Some thoughts after a conversation with my Victim Advocate
If you read the saga of my car theft(s)in multiple parts this summer, then you already know that when my car was first returned to me, it contained the detritus of someone who had apparently been living in it, a woman named Corissa (which I discovered from various clues left in the car).
Four months later, after the car itself had long been consigned to the scrap-heap, I received a subpoena to testify in a Grand Jury hearing, although due to technical issues with Skype, I was not able to fully participate. Nevertheless, apparently they did bring charges against Corissa for unlawful use and possession of a stolen vehicle, plus possession of Oxycontin on her person when she was arrested. She was arraigned on December 7 and I just got a call to tell me that next week is a case management hearing where she can either accept the plea offered, or go to trial.
The whole story is so sad to me. She almost certainly is not the person who actually stole my car. At the time she was arrested, she told the police she was given the car by another woman, and who knows where that woman would say she got the car. The police have no idea who actually hot-wired it and stole it from my driveway last July, and chances are they will never find out. It’s hardly a top priority for the police department.
Meanwhile, the plea offered to Corissa is that if she pleads guilty to the felony of possession of a stolen vehicle, they will drop the other charges and she will get 18 months supervised probation including drug treatment and will only have to serve 10 days in jail. It’s her first time “in the system” and if she were asking my opinion (ha!), it probably makes sense for her to take the deal and avoid a longer jail sentence. But then again, how hard will it be to pull herself out of her current circumstances and find a place to live and a job if she has a felony on her record?
According to my victim advocate, for this sort of felony conviction, if she keeps on the straight and narrow, she could someday have the felony expunged from her record. But I don’t imagine that if you live as close to the edge as she does — based on my excavation of my returned car — it will be that easy for her to abide by all the rules of probation and get herself clean, not to mention find gainful employment so she doesn’t get involved with future criminal activity. Instead, I suspect this initial foray into the criminal justice system will set in motion the trajectory of the rest of her life. I hope I am wrong. I do still think she should take the plea, but I wish there were more supports in place to help her succeed. Oh, and PS, I wish I had my car back.
Meanwhile this week, I watched the US Capitol being stormed by murderous traitors, riveted and saddened by the political drama unfolding. And I find myself wondering what Corissa would say about it all. Did she even know or care about the presidential election? More likely, she is consumed with worry about her own situation, unaware of the bigger picture of what’s going on in US politics. I suppose in a very strange way, my ability to even tune into politics is a kind of luxury because my personal situation is stable enough to allow me to fixate on the larger world around me.
And I still miss my fucking car.
Find out what happened next in Part V.