Injustice Served. Episode 2 with Shonique Williams

[00:00:00] Speaker A: In this pod, I will be continuing [00:00:01] Speaker B: my conversation with Shonique Williams from California, who is running for Congress in CD41. If you missed the first episode, please go to my channel and find episode one. I haven't marked. That way you can understand what's happening in this episode and put them two together. And keep in mind this is part two of a four part series. In my discussions with Shoneeque Williams and understanding who she is, listening to her story and to find out exactly what has got her to where she is today and what she is doing to fight against racism, domestic abuse and the injustice that so many citizens, especially black citizens in our country face on a daily basis. My name is Kurt Mullet. I'm Hoosier Blue and I have something to say. Let's get at it. [00:01:06] Speaker A: So, last pod we left off, you were just about ready to inform us and tell us, I guess not inform us, but to share with us the incident that happened at the casino, which you and I spoke at length on the phone about. And if you're. Just go, just, just, you know, take it from here because I. I don't know what else to say, Shanique. I'm just, you know, it's crazy. [00:01:36] Speaker C: So as I had said in the last episode, it had been six months since I saw my abuser. I had, I had escaped, right? I had got away. I was doing great in life, you know, had a new apartment, new car, new job. Everything was going great. I was right on the brink of graduating with my bachelor's degree. And he comes to the casino. He was invited by the other woman whose birthday it was that invited me. I did know he was going to be there. I did believe. [00:02:07] Speaker A: Didn't know or did. [00:02:08] Speaker C: I did. No, I did know. I knew. I had actually told her. I didn't want to go initially because he was going to be there. However, you know, there was a belief from her and I that he wasn't going to be, you know, harmful to me because we were at a casino and there's all these cameras. Yeah, there's cameras. [00:02:25] Speaker A: One of the most highly, you know, monitored buildings that you could enter. [00:02:31] Speaker C: Right? And I'm gonna say I've never named the casino for before. People have been curious. This is Casino Morongo in Southern California. It is one of the largest, if not technically the largest, casino in Southern California. So those of us from here, we know how large this casino is, how many security officers, armed security officers are there, how many cameras are all throughout their parking lot, their casino. They're a very Very high established casino. This isn't some. [00:03:05] Speaker A: Is it safe to say that there's probably not a square foot on the property that is not under camera surveillance? [00:03:12] Speaker C: Yes, sir. It is safe to say this is not a hole in the wall casino. This is not one of those. This is a very well known, high profile casino in Southern California that makes [00:03:23] Speaker B: a lot of money. [00:03:24] Speaker C: Yes, in Riverside County. So this is actually this. The casino is a part of the Morongo tribe. It sits in Cabazon Sheriff Station, which is a sheriff station that is a part of Riverside County Sheriff Station. Remember I shared in last episode Riverside County? Very racist, very corrupt, proud white supremacists. So when I arrived to the casino, all is well. Initially, I'm not drinking, I'm not consuming any alcoholic beverages. I was actually taking medication and the days prior. So I was not consuming alcohol. But I also do not care to consume except on occasion. So again, remember I shared in the last episode, my abuser, he has substance abuse issues, drugs and alcohol. So when we get to the casino, he may have potentially been drinking. I'm not aware, but he was not, not drunk initially. Well, quite a few of us because there was multiples of us that were there together. Well, we met there together. We didn't come together. I came only in the car with the birthday girl. So we're at the casino, me and the birthday girl, we're playing at the blackjack table. And she's like, oh, I'm gonna go play, you know, the slot, the slot machines. So I stay at the blackjack table. At one point in time, my abuser comes and sits in the next to me, you know. So he's like, oh, you're looking good tonight. You know, why haven't I heard from you, xyz? So I'm, you know, oh, you know, just moved on with my life. Everything's good. Mind you, he, at this point in time, I'm aware that he's drinking. Didn't know how drunk he was when where he's drinking. And we're sitting at the blackjack table and so there's people sitting around us. The dealer's right there in front of us. We're both playing at the table. So somewhere in there he starts saying, well, you know, who is he? I'm like, who's who? So he's like, well, who's the guy you left me for? He goes into this whole tangent that I left him for someone. That's why I left. That's why he hasn't heard from me. He starts Berating me of, why am I not at least returning calls to his mom and his sister? Because, mind you, my number was the same. I just had blocked everyone and him and his family. So he's asking, why am I not returning calls and messages? Why did I delete everyone off social media? And I'm like, listen, I just. I want to move forward with my life. You know, we had the path that we had. I. I just want to move forward. I'm. I'm done. You know, somewhere in there, his not. [00:05:43] Speaker A: Not, not. Not thinking that it was. Had something to do with not only the years of abuse, but the fact that he strangled you to the point of unconsciousness in a dirt field. [00:05:54] Speaker C: Yep. Leaving me to not know if I was dead. Literally. You know, the server's coming by. They're, you know, asking if you want drinks, anything like that. He starts ordering more alcohol. So it gets to a point for me where it's very obvious that he's, you know, drunk. So as this happens, immediately fight or flight kicks in. I know it's no longer safe for me because as soon as he gets to this level of drunk that I knew that he was, I knew that he could and more than likely would become physically violent with me. Even sitting in a casino with cameras everywhere, dealers, people, people. As a victim of domestic violence, I knew I was not safe, and I knew I needed to leave. So instead of, you know, I don't. I don't make it a scene. Those of us that have experienced domestic violence know it was, you know, best in my best interest to appear calm, appear collected, appear like, oh, I'm. I just gotta go. So I go ahead and I say, oh, I'm tired. I'm gonna go ahead and go home. Mind you, this is for my safety. I. I'm. I'm not tired. I wanted to stay and have a good time. I just knew I was not safe. So I'm like, oh, I'm gonna go, you know, get, you know, blah, blah, blah. The birthday girl, tell her I'm leaving. So instead of me even getting. Being able to get up and go, he starts, you know, braiding me and, like, well, before you go, you know, take. Take a shot. So I was like, no, I don't want to take. I don't want to take a shot, mind you. Again, I haven't taken medication. I hadn't drank all night. So he's like, well, I don't. I was like, I don't want to take a shot. So he was like, well, take the shot right now, because if you don't take the shot, that's not how I know you're pregnant by this, you know, nigg. So I was like pregnant, mind you. I wasn't even dating anybody. I was like pregnant. So I had on some knee high black boots, some like six inch heels, knee high black boots, some white pants, and this oversized, like gray and black sweater. And it was like this real cute outfit. I remember the outfit. I had just got my hair done like a day or two before and it was in this really long weave and remembered just everything I had on. And this was a, you know, a style right then for the women to have this like sort of oversized sweater on. And so at this point in time, it's clicking to me, oh, he thinks I'm wearing this big sweater because I'm hiding a belly, but I'm not hiding a belly. But even if I was, who cares, right? So he goes and he, he literally tries to grab me to force me to take a shot. While we're in the casino, in front of all these cameras, in front of these guests, in front of, you know, these employees of the casino, he's trying to grab me, but, you know, by the back of my head to take a shot. And I'm like, I'm not taking a shot. I don't, I don't want to drink, you know, so he's just, why? Why? You're pregnant, huh? I know you, you won't drink if you're pregnant. You're pregnant. I'm like, I'm not pregnant. I just don't want to drink. I didn't feel it was his business, you know, I don't want to drink because I've been taking medication. I doesn't matter why I don't want to drink. I just don't want to drink. So somewhere in this commotion, the birthday girl comes up. I don't know if she heard us or if she just happened to come up, but she comes up and she's just like, oh, you know, are you guys ready to leave? Like something, you know. And I was just like, well, I'm leaving, I'm tired. So then, you know, he's calling me the B word and stuff at this time. Oh, she's, she's saying she want to leave. She's tired, you know, whatever, something, something. So she's like, okay, well, my purse is in your car because her and I, you know, rode together. She's like, my person in your car. And I said, okay, well, you know, let's, let's Go get your purse. So the birthday girl and I are walking to the car to go get her purse. As we're walking to the car, she's like, oh, Shonique, are we still going to be able to come to your house? She asked me that question while we were still at the table in front of him. And I was like, oh. I was like, yeah, we'll talk about it at the car. So when we're walking to the car, she's asking if everyone can still come to my house because I was the only one that had my own apartment at the time. They were still living with family. And so we're all in our early 20s. And so I was just like, yeah, you guys can come. Only if he's going to be keeping his hands to himself. You see how drunk he is. Like, you know, he. He needs to keep his hands to himself. And I was like, but matter of fact, I'll just give you my garage opener. And I'mma lock myself in the room. So when you guys get there, I was like, you guys could sleep in the living room or in the guest room. I had a two bedroom. I was like, sleep in the living room or in the guest room. But I'm gonna be locked in my room. Don't wake me up and don't let him come in my room. So she's just like, okay, we're walking to the car. When we get to the car, he meets us at the car. I don't know how he beat us to the car. I have no clue. Because when we left, he's still sitting at the jack blackjack table. So he had hundreds of dollars with him. I don't know if in his craziness, which he will do, if he had put everything down in one stack, betted on it, but he came out and he's like, oh, you know, you're really leaving. You're really going home. He's like, oh, you're really leaving. You're really going home? I'm like, yeah, I'm really leaving. I'm really going home. I'm tired. So for him I'm lying, saying I'm tired. All of that escalates into, you know, you bitch, you're lying. You're lying. I know you're pregnant. I know you're pregnant. So he starts grabbing on my sweater, trying to lift my sweater up to, you know, see my stomach, and I'm like pulling my sweater down, like, I'm not pregnant. I'm not pregnant. So he's like, well, why wouldn't you let me see your stomach. I'm like, because I'm not pregnant and I don't have to pretend. Prove to you I'm not pregnant. I'm not even dating anybody. So in his anger, frustration, drunken rage, all of these things, and I don't know if he was on substances, you know, that night, outside of alcohol, there is a likeliness. He's again, just trying to get access to my stomach, to. To look at my stomach under my sweater. And I'm refusing to let him do that. So he's now concluding that she has to be pregnant and she's hiding it. That's why she's not drinking and not letting me see her stomach. I'm under this defense of, like, this is my fucking body. This is my autonomy. I don't have to let you see shit. I'm not in a relationship with you. Yeah, I'm not in a relationship with you. I'm not cheating on you. But you don't have any right to touch me. You don't have any right to keep me from trying to get in my car. Because at this point, I'm trying to get in my car. Yes, I'm just trying to get in the car and get to safety, get to my home. So as this is happening, I'm trying to get in my car. He's pushing me. He starts pushing me. He starts spitting on me like, you know, f. F that baby. F him. Just concludes, I have this baby, you know, so spitz a loogie in my face, tells me, f me, f the baby, F the guy. All this imaginary people. And so the woman, the birthday girl, she's pushing him. She is pushing him at this time, like, you know, get your hands off her. Are you crazy? Like, get your hands off her. So as she goes and she's pushing him, it's like, him, her, and then me. But he has me pushed up against the car. So I'm pushed up against the car. She's standing in front of me. So he goes and does some kind of like, crazy kicks. He starts kicking for whatever reason. And the crazy, like, karate style kicks he does. He kicks so high, he kicks her glasses off her face. Mind you, I'm five foot tall. He's about five six, but she's about five six or five seven. So he kicks some kind of crazy way where he kicks her. I don't know know if he kicked her in the face, but all I know is, however he kicked her, her glasses flew off her face. Her prescription glasses. So I just hear her yelling, my mom just bought those fucking glasses. My mom just bought those glasses. And so she moves from in front of me trying to grab her glasses. And so as she's trying to find her prescription glasses, he goes and he just starts punching me. He starts punching me. She's again moved. She's trying to grab her glasses. I'm pushing him back, trying to stop the punches, mind you, again, I've already been had. The loogie spit in my face, like, like, literally spit in my face. And I'm pushing, he's punching, I'm yelling. She's on the ground, hands and knees, looking for her glasses, because of course, they're under someone's car. So she's on the ground looking for that. And it just turned into this chaotic scene somehow in there. I get into my car, and as I get into my car, I'm, you know, trying to, like, close my door. I can't get my door closed because he's continuing to punch me. She goes and tries to jump back in the middle of it. As he's, you know, punching me, she tries to, like, push him back. And at somewhere in there, he starts hitting her a few times. I get my door closed. As I get my door closed, he continues punching. Mind you, I never hit back at this point in time. I'm just trying to get in the car. I'm trying to cover myself up, you know, with the safety of my car. I get in my car. This is a 2014 Kia Optima, if anyone has had that car. There's something about this glass of this driver's side window. They told me it's like some special glass. I forget the name of it. So it's like a glass and it's some kind of like. Like plastic, like very durable plastic material in the middle of it. And it's some other kind of plastic. It's some kind of upgrade to vehicles that Kia started. Started doing with their windows around that time. So he's punching this window. Mind you, I'm. I don't know where my keys are. I'm trying to find my keys. I don't. I don't even remember, you know, where I ended up finding them. But I'm trying to find my keys. And as I'm looking for my keys, he's punching the window repeatedly. Repeatedly punching the window because it's not breaking right away because again, of this special glass. So he's punching the window repeatedly, like, with all his might. Somewhere in there, before I could find my keys, he's able to Punch the window in. And the window, it caves in this weird way. It doesn't shatter the way windows are typically thought to shatter for cars because of this specialty film that's in the middle of the window. So it caves in a way where the window falls on top of me. It's all shattered, but it's also still together, if that makes sense. Yeah. So the window, the whole glass caves in, comes onto the top of my face. So I get glass all into my face, all on the left side. It's glass on my neck, all in my. All on my face. Remember, I have a sweater on. So he's at the driver's side. So, so he uses what would be his left hand to grab my hair on the right side of my head. And again, I had just got a sewing weave installed the day or two prior. So he grabs that side of my head, holds it with his left hand and he just punches me nonstop with his right hand. And I'm sitting in my car, I have on These knee high, 6 inch knee high boots. And so I just remember I was like trying to like escape. Like I'm trying to get over to my passenger side of my car as he's holding and pulling me by the right side of my hair, punching my face on what would be the left side of my face. So even with the glass up against my face, he's punching. So the glass is being embedded into my face. The glass falls at one point, the, the film falls down and he just continues punching my face. I'm trying to get my legs from under the steering wheel area over to the passenger side. But because I have on these knee high 6 inch black boots, I. I can't get my legs from under the steering wheel area to get over here to the other side of the car. Because my brain is saying, you know, get over to this side, get out the passenger side, run. Like that's what I'm trying to do. I'm not even trying to punch back. I'm trying to get out of the car and run. And so nowhere in there am I able to do that. I just. And at some point I just remember, just everything was gone. Like, like I was getting punched. Everything was gone. And then at some point in time when I come back to and I had lost consciousness. So at some point in time when I come back to, I just, just was looking around. He's. He was standing at the front of the car and he's standing at the front of the car. He was screaming and yelling. I don't Know what he was saying? It was like. It was. It sounded like a, like muffling. Like. Like his voice just sounded like this loud, like muffle, like, like I was underwater. I couldn't make out his words. I don't know where the. The birthday girl had went at this point in time. The. The glass is on top of me. It's. It's still laying on me. And even with the sweater on, due to like, the commotion I had started, I had got cuts all to the left side of my body from the glass. And that. That's just. The scene was chaotic. I had no clue what was going on. I have no clue if anyone else had ever made their way out to the parking lot. This is about. It's after midnight. It was somewhere between like midnight and one in the morning. I only know this due to my time of arrest was like two. Something in the morning. And yes, I set my time of arrest because I got arrested. So as this is happening, I'm. [00:17:54] Speaker A: I'm looking and apparently this was some kind of glass in the window that had some kind of safety feature to it that together. But even those types of. That are in front windows that are prevented, they still shatter and you still get shards and you still get pieces of glass. It's just not. The, the overall thing just completely shatters and goes everywhere. So just so people can kind of. [00:18:19] Speaker C: Yes. [00:18:19] Speaker A: You know. [00:18:20] Speaker C: Yeah, that's what I'm calling a sense [00:18:21] Speaker A: of what you're saying. And this probably even though it's taken you, you know, time to go through this and tell us everything that you're telling us, which, you know, I appreciate you sharing this with us. It's got to be difficult, but it probably lasted, you know, a couple minutes. [00:18:41] Speaker C: Minutes. And it's crazy because. Yeah, this is a lot for me to explain, but these incidents of domestic violence and things, sometimes, not all times, but sometimes they're very quick to the point where I understand what I'm saying. I didn't even have the ability, the. To. To fight back. Like, it happened. [00:18:57] Speaker A: Right. [00:18:58] Speaker C: So fast. I was in so much shock, in so much trauma, like, I didn't get to react. [00:19:03] Speaker A: And again, and I shared this with you on our phone call last week. The, the, the, the. The impact that it would take from a human fist to shatter a car [00:19:15] Speaker C: window in this kind of car window. That's what's important. If people could. [00:19:19] Speaker A: Right, right. But any car window. But yeah, especially when it has an extra F film in it. The, the, the velocity and the power behind that and you know, Damn. Well. And I said this to you after he did that with every punch in a situation like this, the intensity increases. So he was able to punch through a car window and continued to. To beat you in the face. Face with his fist until I lost. And that is just. People have to try to. You can't, I mean, you can't but go out and punch your car window this afternoon after we get. You get done listening to this, [00:20:05] Speaker C: you know, rage that you're describing. Right? Crazy because I was conscious. I don't know how many times this man continued to punch me while I was unconscious. He didn't even know if I was dead. If you all have ever seen someone beaten unconscious before, you can't differentiate if that person is dead in that moment. So I don't know how they stop when they stop. Yeah, I don't, I don't. I didn't see the time of when my abuse started and when it ended. I don't know how long this. The situation. [00:20:35] Speaker A: It's just like the story you shared in episode one of this, where he strangled you to unconsciousness in the field. And I didn't get to say it then because you were talking and I didn't want to interrupt, but he did he stop because he thought he had ended your life? [00:20:50] Speaker C: Who knows? Who knows? [00:20:54] Speaker A: And that's why he took off running. You know, I mean, the only reason [00:20:58] Speaker C: I know that strangulation was, was possibly minutes is because when I came to, I saw him running. But who knows, it might not have been minutes, it might have been longer than that because he could have just been me over my, my body thinking [00:21:12] Speaker A: he killed you and think. Yeah, yeah. So anyway. [00:21:16] Speaker C: Yeah. So these. [00:21:17] Speaker A: So those who haven't watched episode one, please go watch episode one because. [00:21:21] Speaker C: Yes. [00:21:21] Speaker A: So this what we're talking about. [00:21:23] Speaker C: So horrific experience. The reason I even started by sharing that I was at Casino Morongo and. And again, anyone in Southern California that is aware of how highly secure that casino is in the surveillance of that casino. Remember I said I was proud of myself because I. Here I was, this young woman, I was only 23 years old at the time of all this, you guys. So I had just bought myself a brand new 2014 Kia Optima. You couldn't tell me nothing. I was so proud. I was looking at graduation of my bachelor's degree. So I, I took very much so hide in my car, right? And like I said, it was. It was this very nice, beautiful red Optima. And so for me, because my car was brand new and I had Barely had it, maybe even a month. I bought it with three miles on it. And I say that because people that know, know that when you are that proud of a brand new car, especially as a young adult and you did it all yourself, you take care of that car with pride and with joy. Not only that, you keep that car safe. So when I got to the casino, just like I do any and everywhere else at the time when I had just got that brand new car, I intentionally parked under cameras, and I intentionally did that because I had this brand new car that I was proud of. So the camera literally was right above my vehicle. The camera was right above my vehicle [00:22:43] Speaker A: to a light pole. I'm sure that a light was shining down. [00:22:47] Speaker C: Keep that in mind. Because all of that happened at my vehicle, standing outside of my vehicle and inside my vehicle. Keep that in mind. So then when I go ahead and I call the police, you know, somewhere in there, I do. I do find my car keys, and they're on the floor in the backseat. So I don't even know how or what happened with that, but my car keys were on the floor in the backseat of my car. And so as I, you know, get my keys and, you know, I'm. I'm. I'm on the phone with the police. I'm on the phone with 911 dispatch, and I'm crying and I'm yelling and I'm frantic, you know, xyz. I'm saying his name. Yeah, he just. Just beat me. He just beat me unconscious. I'm at Casino Morongo. So, you know, the operator's mound. Please calm down. Can you tell? No, I can't calm down. He. He just beat me. He just beat me again, Right? So I'm screaming, I'm yelling like, he just beat me again. And they're like, you know, ma', am, can you please describe to us. Wait. What, you know, you're wearing? So they asked what I'm wearing first. I give them that description. You know, my name, my age, birthday, all that. So. So then they asked for his description. So I'm giving his age, I'm giving his birthday. And then somewhere in there, they're asking me what he was wearing. And, you know, like, I'm going in and out of. Not consciousness at the, you know, I didn't understand at that time. Later, I'm going in and out of shock. I'm going in and out of, you know, I. I had, you know, concussion. I'm going in and out of, you know, lucidness. So I'm But I'm driving through this parking lot and I'm trying to, like, look for him, and I'm trying to tell dispatch because I don't know what he's wearing. I have no clue, cannot recall what he's wearing. But I'm not realizing that this was literally impacts of even the injuries I just had, that it's a concussion I couldn't explain. I did not understand at that time how distorted, you know, my. My communication possibly was with 911. And I say possibly because we were never able to recover the 911 tape. Never were able to recover a single clip of the 911 tape. Okay, so remember I said, this is in Riverside County. How did you not recover over 20 minutes? They swear, Riverside County Sheriff's Department swore that they were not able because, you know, pulling discovery, fighting my case. They swore they were not able to Recover any. Any 911 audio, possibly because of the fact that I called from a cell phone and I was in. In the Morongo Basin. That's. That's what they allege. They alleged it probably has to do with my service. [00:25:17] Speaker A: That's just. [00:25:18] Speaker C: It was over three minutes that I'm on the phone, screaming, crying, asking for help, trying to explain where I'm at inside of this casino parking lot. Because again, I had just been beat unconscious. So I'm trying to explain what parking lot I'm in, because this is a huge casino, so I don't know what parking lot I'm in. I just keep saying I'm at the entrance. I'm near the entrance. Because there's only one entrance for Casino Morongo. Yes. There's all these entrances through the parking lot, but there's only one main entrance. So even in the confusion, if the victim keeps saying, I'm at the entrance, there's not a confusion of what she's saying she's at the entrance. There's only one, you know, and even if there is a confusion, guess what? There's dozens of officers that work at Casino Morongo. So an officer could have went to every single entrance in that casino within minutes. The same they would. Same way they would have done if someone attempted to rob the place. Someone had attempted to rob them. Oh, you guys. It would have been no confusion. You guys would have made it to everywhere. [00:26:17] Speaker A: No doubt about it. Yeah. [00:26:19] Speaker C: So when I'm calling for help, even if you didn't understand what entrance I was at, you should have been able to get there. So my job on the phone, screaming, crying for over 20 minutes. And this is important because again, I'm looking for him in the parking lot. When I do see him in the parking lot, he comes up to my. I pull up to the side of the casino. He's trying to walk back in the casino. I don't know if he was under substance abuse influence at the time, but he was again, I knew, drunk. So he is literally walking back in the casino. I don't know if he had intention to go back in there and gamble. Like, as if he had just did nothing. I don't know if he was, you know, attempting to go inside to go get the other people that were there, you know, for celebrating the birthday party. I don't know. But he's walking back in the casino. So I'm saying this to the operator, like, oh, my God. He's walking back in the casino after he just beat me unconscious. Like, I'm saying this to her, and I remember it was a woman. And I'm saying this to her and, sorry, there's something in my eye. And so as I'm saying this to her, I'm on my car audio. I don't even realize this in the moment. I'm on my car audio. So the car audio, of course you can hear it outside the car. So that I don't know this at the moment. All of a sudden, he stops and he turns around and he starts walking up to my car because his back was to me the whole time. So I don't know if he had seen me prior to hearing me say that. But he turns around, he comes, walks back up to my car, stands in front of my car. He starts punching on my hood of my car. He starts punching on it. Get out the car, bitch. Get out the car. You called the police on me? You called the police on me. So, mind you, my windows caved in already. You know, my doors are locked. Like that did any good because my windows caved in already. You call the police on me? You call the police on me. And so as he's saying this and he's punching the hood of my car, he physically jumps onto the hood of my car. Mind you, my car is parked on the side of the. This, this. It's not the side of anything. It's. It's the entrance. You know how like, it's like a. Where you could let someone out if you were going to let someone out at the front entrance of a building. So I'm. I'm parked there, and I believe it was a red zone, but I'm Parked there. I'm waiting for police to show up. I'm waiting for security to show up. No one has come out. I've been on the phone at this point in time for I don't even know how many minutes. No one comes out. So as no. And the only reason I knew that my 911 call was over 20 minutes is because that was, you know, when my attorney and I had went back to go look at the call log. That's how we knew that it was over 20 minutes, because I didn't know how long I was on the phone with these people. So he anyways, he jumps on top of my car, completely drunk and possibly, who knows, under the influence of something. He jumps on my car, puts both of his hands on. On my vehicle like this, but spread out. And he takes his tongue and licks my windshield. Like, literally licks my windshield. So that's parts of me that causes me to believe that he was possibly under, you know, a substance besides alcohol. This manual licks a freaking car windshield. And so he does that and he, like, does all this taunting, ah, I'm gonna kill you. He's saying all of this. Like. So for me, I'm literally like, this dude is a demon. He's possessed. Like, you know, and that whole time I'm on the phone with 911 Operator, I don't get off the phone with her. So as I'm, I'm, you know, on the phone, I'm describing to her, I'm telling her everything he's doing at this point in time. Of course, I've told her what he's wearing again. They had his name, they had his birthday. I'm already telling her I have the restraining order against him. You know, all of this. I'm telling her, hey, we came here for a friend's birthday. This, this. And this happened unfolded. So then, mind you, he's again on the top of my car licking my windshield. And he was licking it repeatedly and all this, like, crazy stuff. So he gets off of my car, threatening he's going to kill me, threatening, you know, to beat me up again. So he comes over to the side of my car where again, my window's broken in. So I drive forward. He's on the side of my car. I drive forward to get away from him, right, Because I'm still on the phone just waiting for police to come, waiting for security officers to come because Casino Morongo security officers are armed too. So my thing is, somebody's going to come get me from this crazy Even if they have to shoot his ass, somebody's going to come get me. So as I'm, you know, driving, I don't leave from the area because why would I leave from the area? I'm trying to identify who my abuser is. And I'm on the phone with 911 operator. I'm inside. [00:30:29] Speaker A: You left from the parking spot so you could try to locate. [00:30:32] Speaker C: Yes, because. Right, because I could. They were asking what he was wearing. The 911 operator. I didn't know what he was wearing, so I needed to, you know, be able to identify that. [00:30:39] Speaker A: So you went from the. You went from underneath the pole that had the security camera in the light. You drove to a different part of the casino, which is out right in front of the casino, where probably multiple cameras right there also. [00:30:54] Speaker C: And my. This is a short distance Casino Morongo. There's multiple camera. Cameras in every row of every. [00:31:01] Speaker A: Sure. [00:31:01] Speaker C: You know, parking row, you know. And so I'm driving past those cameras too. And I, you know, drive up to the front of the casino. Like I said, once he gets off the car and comes to the side threatening to kill me, threatening to beat me up again. I drive forward. He's on the side of the car. I drive forward. So as that's happening, he runs up to my car again. He keeps running up to my car. So I just. I just keep moving. Every time he runs up to the car, I just keep moving, keep moving. MOVIE and he doesn't, you know, punch me again. He's threatening to punch me. He's threatening to kill me. He's threatening to beat me up. I just keep moving. I keep moving. But I'm staying on the phone with the operator the whole time. There is a bus stop, a bus stop that sits right at the front too, and at the this casino. So at one point in time, I'm, you know, telling the woman, because he runs over to this bus stop. He gets up on the bus stop bench, and it was like, it's weird because this bus stop sits facing. Because I Casino Morongo. Right? It's like a bus for them. So he stands up on the bench there, and he's like yelling all types of things, calling me, telling me that if he goes to jail, he. I better know that's the end of my life. Because even if he goes to jail, his sisters are gonna kill me. His family's gonna come after me. Because his family had participated in my abuse over the years, particularly his sisters. They. They had attacked me for calling the police. On him, him before. So he's saying all this, right? And I'm telling the operator and you know, now he's threatening me with his sisters and you know, X, Y and Z. I'm not sure if they know where I live. I'm saying all this to her. [00:32:26] Speaker A: Nobody from the casino is out come out. [00:32:30] Speaker C: Nope. Nope. So at this point in time, no, no patron has come out. But again, this is like one in the morning. So this. Right, right. But no security officer has come out, no law enforcement officer has come out, no one has come out at this point point. So I, at some point in time, I, you know, he runs towards my car, he jumps off of the bench of the. That he's standing on at this bus stop, he jumps off of that and starts running full fledged towards my car. So I drive around him right quickly because at that point in time he again was just yelling all this. But it was something about the way he jumped off that time. I think in my mind I was thinking he was going to physically attack me again that time. And so I drive around him and as I drive around him, I go and I begin. It's hard to explain, but I began reversing. I drive around him, I do this like small, like roundabout. And I began reversing because I'm still trying to get out of my eyes on, yeah, getting away from him, but keeping my eyes on him because he had previously, over all the years, there was multiple times where police would arrive on the scene and he would be gone. So they were like, oh well, you know, if he comes back, we'll make an arrest. I didn't want him to get away from accountability on this night. Like, no. So I'm keeping my eyes on him, but also keeping myself safe a distance from him. So as this is happening, he starts walking up to my car again. I start reversing backwards, I reverse backwards and end up reversing my car into this like middle divider planter thing somewhere in there. Thankfully, not too many minutes left later, the police finally arrive. And this is Cabazon Sheriff Station, which is a branch of Riverside Sheriff Department. They finally arrive and it's multiple cars. I don't even know how many. Multiple cars arrive as they arrive. Also Casino Morongo's security officers arrive and they're in vehicles as well. Why what I think happened, no one ever explained to me. I think instead of splitting up, going to different entrances and different exits, I think they probably were going to like this, like together to different entrances. No one never explained that to me, but that's what I think they were doing. But they should have split and went to different ones. I don't know. But also keep in mind, I had previously worked at a casino in the city of Palm Springs before. We have cameras for a reason. People do get, you know, robbed, burglarized, raped and things like that. A casino, casinos, substance abuse, overdoses, all of that. So we are able at any point in time to check the cameras. By we, meaning I was a security officer for a casino. We can check the cameras at any given time in the casino. So I don't. I've never. The casino was not as large as Morongo that I worked at. So I don't know if it had something to do with their cameras of how many they have there. And they had. It took them a while to figure out which scene, you know, was the one I was located in. But common sense would have told me, check every single camera that is pointed at an entrance because the woman, the victim, is saying she's at the entrance of the casino. So let's use our cameras to check every single entrance to see which one the woman is at. She's already told us her car is a red 2014 Kia Optima. So we know the color of the car we're looking for. We know the make, we know the model, we know the year. Let's look for that car at any one of these entrances. So I. I don't know, but that's what I think. [00:35:46] Speaker A: Which. And I'm just going to throw this in. You know, they tell. They tell people that red cars are the. The most popular car for cops to pull over or to. [00:35:57] Speaker C: That they do, because it. [00:35:59] Speaker A: Because they're visible. [00:36:01] Speaker C: Yes. And I was in a red Kia Optima, all red Kia Optima, brand new car. Right. So all that happens when the police arrive. Mind you, my car is backed into this planner because again, he had walked up towards me. So it's. It's quote, unquote, even technically stuck. And the way I say stuck is because I couldn't go forward. If I would have went forward, I would have hit him. I didn't want to hit him. So I had. Was reversing back when he was walking towards me. And this is important because even after all of that abuse, there was no intention in my mind to abuse him, to hurt him, to harm him. I wanted to keep myself safe. I wanted him held accountable, I wanted him arrested. But I was not even looking to harm him. So I'm reversing instead of going Forward towards the person that just beat me unconscious and is still threatening to kill me. And technically. Right, he's chasing me through the parking lot. Yes. I went after him first to describe his outfit to 91 1. But after that, I. I just parked my car on this right there by the entrance. I was. That was it. But then he kept running to my car and physically jumping on top of my car and running to my driver's window. [00:37:07] Speaker A: And, like, in your windshield. [00:37:09] Speaker C: Right. So when the police are in my drive, I have no windshield at this time. So he has easy access to. [00:37:13] Speaker A: No, I mean your front windshield. Licking your front. [00:37:15] Speaker C: Well, yeah, licking that. But I'm saying he also even had that easy access now because now the windows broken. So right when the police arrive. And like I said, I don't even know how many cars it was when they arrived to the scene. It's the casino officers as well as the Cabazon Sheriff's station. So there they ask me, you know, oh, Melki, you know, you please take a seat right here. So they have me sit down on the curb, and, you know, they're asking me questions, and I'm just crying. I need a ambulance. I need a ambulance. Like, mind you. I hang up. They asked me to hang up with the. They're like, who are you on the phone with? I was like, oh, the 911 operator. They're like, oh, let them know that dispatch know that we've arrived. You can hang up. So they tell me that. And that's important, too, because whatever. So they tell me to hang up with that dispatch. I do that. And at this point, I'm. I'm crying. I have been crying this whole time, but I'm crying, like, tears on my eyes, and I'm showing them my hands because I have glass shards all in my hands. Because, of course, when he's hitting, I'm trying to push my hands up. So my palms, my fingers, my forearms, they're all covered with glass shards. They're bleeding. I was like, I need a ambulance. I don't have any clue what my face looks like at this time. I just say, I need an ambulance. Look at my hands. Look at my hands. I don't know. My hair is ripped out. Like, I don't know any of that. All I know is, look at my hands. They're bleeding. They're bleeding. So somewhere in there, they're asking me questions. I'm talking to them. I'm screaming, I'm yelling. I'm like, I need an ambulance. I end up calling one of my friends, they walk away from me. They're talking to him. I call one of my friends, I'm like, you know, can you please come get my. Can you please come get me? Can you please come get me? Get me? And so she's just like, what happened? I was like, I need to go to the ambulance. And it's weird. I don't know what was all going through my brain, but I'm asking her to come get me. She's in the city of Riverside. This is at Moronga, this is at Cabazon. So this is going to be a 20, 25 minute drive for her. But somewhere in my head I'm telling myself to call her to come get me, even though I'm there with police. And I, I think it was like in that moment, it was like, well, the police haven't sent, you know, ambulance to come get me yet. So I think in my head, with the concussion and everything that was going on, it's like, call someone else to come get you. I don't know. I should have just called 911 and told them to send an ambulance. But it was. I just called my friend, so I told her to come get me. So she's like, okay, I'm on my way. And unfortunately, she had responded. [00:39:31] Speaker A: When you first made the initial call and said you were being beat, that was 91 1. [00:39:35] Speaker C: Right? But yeah, but I mean, they should [00:39:38] Speaker A: have, [00:39:41] Speaker C: mind you, even. [00:39:42] Speaker A: Why do you need to tell the cops to call an ambulance? [00:39:44] Speaker C: All of that that I explained, your [00:39:46] Speaker A: face beating in and you're bleeding. [00:39:49] Speaker C: Nope. Everything I explained that happened, they did not send an ambulance. They did not send the fire department. No, sir. Which, yes, common sense, you should send an ambulance in a fire department. This woman is literally explaining that she was just beat unconscious. Why would you not send an ambulance in a fire department? [00:40:07] Speaker A: Well, I think it's their civic duty as cops if they come on a scene and someone is injured. [00:40:13] Speaker C: But Even in the 911 dispatch, why did you not send ambulance and fire department, mind you, Christina Morongo. Because of how large they are. The Morongo Basin. They have their own fire department, they have their own ambulance. This is how large and significant this casino is. They did not see in theirs either. Okay, we have health. How do you want to say it? Like health providers at the casinos for scenes like this as well. None of them came out to render eight. No one renders me aid at any point in time. So somewhere as I'm talking on the phone with my friend, I don't know if she asked me what my injuries were. For some reason, I just remind started telling her about the blood in my hands, you know, on my hands and on my forearms. And then I started touching my. My face. And then I just started screaming, oh, my God, my hair. All. All of this was bald. Bald, like literally to the scalp like a baby. And I just was like, oh, my God, my hair, my hair. And then I just. I don't know. I was just touching my face as I'm talking to her. And as I'm touching my face, I felt my lip because my lip was hanging down. And I learned later that even the white meat was out. I didn't know it at the time. It's just, it was hanging down, it was so fat, it was so swollen. I knew there was glass on my face because of course it was hurting to touch my face. I don't know yet, but both of my eyes were black. My nose was swelled hot, you know, large. I, you know, felt some of the knots forming. But, like, it. My face was not recognizable. You think of like, wanted, like those, like it's a character from like a movie. I can't think of it. I was about to say the name, like Rocky. [00:41:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:41:59] Speaker C: It's not worse. Like, you could not. You could not recognize this face. Like, you would have never known that the per. Like, if you saw my photo from that day, you would never know that I was that person. [00:42:10] Speaker A: That's how they didn't call an ambulance. [00:42:15] Speaker C: And mind you, so I. I hate [00:42:17] Speaker A: being this way, but do you think if you were a white girl. [00:42:20] Speaker C: No, I know for a fact you don't even got to ask me the question. If I was a white person. I don't. No, no, no. If I was a non black. I don't care if it was Hispanic, Asian, anything. If I was a non black woman, they would have called the police. If I was a white woman, they would have came guns drawn on his ass. But because I was a black woman, I was told to sit on the curb. I think you guys, I said that because that's important. They arrived on a scene where I had been beat unconscious. They asked me to get out of the vehicle of my car that I was sitting in for safety, and they told me to sit on the fucking curb. Sitting on a curb by the police officers, as we all know, is a disgrace. Right? I was told to sit on a curb as a victim. I never once touched my abuser. I didn't push him, I didn't spit on him. I never Went towards him even when he kept me meeting me with harm, when he kept chasing my vehicle. Never did any of those things, mind you. I was screaming, I was yelling, I was cussing. So what happened? The angry black woman. The angry black woman. So the officers wrapping this portion of the story up, the officers end up taking me and him into custody. You know, they said they could not determine who was the abuser. Never touched him. He told them that he beat me unconscious. Oh, no. He told them the truth. He said it was because when I got in my car, he thought that I was going to run him over. Mind you, I was pulled into the parking space that I was in. So the only way to come out is to reverse, right? I couldn't go forward. I only could reverse. And he was standing at the driver's side of the car. So. And there is car to my left of my vehicle and the right of my vehicle saying that to say it was physically impossible to hit him with my vehicle because I could only reverse. You're at the side of my. My driver's side. There's not a physical way for you to. To be hit with my car. So even with that, the lie should have never been able to stand. But as an abuser of mine for five and a half years that I had an active restraining order against, not only was he able to say that he lied and told the police that he had a restraining order against me too. Mind you, this is Riverside County Sheriff's Department. So they are able to check and see, you know, you are, you know, under a restraining order. They would have been able to pull this information and know that he was not a victim of a restraining order of mines. He was only a suspect. And I was the victim of restraining order. Riverside county is the same county that gave the restraining order to me because. Because he had beat me multiple times. And they made a plea bargain with him for the multiple counts of domestic violence that he had, which included multiple misdemeanor counts and multiple felony counts. That's how we got the restraining order to begin with. I didn't go and file a restraining order against my abuser because I was living with him at the time. I didn't know all my rights and protections. Riverside county offered me that as a means of protecting me because him and I were still living together. And they gave him a plea bargain for the abuse. Okay. So keep that in mind. [00:45:29] Speaker A: A cop should. A cop would get his information. [00:45:32] Speaker C: They can look at it. [00:45:33] Speaker A: Is doing his job the way he should be doing. First off, should have put him in cuffs when he. When he got there. Yeah, should have had the ambulance. But as soon as he went and set in his little cruiser and typed the dude's name into the car computer and his rap sheet pulled up, he should have said, oh, my God. [00:45:52] Speaker C: And keep in mind it does not matter, but I'm going to go ahead and state, I had never been to jail, you guys. Not juvenile hall, not county. I. I was not a criminal. I was not a. A repeat offender. I did not have a criminal record kind. Even if I did, that would not have been any reason to justify my abuse or whatever. But I'm stating that to say I had no record. None. None. I was a straight A college student, getting ready to finish my bachelor's degree. Bachelor's degree. Looking for the law school that I was going to go to. Like I was applying and looking for law schools, okay? Working two jobs, having successfully escaped my abuser, did everything the system said we're supposed to do. Beating through systematic barriers once again, Systematic oppressions once again, right? Already made it out of foster care, made it out of homelessness, made it out of all those things. And then now I've made it out of this domestic situation, made it out of poverty, or so I thought. [00:46:55] Speaker A: So. No, no, no. Nothing on your record. This probably has a rap sheet that goes on for pages. [00:47:04] Speaker C: Not probably. He had everything from DUI, from DUIs to domestic violence to forgery of a prescription because, you know, again, the substance abuse, right? So he had every, like, just, Just a criminal. Misdemeanors, felonies, all of it. Crazy thing is, this abuser of mines, he had the most time he had ever done was three months in county jail. Remember I said that situation about the strangulation. He had just got out only days prior. He had just. He. First of all, they sentenced him to six months in county jail. They were doing what's known as fed kicks here in California. Fed kicks means that the county jail is too full, the population is. Is too full, so you get released early from your sentence. So he got sentenced to 6 months county jail because he kept violating probation, not attending his substance abuse classes, not attending domestic violence violence. So they sentenced him to six months, suspended his probation. Okay? This was all due to the domestic violence against me from, you know, over the years, the multiple counts. They suspended that. Instead of him having to serve the full six months, he only served three under a fed kick. Days later is when he came to my home and strangled me and almost killed me. This was days after Riverside county gave him a fed kick days later is when he did that. Okay. So that would have been my murder at the fault of Riverside county releasing him early under a fed kick. Okay, so fast forward back to the casino incident. Okay. Which was. Okay, keep in mind this was a year later. Okay. Almost. You know, not. Not in full. I'm saying a year later because three months for that time. And then remember, I didn't talk to him for six months. [00:48:49] Speaker A: Months processing. [00:48:50] Speaker C: Yeah, so. [00:48:52] Speaker A: And then six months of not seeing him and then. [00:48:54] Speaker C: Exactly. So nine months and some change. Right. So when all of this happens at the casino, they arrest me for felony assault with a deadly weapon. They arrest him, misdemeanor violation of a restraining order, misdemeanor domestic violence. They take us both to the same jail. Right. Cabazon Sheriff Station. [00:49:21] Speaker A: So they charged you with assault with a deadly weapon because a felon. [00:49:26] Speaker C: Oh, because he said the reason that he beat me unconscious is because he thought he believed I was going to hit him with my vehicle for assault. [00:49:37] Speaker A: So they classified you as driving your car to get away as you. [00:49:42] Speaker C: No, no. When it was still at the parking space. [00:49:47] Speaker A: Right, but I'm just saying they're saying the car was the deadly weapon. [00:49:51] Speaker C: The car was a deadly weapon. But they're not talking about when I was like in route on the phone with dispatch. No, no. Yeah, because he's saying that's what led to the, the abuse. [00:50:00] Speaker A: And I'm not trying to take away from this, but it doesn't really matter where it was at. [00:50:04] Speaker C: Right. I'm healthy. But people even clarify happen they're charging [00:50:09] Speaker A: you with assault with a deadly weapon, not calling an ambulance. You're sitting there bleeding out with glass all over your face and hands and half your head of hair gone. [00:50:19] Speaker C: And keep in mind, so for assault, you do not have to come in physical contact with the person. All the person has to do is have a reasonable amount of fear or apprehension of imminent danger. So as long as the district attorney is able to convince a jury the this person had a reasonable amount of apprehension of imminent danger, the other person is guilty of assault, and then the vehicle was just an add on. Right. [00:50:58] Speaker A: So how much reasonable evidence does there have to be for somebody to get charged with attempted murder by beating the out of somebody? Well, first having years. [00:51:10] Speaker C: Right. [00:51:10] Speaker A: Of criminal activity. Well, first he was charged with misdemeanors. [00:51:16] Speaker C: He was charged with misdemeanors after having multiple charges of felonies and misdemeanors of me being the victim for five and a half years. He was charged with two misdemeanors. I was charged with one felony. [00:51:30] Speaker A: This sound. This sounds like Birmingham, Alabama of 1930 or some like that. No, it's not [00:51:39] Speaker C: 2000. This happened December 1, 2013, Riverside County. Okay, so then they go ahead, they book us both into jail. We both bail out. And I. I know that because at the time, we're listed as each other's suspects and each other's victims. So they legally had to notify me that he was being released on bail, and they, you know, had to notify him then. We couldn't even be released from the jail at the same time. We were both. Remember my friend, I said, my friend was on the way, so she came to the jail, which was the Banning jail. She comes to come bail me out. He had a friend come bail him out. My. My person made it there first because she was already on her way. They would not release me until he was released, processed, released first, even though I bailed first. He was pro. He had to be processed, released, and bailed first because his person built. His person made bail over, you know, the phone as well, but they hadn't even made it to the. To the jail. My person had been sitting outside for hours waiting already, because she had already paid the bail. She was just sitting in the parking lot waiting. And they said because they couldn't release us at the time. [00:52:48] Speaker B: Same. [00:52:48] Speaker C: Same time. Because we were both each other's suspects and victims. But again, his driver wasn't even at the jail. So that was a whole. Another injustice that happened. [00:52:56] Speaker A: Did you received any medical attention at this point in time? [00:52:58] Speaker C: Not once. Not once. [00:53:01] Speaker A: Kidding me. [00:53:02] Speaker C: So not even from the jail. So I get to the jail and you have to get your fingerprints rolled and done. Right. My hands were so covered in blood and shards, they couldn't even take my fingerprints. They couldn't take my fingerprints. Right. I'm crying hysterically because the. The. The Jeller, that's what they call the person that's trying to take care of fingerprints, the Jeller. She's like. She goes to. To. To someone for help because she's like, I. I can't get her fingerprints. You know, she got blood. She's crying like, I can't. I can't get her fingerprints. So they have me speak to a. The. The therapist, a psychiatrist that was on site. And crazy enough, they never call an ambulance for me. They never send me to the hospital. They have me start talking to this therapist, this psychiatrist, trying to determine if I was suicidal. I don't. I will Admit I don't know what all I was saying at the time. Again, you know, I. I did have, you know, just been, you know, beat unconscious. I did have a concussion, but that was concerning. I just remember they didn't take me to the hospital, but they had me speak to a psychiatrist. And she just kept asking me repeatedly, like, are you certain that if we let you into the housing unit, you're not going to kill yourself? Like, I don't know. She. It was. It was. It was an extended period of time that I was talking to her, and they were just concerned that I was going to take my life. And I don't know if it was personal concern for her. I. I really don't know or if it was something that I said because I kept going in and out of just moments there. And I don't know if I was going in and out of consciousness or if just my brain chose to protect itself and not remember certain events of that night. But I remember the Jeller was telling them she couldn't get my fingerprints because my hands were too bloody and there was too much glass in my hands for her to press, because you got to press down on this digital screen. So she's telling them that there's someone else that's like, I don't. I don't know what their title was, but it was a sheriff. It was a sheriff. And they're like, well, you have to take her fingerprints. And so she's like, well, I'm not able to do it. So they told her she had to. So she comes back in. She's like trying to clean me up with alcohol wipes. And I just remember she was just like, I'm so sorry, Shonique. I'm so sorry. And she just started pressing. She's like, I'm gonna go as fast as I can. So up on orders, she starts pressing with glass in my hands, pressing my fingers. Because you got to do one finger at a time. Time. Then you got to do all four fingers here. You do your thumb. Then you gotta roll to the side. Like, you gotta roll each. Not you press each finger. And then you roll each finger one at a time. Same for your thumb. Then same for your palm of your hand. You press it down. Then you roll over to the side. I'm doing this with glass shards in both of my hands leading. Okay, this. This is what I'm experiencing. And I'm crying. And the lady's like, I'm so sorry. I'm gonna go as fast as I can. No aid rendered. To me, no hospital visit, nothing. Fast forwarding it all, I'm checked into this, the cell, and mind you, the cell in Riverside county, they have like 16, 16 men and they have 64 men. And what that means is the 64 men. Yes. There is a huge room with concrete flooring and there is 64 people in there on bunk beds. Boom, boom, boom. Just rows of bunk beds. I remember when I walked in there, mind you, this is the middle of the night when I first get there. I walk in there and there. There's a lot of women sleep, right? And people are just, you know, looking up to see who's coming in. And I just remember there was like a few people, like, what the. Look at her face. Face, look at her face. Like, you just like. Because I'm walking in the middle of night, they're just trying to see who I am. So then the next morning when we get up for breakfast, because, mind you, I got bailed out, but I was waiting to be released. Breakfast is early as like five something in the morning and. And I'm being processed maybe at like 2, 3, something in the morning. So I. It's 5, 6 in the morning. When it's breakfast time, you have to get up for chow. You can't stay on your bunk. So even though I didn't want to get up, I'm beaten and I'm battered and I have not receive medical care. You have to sit because the. The chow tables for the 64, 64 men sell. They sit in the middle of this concrete cell, this huge cell. You don't leave out of the room to have child. You. It's brought there. So I'm sitting there amongst roughly 63 other women because I don't remember if every bed was full. And I'm sitting there and everyone is looking at me because everyone's like, what the. Mind you, I still myself have not seen my face. I haven't seen my face. I just know my hair is gone and I just got blood in, you know, my hands still. My hands are still bloody and everything. And I'm changed into the, you know, jail uniform. That's how I knew I had the shards on my side at that time, of course. But I still haven't seen my face. There was no mirrors, right? Haven't seen my face. So we leave out. Finally, once I'm processed out, me and my friend leave. She sees me, she just starts crying. She just immediately starts crying. She goes in to hug me and then she stops and she's just like, you know, Explained that she didn't want to hug me because she was scared, like it was going to hurt me because of how bad I was beating. So she didn't want to hug me. And she's, you know, bigger than, than I am. And so when we hug, like, my face sort of goes into her boobs, right? So she didn't want to hug me. And she's just like. So I just remember she was like, do you, do you want to go to the hospital right now? Like, like, come on, let's go to the hospital. I remember she kept trying to convince me to go to the hospital and I said no. I was like, I just want to go lay down. I just want to go lay down. So she offered to take me to the hospital. I told her I went to go lay down. So she takes me to her house. And she lives. And she lived at the time in Riverside and she lived in this three story apartment complex and she lived on the third floor. And I just remember we got inside of her apartment. I'm Christian, and this is a Christian woman too. I remember we got inside of her apartment, her roommate was there. Her roommate was sleeping initially, but she wakes her roommate up and at this time I'm not knowing what's going on. These, these girls are scared. And again, I don't remember what all I was saying, but these girls were scared. So they wake up and we're all sitting in the living room at one point. And I just remember my friend just kept trying to get me to go in the room and I wouldn't go in the room. And somewhere in there she's like, goes and calls her mom. And I knew she was on the phone with her mom and I had a great relationship with her mom too. And I don't know what all was happening, but she goes in the room to talk on the phone with her mom. And then somewhere in there, I walk out of the apartment door and I go to the balcony, right? We're on the third floor. And I just remember that I had every thought and every decision made up in my head that I was about to jump. And I just remember she came out and she was like, just standing at the door and she's on the phone with her mom. And I remember hearing her, but she sounded far, like, but she, she was feet away from me, but she sounded really far. I don't remember what all was happening, like in my head and my thoughts at the time. And I just remember she's crying. I just remember like hearing that her mom's voice, but I can't make out what any of them are saying. I don't. I was talking to her. I was talking to her, but I had no clue what I was telling her. I had no clue what I was talking about. And again, that's significant because even with whatever was happening with the therapist back or the psychiatrist back at the jail, I'm very much so believing that I probably was telling her some suicidal ideations and stuff, too. I just don't. To this day, I don't remember what I was saying to her, nor to my friend that day. So immediately my friend's like, hey, come on, we're going to my mom's house. And I'm thankful her mom was on the phone because she was freaked. She was crying, like she was scared, and she was trying to get me, like, come on, we're going to my mom's house. And I just remember. I was like, no, no. Like, I remember telling her no, and I was saying all kind of things, but I just remember telling her no. And when she was trying to pull me away from the, you know, jumping, I'm standing there holding the. The balcony rail, and I'm refusing to, you know, leave with her to go in the house or down the stairs, whichever one she was trying to get me to do. I was just refusing to do that. But I'm nowhere near in my right mind at all. And that's why I can't explain it all, except for very few moments things. And so we get to her mom's house, and I just remember as we're driving, I just remembered, like, the, you know, she. When we got in the car, her car doors didn't automatically lock. I remember we got in the car, and I remember she locked the car doors. And I remember she locked the car doors. And I just remember I looked at her because some things were making sense to me, but some weren't. And I remember she locked the car doors, and she just turned on gospel music. She turned on gospel music, and we're driving to her mom's house, who also lived in Riverside. So it wasn't too. Too far of a drive. But we get there and we get to her mom's house. You know, her mom just immediately, you know, she's crying, she's praying, she has gospel music playing. And they're talking to me, and I don't remember everything they were saying. They. They were. All I know is they were praying for me. They were playing gospel music. And, you know, if you know anything about older Christian, black Women. She was, you know, doing what's known as laying hands on me. And she was rebuking spirit. Spirits of suicide. And I don't fully know what all was happening in those moments, in those times, but that, that was like the scene. And this went on for the day. So, like, like whatever was happening with me, whatever I was experiencing, like, you know, all the mental health breakdown I was having, like, it was, you know, whatever. And I was talking to them. I'm aware of that. But I couldn't, as crazy as it is, I could explain everything that happened with that abuse. I can't explain all these years later what I told the psychiatrist what happened with her, what I was saying to my friend for her to get scared and call her mom. What I, like, I can't explain any of that. That day, all that part's gone. But I just remember that, you know, when they were trying to get me to go to the hospital, whatever was going on there, I was saying no, like, you know, it was just, it was a lot. [01:02:52] Speaker A: It's understandable, you not being able to remember so much of what happened. Just, just sitting here listening to this again, you know, that what you've shared with, with me and that you're sharing it with everybody now. And I don't know how many people are going to see this, but I hope a lot of eyes get on it. And we'll do everything, I'll do everything I can to, to spread the word, but I, I think now's a good time to, you know, let's, let's stop this episode right now and we'll take a deep breath. [01:03:26] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:03:27] Speaker A: And then we'll come back and we'll, we'll continue this story. We'll pick it up on what happened after this because we have so much more to talk about, Shanique. It's that we need to cover, you know, we need to cover your candidacy. We need to talk about the recent events. [01:03:47] Speaker C: So we gotta do a whole nother episode. [01:03:51] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, I hope, I hope that you free up some time to where, you know, we can, we could get back together and, and we could continue to your story. So. I just love your dog, man. [01:04:04] Speaker C: So, yeah. [01:04:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I, I, wow. I appreciate you and I respect the hell out of you. [01:04:12] Speaker C: Thank you. [01:04:14] Speaker A: Yeah, it's. I'm gonna do everything I can to get the word out to. And to share your story. So some more people, some of people are familiar with you and we're going to get your ass selected. [01:04:27] Speaker B: Say what? [01:04:28] Speaker C: That, as I've shared with You. You know, my story is sad, and my story is traumatic, but my story is also one of triumph. Right. We haven't gotten. [01:04:36] Speaker A: Absolutely right. Yeah. I mean, from all that. And that's what I was saying earlier, you know. Yeah. I know you've had some dark times, and I know you. You will have more dark times. Darkness is a part of our lives. I mean, that's just who we are as human beings, and it's how we come from the ashes and what we do with the darkness that we experience that makes us who we are as human beings. Some. Some people go through darkness and destroys them, and other people, you know, their light starts to shine brighter as they get through it, so. And you're. You're an example of that, so. [01:05:13] Speaker C: Yes. [01:05:13] Speaker B: Wow. [01:05:14] Speaker C: See, I'm looking forward to the future podcast. [01:05:16] Speaker A: I am, too. And I so appreciate it a lot. [01:05:19] Speaker C: You guys are sort of probably sitting here like, oh, my God, let me go check. But I promise, it's a story of triumph. It's right. [01:05:28] Speaker B: It get. [01:05:29] Speaker A: It gets a hell of a lot better. [01:05:31] Speaker C: Yes, it does. It really does. And I just want to say what's significant for me is just knowing there are people going through these things right now, today, you know, and so that's why I always am pushing that I am real representation. And in the next episodes, we're gonna get to. This is why I'm running for Congress, because what happened to me, as traumatic as that was, as sad as that was, it's not unique. There are people living these things every single day. The domestic violence, the foster care system, the, you know, police brutality. People are going through this every day. And there's not representation and sharing the [01:06:11] Speaker A: work that you are doing for people today. Yes, that. [01:06:16] Speaker C: This is why I fight so hard. [01:06:17] Speaker A: I know that you are. You are carrying the torch for so many people. And, you know, the work that you're doing today with. With people is just amazing. And you've got some stories that you're going to share. Yeah. You know, we got a TV remote to talk about some point in time, so. [01:06:35] Speaker C: Yes. [01:06:35] Speaker A: All right. [01:06:36] Speaker C: So, Kurt, this is great. Thank you so much. [01:06:39] Speaker A: Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate having the conversation. [01:06:42] Speaker B: So that's episode two of my conversation with Shonique Williams. I've never heard a story quite like hers, and I'm sure many of you have not either. And I hope you appreciate the fact that I'm sharing her story with you, because I surely appreciate the fact that she's sharing her story with me. I want to thank you for listening to my pod. Please subscribe to my page. Give me a like drop a comment. Let's start a conversation and stay tuned because there will be more episodes with Shoneek Williams because she has something to say. My name is Kurt Mullet. I'm Hoosier Blue and I have something to say. Catch you on the flip side.