BajaNomad

Nightmare in Algodones

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Bajahowodd - 2-27-2009 at 11:25 AM

The case gets curiouser(sic).

That ain't gonna happen

Dave - 2-27-2009 at 11:45 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by desertcpl
Hector Guzman Hernandez, the Algodones municipal delegate, said the elder Chrisman does not plan to leave the prison without an amparo being issued for his grandson's release as well.


Both of them would be back in the States quicker than I could write this.

jack - 2-27-2009 at 01:00 PM

The Mexican judicial system just scares the chit out me. There are way, way to many of these incidences. You always figure that when in Mexico if you just keep a low profile and mind your own business there will be no problems. I have friends that also follow that line of thinking, never the less some of them still have very scary tales to tell.:(

avid - 2-27-2009 at 10:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bbbait
Wow, it's snowballing now.. I still have the pictures but still don't know how to get them on here and really don't have time to dedicate to learning it... So unless anyone want's to come to Blythe and show me how... f--k it........


You need to upload the photos to Flickr. Then look at this page where DavidK tells you what to do from there.

Holler if you need further instructions. I can't drive to Blythe this evening but am willing to help as I can from here. Once you get the photos on Flickr it is really easy.

Bajahowodd - 3-14-2009 at 03:31 PM

This thread is dormant. But I suspect something is going on. Has anyone ancountered any recent update to this story

CaboRon - 3-15-2009 at 05:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by jack
The Mexican judicial system just scares the guano out me. There are way, way to many of these incidences. You always figure that when in Mexico if you just keep a low profile and mind your own business there will be no problems. I have friends that also follow that line of thinking, never the less some of them still have very scary tales to tell.:(


The Mexican judicial systen is a fricken' nightmare ....

Pray to god that you never have to deal with these monsters ...

Mexican prison ordeal is over for Arlington native

BajaNews - 10-17-2010 at 10:16 PM

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20101017/NEWS01/710179877

An Arlington man’s son, with whom he was jailed on a questionable charge, is free after 607 days behind bars.

By Debra Smith
October 17, 2010

ARLINGTON — Gary Chrisman Jr., an Arlington native held in a Mexican prison for 21 months, is free and back on U.S. soil.

His hellish ordeal ended Oct. 8. Chrisman said three Mexican Supreme Court judges in the state of Baja California unanimously cleared him of all charges and ordered his immediate release.

“It’s all very surreal,” he said Thursday. “When I shut my eyes, I expect to see bars when I open them again.”

Chrisman, 42, and his grandfather, Edward Chrisman of Arlington, 90, made international headlines last year when they were detained after a quick trip across the border from Yuma, Ariz., into Algodones, Mexico.

Police arrested both men after they stopped at a convenience store. They were accused of trying to pay girls to pose for nude photos.

The elder Chrisman, a World War II veteran with a spotless record, spent 65 days imprisoned in Mexico, accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He was released March 14, 2009.

His grandson, Gary Chrisman, had to stay behind bars awaiting trial — a total of 607 days.

He survived two prison riots, a flu outbreak and crowded, filthy conditions.

Although he returns home to Yuma a free man, Chrisman said the experience destroyed his life. Media reports in Arizona ruined his reputation, he said. Initial news reports in Mexico contained lurid, inaccurate allegations. He no longer has a job and he estimates his family’s fight for his freedom cost them nearly $100,000.

His father, Gary Chrisman Sr., died Sept. 30 from leukemia. The stress may have contributed to his father’s death, Gary Chrisman Jr. said. His release came about a week too late for him to reach his father’s bedside.

Gary Chrisman Jr. said the experience has given him a renewed appreciation of freedom in the United States. He now wants to warn others to be wary when traveling to Mexico.

“What happened to me — it could happen to anyone,” he said.

It all started Jan. 8, 2009 when Gary Chrisman invited his grandfather to travel with him to a dental appointment in Algodones. The town, just a few miles across the border from Yuma, is known for affordable medical care and dental services.

His grandfather sat in the car while he went in to convenience store buy a few Cokes.

The mother of one of the girls in store later told police Gary Chrisman had stopped by a few days earlier and threatened the three girls with a knife when they wouldn’t pose for nude photographs. When she spotted him that day, she called police.

Gary Chrisman said he did stop by a few days earlier. He also said he did ask one of the girls, who he thought was an adult, to pose for some photos — all fully clothed — in the store. He denied threatening anyone. He gave the young woman his phone number.

It never occurred to him that there was anything wrong with what he believed was a flirtatious exchange between two adults.

“She was 18 and I was flirting,” he said. “I was interested in her.”

Not long after they left the store, police surrounded their car and arrested both men.

“I started to realize then there might have been a miscommunication,” he said.

Both Chrismans were placed in a police holding cell and kept, he said, without food or water for three days.

One of the first things police did was open the detainees’ wallets and take out all the cash, Chrisman said.

Chrisman said the detective who interviewed them said that if they paid $5,000 he could “make it all go away.” He later lowered his price to $3,000 when the Chrismans declined. At one point, Gary Chrisman said the detective asked how much his car was worth. They were offered a phone call, but the phones they were handed didn’t work.

It was nearly a week before their family learned where the two were being held. It was several months before Gary Chrisman said he learned the exact charges against him.

Chrisman knew he hadn’t broken any laws and assumed the police couldn’t hold him indefinitely without evidence. He thought if he just waited the police out, he’d be released. He was wrong.

The Chrismans soon found themselves in the cogs of a judicial system they didn’t understand, in a country where they didn’t speak the language. The police hauled the pair to a prison in Morales, where they were told they had been found innocent. That decision was promptly reversed, and they were shipped to a sprawling, 19th-century prison called Carcel de Mexicali in the state of Baja California Norte.

The first cell he and his grandfather were placed into was nicknamed the “hell cell,” Chrisman said. He described it as dark, dank and “just as bad as living could possibly be.” Dozens of men, some ill, were packed inside. With not enough beds, several slept on the concrete floor.

Gary Chrisman worried about his elderly grandfather. The nights were freezing cold and the prison provided detainees with almost nothing, not even enough blankets. The food made the elder Chrisman ill, and he became progressively weaker.

Edward Chrisman appeared to develop pneumonia and he was moved to a better part of the prison. There, he had a bed with a mattress, a blanket and warm showers.

His grandson said he spent the majority of his stay in a room the size of a one-car garage, shared with two dozen other men.

Prisoners in Mexico depend on family to bring food and other basic necessities. Gary Chrisman’s sister and father visited him every Saturday. They brought fresh food and company. The rest of the week he remained locked in the cell, other than two-hour exercise breaks on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Chrisman kept occupied by watching a 14-inch television purchased by one of the inmates. It was tuned to either soccer or Spanish-language soap operas. When that television broke, Chrisman’s father brought a replacement.

Communication was difficult and Chrisman often felt isolated. He said there was incredible kindness by some prisoners, who shared blankets, bed space and food. Prisoners also stole his things and sometimes fought violently, he said.

Twice, riots broke out, but Chrisman managed to stay clear. When swine flu swept through his prison last year, he and the other inmates were quarantined.

“I was sick the entire time,” he said. “I felt like I was catching the same flu over and over again, I’ve never been sicker in my entire my life.”

He returned to the U.S. 50 pounds lighter.

Now that’s he’s free, Chrisman said he’s still in shock that it happened. He’s concentrating on caring for his ill mother in Yuma and planning a memorial service for his father.

“More than anything, I’m angry something so stupid could wreck so many lives,” he said.
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