PRELUDE- The Walt Whitman Bridge, August 2, 2016, Dusk
A Man parked his car on the bridge as cars drove by on both sides...Some leaving Philadelphi and going home to South Jersey , others coming home to Philadelphia from South Jersey...
He had several newspapers with him...The Headlines read the same:
FORMER ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND CANDIDATE FOR STATES ATTORNEY, REGIS STOCKTON TO BE INDICTED BY FEDS ON MONEY LAUNDERING AND INFLUENCE PEDDLING CHARGES!
STOCKTON'S CAMPAIGN NUMBERS UNDERWATER AFTER TALK OF POSSIBLE FEDERAL INDICTMENT!!
FORMER ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND CANDIDATE FOR STATES ATTORNEY, REGIS STOCKTON RAN ON PROMISES TO CLEAN UP THE STATES ATTORNEY OFFICE AND NOW HE HIMSELF MAY BE INDICTED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES!!!
STOCKTON INDICTMENT IMMINENT!!
The man, Regis Stockton put the papers down... He got out of his car and just looked at the water down below..
It only took him minutes to make a decision...
He jumped!!!
The Next Morning...His body was fished out of the river...
"That's him , that's Stockton...We found his car on the bridge...Bunch of newspapers on the front seat, talking about the indictment..." said a CSI guy as they snapped photos..
That same morning at Harvard Law School in Boston...His son Frederick was in one of the dorms with a young lady....
when the phone rang...
"Ouuuu I have to take this." he said.
"Don't take too long." she cooed from the bed.
He had a blank expression on his face..
"Freddy??? What's wrong???" she asked.
"It's my dad!! He's dead!! He killed himself!!" he said.
II-
Now Olivia and Yvette , both who had worked with them since then seemed like their aunties.. That's how everybody in their circle, all the younger attorneys felt about Olivia and Yvette, like they were their aunties....
''We are certain we got this.." said Brooke.
"This guy has been locked up too long and the way they railroaded him was just unimaginable."said Natalie..
"Look who it is." said David.
Lt. Tragg walked in...Both of his eyes were swollen shut..His lips were horribly swollen and his cheeks were discolored... He had called out sick today...One had to wonder why he was in court...Guess he had nowhere else to go...
"OH MY GOD!!" exclaimed Karen..
"He shot his mouth off yesterday in Sam Mothers and a customer beat the snot out of him."said Natalie.
"It was the same guy who beat him up in Curley's...That big guy...He's a lawyer ,but he used to be a boxer." said Brooke.
Yvette, Olivia, Natalie and Brooke broke out in gales of laughter...
The air of Brevity ended...when Assistant District Attorney Frederick Stockton walked in...Everybody got silent...He recognized every attorney in the room...He was ready to do battle.
ADA Stockton successfully got Judge Jetty Dukes to recuse himself, citing that he had been the judge in several of our cases , worked in the same building with the Wrongful Conviction Unit/ Conviction Integrity Unit and was "socially friendly"with many of the attorneys who tried wrongful conviction cases...
"I'd like to smack that Smart Alecky bastard.." said Jetty angrilly...
Since this was a retrial....There was no need for a preliminary hearing...We got right to it..
Instead Judge Michael King was called to preside over the precedings...
The Wrongful Conviction Unit had an advantage...David Charles had been working with both Olivia's team and Yvette's team...He had studied the juror pool and they had picked the type of juror they wanted.. He had his questions ready and his methods...He used every nuance and bait and switch tactic taught to him by Yvette, Nelson, Keith Jones and Kahlil.
and he got 11 of the 12 jurors picked... It was a monumental victory for the defense...
"We have a jury....Alright...It's Monday....Be here tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM...Attorneys be on time and be ready for trial." said Judge King....
We all cleared out of the courthouse...
"I believe you...I remember those four trials...Three Hung juries and finally you guys got a victory...They were tough."said Tony.
"Tough and Smart." said Donnie Ray.
ADA Frederick Stockton walked into Sam Mothers and immediately felt as though he was in enemy territory...He not only saw opposing counsel, but with them were several attorneys they had worked with in the past...All here he supposed in a show of support..
He ignored them and walked past them to the counter to order his food.
Lt. Tragg walked in...With a horribly swollen face, swollen lips , eyes nearly swollen shut...He looked like Hell....He saw all of the attorneys he had faced off against sitting together in a bloc in the center of the diner..
He couldn't resist walking over to the center of the diner..
"What is this... You guys took off from work to come down here and intimidate that young man over there? He's better than all of you put together..He aint gonna be intimidated..."snarled Lt. Tragg.
"Nobody has said anything to him....He came in and went to the counter to order his food...Why don't you do the same?" said Natalie...
"You know...it's actions like this, which is why your face looks like a Jackson Pollock masterpiece." said David.
The entire area burst into loud non-stop laughter.....
Thin skinned Lt. Tragg couldn't take the non-stop laughter and ridicule..He turned and stormed angrilly out of the diner...everybody clapped and whistled...
Frederick Stockton glared angrilly at all of the attorneys sitting together and laughing...He didn't know of their contentious history with Lt. Tragg...
"Laugh now..Laugh all you want...I'm gonna take the smiles off of your faces...Just wait!" he snarled.
III-
COURTROOM A- TUESDAY MORNING 10:00 AM
Frederick called as many of the original Prosecution witnesses as he could dig up...
Natalie and Brooke eviserated every last one of them on cross , asking them questions they felt as if the original Public Defender should have asked and essentially making their testimony null and void..
but Brooke and Natalie knew their law...They knew predicates, laws from like cases and the general law involving the present case..They foiled him at every corner, every turn..
This brought snickers from the jury and spectators as well.
Judge King was impressed with Brooke and Natalie... "They're good , They're damn good..They've been working with Olivia, Beverly and their team and Yvette Jones and her team and it shows.. They are good..They know their law..." he mused.... "They're making young Stockton look like a first year law clerk." he also mused.
Frederick presented the usual prosecution witnesses, Cops who were on the scene, CSI men who were at the scene....
David Charles questioned them...A lot of their memories were fuzzy...It had been 17 years...He had their original statements from the first trial to remind them and he caught more than one of them in a contradiction of facts..He had the original crime scene reports and autopsy reports to make his points...
Lt. Tragg sat in court all four days...Livid...He felt as though Natalie and her husband, David were ganging up on him...He assigned no blame at all to Brooke, who did her share of damage..
The swelling in his lip and his eyes had gone down...His face was still a bit swollen...He had on a new suit , Shiny new shoes, a mani-pedi and enough make up to hide the beating he had taken in Sam Mother's Diner...
and driven back to the Holding Facility....Hopefully he wouldn't be handcuffed much longer..
Natalie got undressed...
She kissed him again, slowly, softly..She tried to devour his lips......
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU DAVID,OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" she moaned loudly as he turned her around, placed her on the bathroom sink and spread her legs apart..
Brooke had made no such promise to be chaste...
She and her husband, Sean, who had not seen each other all day...
were kissing passionately as soon as she got in the house..
That Night at home...
Natalie's last statement proved to be true..
As soon as she took her clothes off...
Charles put his arms around her...
"You can't help yourself when you're around me can you?" said Natalie, kissing him..
"No, I'm afraid I can't" confessed David...
"That's okay!" she said and smiled..
He spread her legs and entered her slowly doggie style.....She gasped ....
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" she moaned..
"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...LAWWWWWWWWWWWWWD!" he cried out..
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NATALIE.....UMMMMMMMMMM"he moaned.
She was trying to devour his lips as he plowed into her....
TWO TO THREE HOURS LATER!
They both surprisingly came together....
They took a nice hot, soapy shower together.....
She lie on top of David afterwords.......
"Ouuuuuuu that was nice.." she whispered to him..
"Yes, it was." he said, smiling..
"I love you..." she whispered...
"I love you too!" he whispered as they both drifted off.
Next Door...
"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, Sean..." she moaned..
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Brooke.." he moaned in between hot kisses...
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He had her clothes off
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and her panties down in record time..
and had her hoisted in the air, thrusting away....much to her delight...
He placed her petite body on the bathroom sink , spread her legs and began plowing away, while Brooke kissed him so softly and slowly that he was nearly delirious...
While at Curley's Bar..
After downing 10 Beers..
A Drunken Frederick Stockton fell off the bar stool and on to the floor...
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GET HIM UP! GET HIM SOME COFFEE AND SOME WATER!"said Curley...
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"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SEAN...UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU " she moaned..
"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...LAWWWWWWWWWWWWWD!" he cried out..
THREE HOURS LATER!
They took a nice relaxing shower together....
and they too relaxed together...in a peaceful sleep afterwords.....
"I got him..." said Lt. Tragg, "Poor kid has had a rough week in court." said Lt. Tragg.
IV-
FRIDAY MORNING, COURTROOM A-
Natalie began her defense of Teddy Bellamy stating that although he did have a Juvie record that dated back to when he was 13, in the past year before the triple murder he was attending school regularly and was making good grades...He had even checked out some colleges , had rented a tux and was preparing to go to his school's prom..
"He made his money driving , known Drug Dealer , Larry Barker....Barker had dealers on every other corner at the time..Barker paid him $150.00 a day for driving him around...He didn't touch drugs because Larry himself was never caught with drugs or a gun...He had a street boss , who collected the money, doled out the product and made the collections.. Ths kid just drove him around...
Mr. Barker drew the ire of a rival drug crew run by Mr. Arthur "Scar" Robinson, a rival drug dealer...Scar dispatched three gunmen with heavy rap sheets to kill Larry Barker...Barker narrowly escaped the first time ,but was killed the second time.. These are the same gunmen...by the way who my client is accused of murdering....They are way out of his leauge ,older and more experienced...Nobody in the Barker gang would have enlisted my client to handle such a job..."said Natalie.
Brooke and David Charles interviewed 16 former and surviving members of Larry Barker's organization who verified Natalie's story.....They said that all Teddy was , was a driver and that Barker didn't allow him around any drugs or any weapons or in any meetings..All he did was drive and that Barker made sure he attended school on a regular basis...He kept him in Fresh Gear (clothes) and with money he needed for the girls as an incentive to avoid the "street life" He liked him and wanted to see him do better.
Natalie called witness Jimmy Nelson
Jimmy Nelson testified that he had been on the scene that night and that prior to his earlier testimony , he had actually seen the killing go down and that the real killer was Arthur "Scar" Robinson.. He said Arthur "Scar" Robinson had killed them as a personal favor to the new boss...Manny Spain , who was now selling his product to both Larry Barker's old territory and Scar's own territory... He said that one of the gunmen had slept with a close associate of Mnny Spain's wife and that associate wanted him dead...Manny ordered Scar to get it done as a personal favor....So although these guys were his boys..He had hired them to kill Barker... He had to kill them now for his new boss, Manny Spain... He said "Teddy Bellamy was no longer in the game...He was nowhere in sight that night."
Frederick Stockton had done his homework.. He pointed out that Manny Spain and Arthur "Scar" Robinson were both dead and how convenient.it was to blame a dead man for a crime... He asked him why he waited until now to recant his original testimony..
Both were notorious...They set people up in the Black community all the time back then...People were as afraid of those two cops as they were the Drug boys.." he said.
I HAVE THE RECORDS RIGHT HERE, WHY SHOULD ANYBODY BELIEVE YOU NOW!!!" bellowed Fred Stockton... It was a got'cha moment...
David Charles came to the rescue with several witnesses...23 to be exact who said they were physically beaten up, some to the extent of being put in the hospital by Captain Jack Tragg and described him as a horrible human being ,who was hated and feared in the Black Community for close to 20 years..
He brought up the fact that Detective Phillip Marlowe who made the initial arrest knew full well that his snitch "Arthur "Scar" Robinson committed these murders...but that he turned his head on Scar's activities in exchange for information on others he wouldn't have normally have gotten.
Lt. Tragg was livid, sitting in court, hearing his beloved Uncle Jack described in such a matter and watching these three attorneys rip Regis Stockton's boy to shreds...
Natalie brought up the fact that Phillip Marlowe himself was now serving a life without parole sentence for Murdering a Black Attorney and Civil Rights Leader in 2009. "That case went unsolved until last year when justice finally caught up with him...How ironic ,he's in the same prison where my client Mr. Bellamy is serving time...My client , who he sent up on trumped up charges..."said Natalie, getting emotional.
Brooke called up the defense's final witness,
Brooke called up the defense's final witness,
Mary Wiggins, who was also on the street that night...She witnessed Scar shoot and kill the three men..
Scar threatened to "Cut her throat" if she didn't testify that Teddy Bellamy was the shooter.. She did as she was told, but after Teddy was convicted and sentenced to life, no parole at 17...She felt bad...She said she couldn't sleep at night and she recanted her testimony in 2008 and 2009 without naming Scar as the killer.. She was still afraid of him, but couldn't live with sending an innocent man to prison for something she knew he hadn't done.. She said in 2010, after Scar was dead..She and Jimmy Nelson both came forward and recanted their original testimony, but nobody, No Judge, No ADA and not even the original Public Defender, now working at a cushy job with a corporate law firm would listen to either one of them she testified,.
She was a much better witness than Jimmy Nelson. Prior to the murder, she did not have a police record...and had never perjured herself in any previous trial... There was Public Record of her recanting her original testimony in 2009 and 2010 and again in 2017...
Frederick though hammered her on being a Prostitute....and having done a year in County Lock Up and two years for petty theft in State Prison.... He made the mistake of calling her "No More than a common whore.." This didn't fly well with this jury...who was already hostile to him and now saw him as just another arrogant and elitist white man....He had totally lost the jury and didn't realize it!
Natalie made the closing argument and just like that, The Case was over... It was Tuesday....The trial had lasted a week and three days.
Natalie and David sat in the back corner of the waiting area
A Bailliff walked up..
"The Jury is back with their decision sir." He said.
It had been barely THIRTY MINUTES..
They all crowded back into the courtroom.
"Mr. Foreman ,Has the Jury come to a decision?" said Judge Michael King.
"Yes we have your honor." said The Foreman."
Bailiff, hand me the verdict." said the judge....He read it,
"Read it !" he said to the bailiff,
"IN THE MATTER OF COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA VS. Theodore Bellamy ON THE CHARGE OF CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER, WE FIND THE DEFENDENT, NOT GUILTY!"
ON THE CHARGE OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER, WE FIND THE DEFENDENT , NOT GUILTY"
ON THE SECOND CHARGE OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER, WE FIND THE DEFENDENT , NOT GUILTY"
ON THE THIRD CHARGE OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER, WE FIND THE DEFENDENT,
NOT GUILTY!!!"
He banged his gavel......
"I would like to thank all 12 jurors for your time and your patience.... Your checks will be mailed to your residences... Thank you again..Case adjourned." he said..
He hugged Natalie... "OH THANK YOU NAT...THANK YOU!!!" he cried.
"Make the best of it Teddy, Your Mother is here...And so is your sister and your son..Your Baby Mama as well.. They brought you a suit....You can change in the bathroom...You don't have to leave here in that orange jumpsuit and cheap sneakers."said Natalie, tears welling up in her eyes...
"Ms. Brooke, Ms. Brooke, Thank youuuuuuuuu" he said, hugging her....
"I'm not so bad, for a white girl am I?" joked Brooke, hugging him back..
"You're aces in my book.... Davey,......Davey Boy....Thanks for the hook up with the sandwiches...and thank you for what you did for me in court...I'm forever in your debt." said Teddy..
"Make the best of it Man, you've been given a clean slate."said David.
Frederick Stockton was not a happy camper...He tossed his suit jacket up into the air...He kicked a trash can until it dented and ran out of the courtroom in tears...
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!: scoffed an angry Lt. Tragg...
In the hallway, Teddy was greeted by his girlfriend, His Son, His Mother ans his sister...His mother was happy to see two of her children free ad was eagerly awaiting her oldest son's release in July of this year..It was a joyous time for her family...
In the hallway, Teddy was greeted by his girlfriend, His Son, His Mother ans his sister...His mother was happy to see two of her children free ad was eagerly awaiting her oldest son's release in July of this year..It was a joyous time for her family...
"But we are doing something...Something Good, We are getting them out...One by one.."said David.
"Call up the gang, let's celebrate." said Natalie.
"Call up the gang, let's celebrate." said Natalie.
EPILOUGE-
Teddy Bellamy finished his senior year of college classes at Temple University and graduated with honors the following June.. His Mother, Sister, Older Brother and Girlfriend was at his graduation with his young son, who would be entering college in the fall. He was on his way to a new life.
He and Karen were staying with Olivia and Beverly this weekend..
"I lovvvvve this place.. I hate to tell em you and I have been here before Donnie Ray."giggled Olivia.
"I was planning to tell everybody we could come here."said Donnie Ray..
Beverly shook her head..
"You are the ultimate foody." she said.
"Investigator, Musician, Restaurant critic...Donnie Ray ,you're a true renaissance man."laughed Nelson.
"This place is so nice...It was cool that everybody has a table of their own, but near each other." said Josie.
"It was cool that I called ahead." said Paris.
"Yeah that was cool.." said Bresha.
"We beat the crowd." said Tony...
"Nice place...You and I ought to come here alone sometimes."said Alfreda to her husband, Rockland.
"Remember we double dated with Olivia and Donnie Ray and came here? I was wondering why we never came back...I love this place." said Yvette.
"Yeah, I like it too!"said Gary,,,
"I just love this place...You and I ought to come here alone sometimes."said Bee Bee.
"We'll come here on our anniversary."said Keith Jones.
"That sounds nice...real romantic."said Sofia.
"It's unseasonably warm tonight...We probably don't need these heaters."said Kahlil..
"Such a beautiful night."said Jade.
"Couldn't be better."said Danny Ho.
"Ouuuuuuuuu Jetty this place is so nice and has such a view.."said Virginia.
"Yes it is... I was soo happy those kids won in court and beat that snotty little bastard."said Jetty.
"It's over now Jetty, are you still mad about that?" asked Zoey,laughing at him.
Lem laughed.. "Yeah he's mad about it..Glad we didn't go to Curleys Tonight...He's probably in there with Lt. Tragg whining and crying in his beer.
"Ouuuuuuu Baby here comes our food."said Jazzy..
"And Just in the nick of time..I'm famished."said Dabnis.
''So Am I."said Kayla.
''Here it comes..Smell it.Good Pasta."said Ray..
"Where are the drinks?" asked Jessica.
"Settle down, everything is arriving."assured her husband, Chip.
Plates of Pasta was served to all of the tables as well as their drinks of choice.. Beer and Martinis..
"Your wish is my command." said Rockland.
is was a great night until the most unexpected guest walked in...
Lt. Arthur Tragg, who walked over to the area they all were sitting in. There was a collective grunt and groan when he appeared.
"SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THIS IS WHERE ALL YOU FANCY DAN ATTORNEYS are HANGING OUT EH? CELEBRATING GETTING A CONVICTED KILLER WHO IS AS GUILTY AS SIN OFF HUH? HUMILIATING A GOOD ATTORNEY!!" he bellowed.
Natalie approached him...
"Ugh Ugh...NOT ANOTHER WORD! You are not going to spoil our celebration tonight..."she said..
She showed him his two tracking devices...She, David, Brooke and Sean had come in their car tonight..,The only ones who didn't come in Olivia's buses. She put them back in her purse.
"I forgot to check Brooke's car after trial this morning... I know how you like to place these things on our vehicles and follow us around...We found these just as we pulled into the parking lot here..What is wrong with you? You really need to get laid on a regular basis or find a hobby or something... I held on to these because I knew you'd show up here sooner or later. Nobody cares what you have to say about a case that's already over..Nobody wants to hear that tonight.Look around! There are several people here who have restraining orders against you...Unless you have a warrant...you have no business around any of us... I'll make one phone call.. One call and you'll spend the rest of your weekend in the cooler... I don't want to hear anything else..Take your ass out of here and don't come back...GO! GET OUT OF HERE....Or I call the Sherriff's deputies." said Natalie.
He was as red as a beet, but he had no choice, but to turn and leave...Oh How he hated Natalie!!!
They all clapped and cheered and laughed as he turned and left...He was mad as hell...and embarrassed...
Donnie Ray showed Natalie how to disable the trackers..She did and tossed them in the waste basket.
Lt. Tragg watched from across the street in the parking lot as Olivia's two buses arrived two and a half hours later. he watched as each of Olivia's buses filled with people, including Karen Page and B.L. and pulled off.. He really wanted to nab the people in Brooke's car.. He knew in addition to eating they all were drinking..He wanted to put Brooke's Black husband, Sean in jail for a DUI...That would make his night.
Lt. Tragg was in hot pursuit...
What he didn't know was the car he was following was not the car Natalie, David, Brooke and Sean were in, but an identical model.. Had he of checked the license plate he'd of known that..
Sean, Brooke, David and Natalie drove home...without incident.
"Heh heh Heh driving under the influence eh? How many beers did you have tonight Sean?" he laughed.
"Don't you have anything better to do with your nights?" said ADA Jillian Baranski.
Lt. Tragg looked like he had swallowed a canary...He had trailed the wrong car..
"Oh...So sorry sir..I-I thought..." he said.
"YES SIRRRRRRR SIRRRRRR!" said Lt. Tragg, saluting..
As the car pulled off.
FOR SLC!
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