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Inside of the two tiered pod of the Onondaga County Jail, Haitian sat in a plastic chair watching The Maury Show alongside other inmates. It had been over three weeks since he had been arraigned on a long list of charges, including assault, two counts of manslaughter, resisting arrest and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree.
The only time he was successful at pushing his situation to the back of his mind was when he watched TV. Once Maury went off, he went back to his cell, sat on his hard, uncomfortable and small bunk, and thought about his case.
Because of the seriousness of his charges, his attorney told him that he would be lucky if a plea for thirty years could be negotiated. Haitian began to think about what he would look like coming home at nearly sixty years old. There was no way he could spend that much time in prison.
He lay back on his bed contemplating his options. It didn’t take long for him to realize that there were only two. Either he could plead guilty and hope against odds that the judge would show some leniency, or he could cooperate with law enforcement to have his time reduced. After more than an hour of rummaging through his thoughts, Haitian jumped up, searched his cell for a business card until he found it, then walked down the stairs where the phones were stationed. He picked up the phone and dialed the number as it appeared on the card.
“Hello?” the voice on the other end asked. The jail’s automated system instantly chimed in informing the receiver that he had a collect call from jail, and in order for the call to be accepted he had to press the number 5. The button was pressed before Haitian spoke.
“Hello, this is Deshaun Obudalu. Can I speak with Lieutenant Shwarts?”
“You’re speaking with him. What’s up, Obudalu?”
“Listen, Lieutenant, I know I’m facing a lot of time. If you can work something out with the district attorney to get me a good deal, I’ll help you guys get some dangerous people off the streets.”
There was a deep sigh on the other end of the phone. “You have some very serious charges against you, young man. The assistance that you provide would have to be substantial, to say the least.”
“I can promise you that it will be.”
“Let me talk to your district attorney. Of course, I can’t guarantee you anything. That will be totally up to her. If she agrees, I’ll be down there to talk to you before the week is out.”
“Alright, cool.” Haitian hung up the phone, went back to the television area, and sat down just in time to catch the beginning of Jerry Springer...