The ‘den’ Triplets
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 15  

The Defense Attorney

When I walked into the courtroom, the spectator gallery was nearly filled.  I looked around and saw almost no one whom the I knew.  I went to the prosecution table and District Attorney Howard was sitting there.  He leaned over to me and whispered, “It appears that the defense has everyone that you and your people have identified in attendance.  I hope the defense counsel doesn’t plan to call each of them to testify or this could be the longest trial in history.”

I looked at the empty defense table, “Ray, what do you know about the opposition?”

“I don’t know the gentleman very well.  His name is Clark Fuller and he is the counsel for the police union.  He pretty much handles most problems out of court.  I’m surprised he’s not in his seat, since the trial is to begin shortly.  I’ve heard rumors that he has been trying to have the start of the trial delayed.”

It was nearly ten o’clock when a good looking gentleman whom I assumed to be in his late forties or early fifties entered with his entourage and sat at the defense table.  I didn’t recognize any of the group.  I leaned over to Ray, “I assume that Mr. Fuller is the person who was leading the entourage?”

“That’s him.  He moved here approximately four years ago from Chicago when the police union wanted a mouthpiece who had experience with police matters”

The bailiff came out and announced, “There has been a change in judges in the case of Douglas County versus Members of Fremont Police Department and Douglas County Sheriff’s department.  Due to a conflict, Judge Lorena Zastera will be presiding instead of Judge Gerald Conrad.  Please rise for Judge Zastera.”

Ray leaned over to me, “This is Judge Zastera’s first case.  She was just sworn in last Friday.  It will be interesting to see what kind of judge she is going to be.  She was a tenacious and meticulous lawyer, and is well versed in legal matters.  I’m not sure whom that bodes well for.”

After the formalities, jury selection began and it soon became apparent that Mr. Fuller was going to make it impossible to seat a jury, because he was having the potential jurors dismissed for cause faster that a spinning wheel spinning yarn.  He stopped and asked permission to approach the bench.  Judge Zastera granted his request and motioned me to approach as well.

Mr. Fuller put his cards on the table, “Judge Zastera, it is apparent that there can not be a fair trial in this case, here in Fremont, because of all the publicity that has surrounded the case.  I therefore move that the case be removed to another location.”

Judge Zastera frowned, “Mr. Fuller, I may a new judge, but I’m not naïve.  Who is it that would be paying for a change of location?  The county isn’t going to pay for a change in location.  Is your police union willing to foot the bill for a change of venue?  I can tell you right up front that changing the location can be extremely costly.  I suggest that you get on with the matter of getting a jury seated, or I’ll seat one for you.  Mr. Naylor, are you ready to begin your case?”

 

“Yes, your Honor, the prosecution is ready.”  (Okay, so I told a little white lie).

The jury was selected by noon and I had no problem with the members.  They appeared to be from a good cross section of Douglas County population.

The court was adjourned for lunch.  I had David go grab us sandwiches and something to drink, so I could see what recent information the guys had collected.  Jacob came into the room where we were working, “Mike, I have some information that you might find interesting and helpful.”

“What is it Jacob?”

“That first night, when I became involved with the ring, a police officer who wasn’t wearing his uniform picked me up at the urinal in the movie theatre, he took me to a unmarked police car.  He said, ‘He was taking me to the boss, to teach me the ropes.’  I had no idea what he meant, exactly, but we wound up at this large house in the older section of town.  When we entered the house, I was taken to a bedroom and Mr. Fuller was lying on the bed with all of his family jewels on display.”

“The two officers undressed me, even though I resisted.  One of the officers pushed me down on the bed and commented, ’Mr. Fuller, this is a nice morsel.  I wouldn’t mind having some of him myself.  Perhaps I could enjoy his body after you have had your way with it.”

“The two officers stayed the entire time that Mr. Fuller was enjoying my body.  I was forced to do things to his body to make sure that

I complied with Mr. Fuller’s desires.  At one point, I was resisting so much that they physically restrained me by handcuffing my arms and ankles to the bed.  The one officer had been taking pictures of me  doing everything imaginable.  Not only was I pleasuring Mr. Fuller, he seemed to take great pleasure in making sure that I enjoyed what he was doing to me.”

“As we were leaving, Mr. Fuller threatened, ‘Jacob, you are now part of our ring.  When you are called to do a job, you will do so.  Should you refuse, Reverend and Mrs. Stocker will be shown the pictures of tonight’s little foray.  You’re very good.  Guys make sure we get top dollars for this young stud.  He has great staying power and his tongue is like velvet.  You need to find more young people like him.  He’ll make us a bundle.’”

My mind was reeling, “Jacob, you just changed the focus of my prosecution.  Be prepared to be called as a witness after the opening arguments.”

I went to take care of some legal business, because I now had a new fish to catch.  Mr. Fuller was beginning to look like the mastermind behind the prostitution ring, but how was I going to prove it?  Is there some relationship between Fuller and Sgt. Hasting whom we thought was the head of the ring.  I looked at David and Jeff, “See if you can find a connection between Mr. Fuller and Mr. Hastings.  There has to be some link connecting them.”

When the trial reconvened at two o’clock, Judge Zastera looked at me, “Mr. Naylor, is the prosecution ready to begin its opening remarks?”

“Yes, your Honor.”

“Very well, please begin.”

I went and stood in front of the jury, “Ladies and gentleman, we have here a case of the misuse of justice by members of law enforcement and others, that have caused the young people of our community to do things that they did not necessarily want to do.  They blackmailed these young people into having sex, by threatening to release photographs of them involved in sexual activities.  Some of the acts were voluntary, but others were not.”

“The ring has caused families to be estranged and I personally know of one suicide that can be attributed to the ring‘s activities.  There  may well have been more runaways or young people who have been thrown out as well as other suicides, because of what the prostitution ring did.  

“I will make every effort not to make public any names of the victims of the persons who were involved in the wrong doing, to protect the innocent, especially the young people and their families, as well as the families of persons who are mentioned in the suit.  In closing, there are probably going to be more names attached to the list of persons involved in the ring, as we go along.  In fact, I added another name this afternoon, based on some new evidence I just received.”

I sat down and Judge Zastera nodded to Mr. Fuller, “Does the defense wish to say anything at this point in time?

 

“Thank you, your Honor.  The prosecution does not have a case against the people they have listed in their warrant.  The evidence is all hearsay and can not be used to convict the persons.  I move for mistrial.”

The judge had a funny look, “Mr. Fuller, I may be a new judge, but I’ll decide when something is wrong.  Your motion is completely out of order.  We’re going to have this trial, so you may as well accept that fact.  Mr. Naylor, please proceed.”

I stood “Please bear with me, Your Honor, because what I’m about to do is very unorthodox.  I’m going to call myself as a witness, since I was the person responsible for uncovering the ring.”

Mr. Fuller jumped up, “I object, your Honor.  The prosecution is grandstanding.”

“The objection is overruled.  I’ll decide if Mr. Naylor is grandstanding, as you call it.  Please proceed, Mr. Naylor.”

It was a little awkward being the prosecuting attorney and the witness at the same time, but  I was able to do it and told about the night that Mr. Shoemaker called me and how I found Aaron in the cell and the subsequent encounter with Officer Hasting and Officer Leonard.  When I finished my examination of myself, I turned to Mr. Fuller, “Your witness.”

Instead of directing his attention to me, Mr. Fuller turned to the judge, “Your Honor, Mr. Naylor’s theatrics were marvelous, but they do not prove that any of our finest did anything wrong.  I move that his drivel be stricken from the record.”

“Mr. Fuller, your request to strike the testimony from the record is out of order.  Mr. Naylor, proceed.”

I nodded, “Thank you, your Honor.  I call Mr. Harvey Fish to the stand.”

Mr. Fish was sworn in and I started my questions, “Mr. Fish, can you tell me the events surrounding the first time you met me?”

“Yes sir, I was in the slammer at the county jail.  You came and got the cute kid, whom the officers wanted us to teach a lesson about sex, out of there, before anyone could teach him about sex.  We had to wait to have our fun with the two officers you put in the cell.”

“Thank you, Mr. Fish. Your witness, Mr. Fuller.”

Mr. Fuller went for the jugular vein, “Mr. Fish, what is it that you do for a living?”

Mr. Fish answered, “If you must know, I’m a prostitute, if I can find any clients.  The ring with their stable of young people has made it difficult to make a living any more.”

Mr. Fuller’s next question made Mr. Fish laugh, “Mr. Fish, how much did Mr. Naylor pay you to come and testify?”

“Mr. Fuller, I tried to get some financial gain out of testifying, but Mr. Naylor wouldn’t go for that.  I’m testifying because I know what it’s like to be ostracized and abandoned.  I feel sorry for the young people who have been blackmailed by the ring.  Besides, if they are out of the game, I might be able to get some more business, and I wouldn’t have to resort to picking peoples’ pockets.”

“No further questions, your Honor.  I reserve the right to recall Mr. Fish.”

Judge Zastera looked up, “So noted.  Mr. Naylor, your next witness, please.”

“I call Mr. Jacob Stocker to the stand.”

After Jake was sworn in, “Mr. Stocker, would you please tell the court what your most recent form of employment was?”

“Yes, I was making pornographic films in California.”

“Can you tell us how you got started in the pornographic business?”

“That’s a hard question, Mr. Naylor.  I’ve liked sex of any kind, from the time I reached puberty.  I realized that after my first encounter with the ring here in town, there was money to be made, and I wanted to be able to keep what I made for myself.  I went to California after my parents threw me out, because they found out from the ring that I was involved in illicit sex with another male.”

“Mr. Stocker, why would you return home when you knew your parents would not greet you with open arms?”

“Mr. Naylor, I realized that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in the porn business.  I’ve always dreamed of settling down and having a family.”

“Mr. Stocker, you mentioned that you were introduced to making money from the ring.  What exactly did you mean by that comment?”

Jacob took a deep breath,  “Right after I was sixteen, I was picked up by this guy in the movie theater while I was going to the bathroom.  He patted my butt and whispered, ’Kid, with that body you could make a bundle.  Why don’t you come with me and we can have a good time and you can make a few bucks?’”

“It sounded like fun and I was broke, so I went with him.  He took me  to a car where his partner was waiting and they took me to a house on Arbor Street.  It was odd, because we walked right in and the first man said, ’Don’t worry, the occupant is expecting us.’”

“We went to a bedroom and Mr. Fuller was lying there in his birthday suit.”

Mr. Fuller jumped up, “The creep is lying.  I’ve never seen this man before today.”

Judge Zastera pounded her gavel, “Mr. Fuller, any more outbursts like that, and you will be fined for being in contempt of court.  You will have your opportunity to cross examine Mr. Stocker at the appropriate time.  Please continue, Mr. Stocker.”

“Yes, ma’am.  The two gentlemen, who turned out to be policemen, undressed me, even though I resisted, and Mr. Fuller had his way with me while my legs and arms were restrained to the bedposts.  One of the officers was taking pictures of me, while Mr. Fuller was having his way with me.”

“As I was finally leaving, Mr. Fuller said, ’Guys, that’s a keeper.  He’ll bring in some big bucks.  Make sure you keep him in line.  His preacher daddy wouldn’t like it if his son turned out to be a queer.  Let me know when you find our next victim, so I can break them in, myself.’”

There was a twitter through the gallery as Jacob made his last statements.

I decided that Jacob had said all he needed to say.  I was sure that Mr. Fuller would make every effort to discredit him, but I felt confident that Jacob could hold his own.  “The prosecution rests.”

Mr. Fuller was standing in front of Jacob before I could sit down.  “Mr. Stocker, you have a very vivid imagination.  You have never seen me naked nor have I ever had sex with you.  I’m a happily married man.”

I was about to object on the relevance of what Mr. Fuller was saying, but Jacob winked at me, so I said nothing.  Jacob spoke, “Mr. Fuller, I know that you have the symbol of Superman on your right shoulder above your breast, and that you have two sets of red lips leading to the left side of your penis.  Judge Zastera, could you have that checked out.  How else would I know that if I had not seen Mr. Fuller naked?”

Judge Zastera looked up from the her notes, “Deputies, seal the courtroom.  Bailiff, take Mr. Fuller to the waiting room and have him stripped to see what identifying marks, that he wasn’t born with, that the man has on his body.  Make sure that there is an armed guard present, as well as two other witnesses.  In the meantime, this court is in recess for ten minutes.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  I don't think that Mr. Fuller will be able to brush off the charges that Jacob brought to the court's attention.

It does seem that the only way that Jacob could know about all the markings on Mr. Fuller's body would be for him to have seen Mr. Fuller undressed.  Of course, one of the other victims could have told Jacob what Fuller had on his body, but it would still require someone to have seen him naked, and happily married or not, it is doubtful that

Fuller would disrobe for no reason.  Besides, Jacob would have no  opportunity to speak to one of the other victims, because the identities of the others was a closely guarded secret. 

On top of everything else, it will be very hard for Mr. Fuller to prove that he didn't do what Jacob said he did. It's too bad that Jacob didn't get a DNA sample from Fuller's body, somehow.

We do seem to be hanging from some sort of cliff, here. Does anyone have access to any climbing equipment?

Well, let's hope that there will be another chapter pretty soon.

Thank you, E Walk, for this very tense and exciting chapter.

I am also interested in the fact that the story takes place in or around Fremont.  I do wonder if we will see anyone else that we know from around there.

Darryl AKA The Rancher

Posted: 12/17/10