talks to you anymore after that?
[00:17:24] Speaker C: No one.
[00:17:25] Speaker B: How did that make you feel?
[00:17:27] Speaker C: Pretty bad. Yeah. Very alone. Isolated.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: Is there anything you want to tell the boys?
[00:17:32] Speaker C: You know, I mean, I'm. I am incredibly sorry for what happened, and I would never wish harm on anyone in my life. And, you know, they were brothers to me. You know, they were my best friends, and it was just. It was an unfortunate event that happened.
[00:17:50] Speaker B: I remember getting the.
Getting the call from your mom when this all happened, and she was frantic, right? I mean, she was completely frantic. And I remember I was actually on my way to Murietta at a closing argument that day in another attempted murder case. But I talked to your mom literally from the moment I left my house in San Diego. I spoke to her all the way to the Murietta courthouse in the parking lot. I spoke to her for about an hour on the phone, I think. Yeah, you were still in the hospital at the time. And we had no idea what happened to the other three boys. Like, we had no clue. And I was telling your mom that if you're.
If one of these passengers unfortunately dies, it's a.
You're not here right now.
[00:18:39] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:18:39] Speaker B: Right. I mean, you're. You're facing, you know, vehicular manslaughter charges, possibly facing murder charges because people were telling you, don't drive. Don't drive. Don't. You know, don't. Don't. Speed up. Slow down, slow down. They could have maybe filed murder charges on you.
Again, the fact that you are sitting here, complete miracle. So let's talk about how this has changed your life since the incident. So how has this changed you?
[00:19:09] Speaker C: It's changed every part of my life.
I mean, I am such A better person now. I am not on top of the world anymore. And don't think I'm God. Don't think I have unlimited money.
It's just made me a very.
I'm so grateful for such small things in life. You know, waking up each morning and just being. Being such a different person. I literally wear these socks actually with the smiley face on them every day now. This is the only pair of socks I wear. To wear these, to like, look down at myself, to remember, you know, just to. Just to be happy, to be grateful that I'm here.
I. I celebrate literally every single moment in life now.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: Are you drinking?
[00:19:44] Speaker C: Very, very, very rarely.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: Are you working?
[00:19:47] Speaker C: No, I'm at full time in school right now.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Where do you go?
[00:19:49] Speaker C: Playing Loma Nazarene.
[00:19:50] Speaker B: And what are you. What is your ultimate goal?
[00:19:54] Speaker C: To graduate with a degree in finance and be a wealth management.
[00:19:57] Speaker B: And you've recently got engaged as well? Right. And it was with the same girl you were with when this incident happened? Right.
And if she was here at the time, she might have been in the car.
[00:20:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: Right?
[00:20:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: Where was she at the time this happened?
[00:20:14] Speaker C: She was in Prague.
[00:20:15] Speaker B: And how did she find out about it?
[00:20:16] Speaker C: She used a VPN to look into like u. S. Police reports to find out what happened to me.
[00:20:22] Speaker B: She had no idea.
[00:20:23] Speaker C: Nope.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: I thought you were dead.
[00:20:25] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: Because you lost your phone.
You were in the hospital for days.
[00:20:29] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: Completely lost contact with her. And she's looking at these police reports and sees this accident.
She thought you were gone. Yep. Did she ever talk about it with you?
[00:20:41] Speaker C: She. She used to a lot, but not anymore. She. We've.
I don't let it consume my life as much as I did in the past.
[00:20:50] Speaker B: How has it affected you mentally?
As far as you're sleeping? Do you. Do you have ptsd? Do you have any flashbacks? I mean, you actually recently just went to the scene, right?
[00:21:00] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:00] Speaker B: It was the first time you went back?
[00:21:02] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:03] Speaker B: How did that. How was that?
[00:21:04] Speaker C: A few months ago, I went back my. To take my buddy to pick up his motorcycle from some shop up there up the top of the hill. And I was very hesitant to take him. He's like, he's like, hey, like, you want to take me up there? Like, I got it. I'm like, oh, I don't know. Like, I. I don't really want. Like, I got stuff to do. Made some, you know, BS lie about that. And he's like, come on, man. Like, you're the only person that can take me. I know you're Going out that way, I'm like, fine. So I went up there and it was like, I don't think I've ever driven so slow up a road in my life.
[00:21:31] Speaker B: When you saw the area where your car flew off, what was going through your head at the time?
[00:21:38] Speaker C: I was just trying to put all the pieces together, trying to remember, like, as much as I can. I mean, it. It, Like I. I remember going up to. And rounding that. That, like, right corner and just, like, felt like my heart just, like, sank. Wow. Seeing, like, the brand new guardrail there and. And it just.
[00:21:53] Speaker B: Like that guardrail was placed there because of you.
[00:21:55] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:58] Speaker B: What about nightmares? Do you ever think about what happened?
[00:22:02] Speaker C: Yeah, I used to get them a lot, actually. Pretty much every single night.
[00:22:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Cause I remember during the. As this case was going, your mom was saying that you were having difficulty sleeping. Cause you were thinking about this all the time.
What were your dreams like?
[00:22:15] Speaker C: Just constantly replaying the accident over and over again. And just, like, trying to put all pieces together. Yep. Trying to put the pieces together. And seeing my buddies lay there, like, lifeless was just, like.
I don't even know how to describe it.
[00:22:28] Speaker B: How often do you think of when you look back and you see your buddy sprawled out and then him being dragged out of that car while the car's on fire? How often do you think about that?
[00:22:39] Speaker C: Quite often.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: And if it wasn't for those Good Samaritans, your buddy would have probably burned to death.
[00:22:46] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:22:47] Speaker B: Because you were in no. You were in no position to pull him out at that point, right?
[00:22:51] Speaker A: Correct.
[00:22:51] Speaker B: So after all this, you are a convicted felon.
[00:22:54] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:22:55] Speaker B: How does it feel to be a convicted felon?
[00:22:58] Speaker C: I mean, from a paperwork standpoint, terrible. But I don't feel any different as a human.
[00:23:02] Speaker B: Do people know?
[00:23:03] Speaker C: Some people not. I try to not tell people.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: And you got a phenomenal result, right?
[00:23:12] Speaker C: Yeah. It couldn't have been any better.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: You ended up doing 182 days of work furlough. Yep.
Explain what work furlough is.
[00:23:23] Speaker C: So it's like a halfway house, essentially, where you stay at and you live there, and you can only leave to go to work and then come back.
[00:23:32] Speaker B: How many people were in your dorm?
[00:23:35] Speaker C: The first one I was in there was 19.
And then I got moved into a smaller room, which had eight.
[00:23:45] Speaker B: Everyone slept in the same room.
[00:23:48] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:23:48] Speaker B: There was bunk.
[00:23:49] Speaker C: Yes, Correct.
[00:23:50] Speaker B: It was. It was like a jail. But you can go to work every day, Right. What time would you get up every day to go to work?
[00:23:55] Speaker C: I would get up at 4 in the morning.
[00:23:58] Speaker B: How would you get to work?
[00:23:59] Speaker C: My mom, dad, or now fiance would come and pick me up and take me to work.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: Where were you working at the time?
[00:24:06] Speaker C: At Dick's Sporting Goods.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: At which one?
[00:24:08] Speaker C: In El Cajon.
[00:24:09] Speaker B: So they would pick you up, take you to work, pick you up and. And directly right back to work. Furlough. You couldn't make any stops anywhere?
[00:24:20] Speaker C: Nope. Nothing at all. How.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: How was your time at work furlough?
[00:24:25] Speaker C: Interesting. Yeah, I. To. To see the world from, you know, the other side is. Is very, very interesting. Gave me a lot of perspective and into life.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: Did you talk to other people that were in there?
[00:24:37] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:24:38] Speaker B: Would you guys talk about why they're there?
[00:24:41] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:24:41] Speaker B: What were they all there for?
[00:24:43] Speaker C: Anything and everything. It was a broad, broad scope of people there from that. And the thing that was, I thought was the most interesting was the building next to us in the same facility was for people that were rehabilitating back in society from being in prison for 20 years or whatever they would be in there for. And hearing their stories about what happened or why they were in there was.
[00:25:03] Speaker B: Was very, very eye opening.
[00:25:04] Speaker C: Right. Extreme. I mean, there it was.
It was sad to see, you know them. I mean, there was this one guy that didn't even know how to use an email that was in there.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: Well, how were the rules at work furlough?
[00:25:15] Speaker C: Were they pretty strict on you or extremely strict?
[00:25:17] Speaker B: What would they do?
[00:25:18] Speaker C: They like so every time you come and go, they check your bag, like dump everything out, look through it. You have to sign a time card to make sure you're exactly back, like not one minute later than you're supposed to be.
[00:25:27] Speaker B: Did they breathalyze you ever?
[00:25:29] Speaker C: Yes, every single time I entered.
[00:25:30] Speaker B: They breathalyzed you. Did they breathalyze everybody?
[00:25:32] Speaker C: Only people with DUIs. Okay.
[00:25:35] Speaker B: And thank you for sharing that. And as we wrap up here, there's one final question I'm going to ask you. If you were to have one piece of advice for all of our viewers out there, what would that advice be?
[00:25:52] Speaker C: There's a few. The first one is that there is no Uber. That is too expensive. The cost of an Uber means nothing compared to what could have happened. Could happen, and what happen to me. And the other one is to make sure that you be grateful and do not let your ego or anything get take control.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: Perfect. Thank you very much.
[00:26:10] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: That's it for this episode of the dodcast. Join us next time. Have a great day.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: When freedom's on the line, the truth matters.
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