get a needle, they make a pocket in your face, they push around to make it hollow and they put a plate inside the slit. because those piercings, according to him, are irremovable, we don t know that and we don t know what those piercings are capable, once they re taken out they could contain contraband they could be used as a weapon, could be against himself, against staff or even fellow inmates. i have another one on the back of my neck. it s called a surface staple. as you can see, there s a bar through my neck and there s two flat head screwdriver parts to it. basically, for mr. ruiz, for him it s been a good thing being isolated because he won t be exposed to a general population setting. he won t be exposed to gang politics. he won t be exposed to inmate pressures. so for mr. ruiz, it might have been a saving grace for him that he actually had piercings and that he was removed from general population so he doesn t have to answer any of those questions.
ruiz had been arrested 48 hours earlier for the first time in his life, charged with intent to sell narcotics. he hoped his father would be able and willing to bail him out. it s $2500. 10% of $25,000 bail. thank you, dad. all right. yep. i love you. bye. he doesn t deserve a phone call from here. but it s all my fault that i m here. it s no one s fault but myself. there s a term that people use called a fish and basiy ifou re a new booking and you ve never been in jail before, it s like you can imagine when you take a fish out of water. they re just very disoriented, they re lost, they don t know what s going on. luckily they don t flop around.
according to him, are irremovable, we don t know that and we don t know what those piercings are capable, once they re taken out they could contain contraband. they could be used as a weapon, could be against himself, against staff or even fellow inmates. i have another one on the back of my neck. it s called a surface staple. as you can see, there s a bar through my neck and there s two flat head screwdriver parts to it. basically, for mr. ruiz, for him it s been a good thing being isolated because he won t be exposed to a general population setting. he won t be exposed to gang politics. he won t be exposed to inmate pressures. so for mr. ruiz, it might have been a saving grace for him that he actually had piercings and that he was removed from general population so he doesn t have to answer any of those questions. well, as you know, i m from orange county jail. just hours before he would answer to the judge. ruiz used his time in isolation
to write a letter to his girlfriend who he had not spoken to since his arrest. baby i m sorry for not picking you up at work. i was in a police car at the time. i hope you re there when i get out. the only thing i can dream or think about is all the right things i m going to do when i get out. this is too hard for me right now. to be continued. okay. we re back in session, back on the record. on case number 10-sf-0604, people versus richard edward ruiz. mr. ruiz is richard edward ruiz jr. your true name? yes. the following day it s preliminary court hearing ruiz was charged with felony possession of narcotics which could carry a lengthy sentence behind bars. he entered a plea of not guilty and had one supporter at the hearing, his girlfriend, samantha dunn, who spoke to us afterwards.
were close, and just they are still supportive. it hurts. the couple would soon be reunited after ruiz posted bond and was released. he pled guilty at a later court hearing and was sentenced to three years probation. do you understand that? yes. but the memory of his first experience in jail will likely last a lifetime. everybody learns the hard way. this is my first time learning. coming up i ve accepted the fact that a potential outcome of trial could be the death sentence. we encounter an iraq war veteran accused of murder inside phoenix s maricopa county jail. pressure. i feel it every day. but at night, it s the last thing on my mind. for 10 years my tempur-pedic has adapted to my weight and shape, relieving pressure points from head to toe.