Arriving at the Los Angeles County Twin Towers Jail to be processed was a nightmare. We were herded like cattle. Stripped of our clothes and given 5 minutes to shower with about 100 other guys and not even given clean towels. It was degrading.
After the processing which took more than 24 hrs, it was time to be housed. Since I had high blood pressure they had me at the Meds section of the jail which happen to be the old part of the jail.
It's just like you see in movies of old. cells on one side and wall with windows high in the air on the other. There were 4 beds but 2 men per cell. It was still cramped. If you were lucky you got a celly that was cool. After a couple of days at Twin Towers I was transferred to the Pitchess Detention Center around 40 miles out side of LA.
We were striped searched and housed. I was house at the East Facility, again the oldest part of the jail. I was in a huge dorm with about 150 other inmates.
No you have to remember this was my first time in jail. I was a lost and honestly scared. I did not know who to trust. When I first went in one of the Asian inmates came to me and introduced himself. He gave me a brief introduction to jail life. There are 4 groups in County Jail. The Blacks, Mexicans, Whites, and others. Being Asian I was considered other. It was very strange to see the if something happened it was most likely that Asians would team up with the blacks. This was strange to me. On the outside there is so much tension between Asians and Blacks. But in jail the tension is there but we help each other out.
There is one group that all Asians should look out for. the South Siders or the Southern Mexicans. These are Mexican gangs from Southern California. They hated everyone even their fellow Mexicans. They were so dangerous they were housed separated from other inmates. The blacks really hated South Siders. Mexicans form Mexico was a separate group and the Mexicans form Northern California was a separate group also. This was all very foreign to me.
Every group has a shot caller or the leader. For the Asians it was a little kid about 5 foot 3 inches with a shaved head wearing glasses. I will call him Kim. Other than the shaved head he looked like a typical college kid. Kim came up to me and showed me which toilet to use which shower to use which phone to use and where to sit to eat the meals. Basically don't fuck with other races stick to your own. You can be friendly with them but DO NOT PROGRAM with them. The use the PROGRAM to describe the day to day life in jail. I thanked him and laid down on my bunk which was a metal bed with a 2 inch foam mattress. It was a triple bunk and since I was a new guy I got the middle bunk.
On top I had a Black whom we will call M and on the bottom there was a Mexican whom we will call J. They were both very cool. After Dinner was handed out the stories of how I and my neighbors landed in County Jail.
I told them my story and they seemed to be very casual about it. they said your a "Non Violent Offender" which is good I guessed. Kim came to me to offer some instant noodles since I had no "canteen". Canteen is stuff you can buy like food, toiletries, writing material etc with the money your family puts in to your account or the money you had on you when you were arrested. I did not know if this offer was free or I was expected to pay him back. So I just said no thank you.
I asked him why he was in here. This was the 1st shocking but not the last story i herd in the East Facility.
