It's Over

The case is over and the verdict is in. It took us less than an hour to determine the defendant was indeed guilty on both counts. The judge will sentence him in about 3 months. I know far more about drug dealing, abusing, and trafficking than I ever wanted to know. And while there are a few people off the street (and one more will stay off the street as of today), it is also just the tip of the iceberg and that is so sad. These people were brilliant and incredibly talented in business. Too bad they chose an illegal business for those talents. Too bad they chose to indulge in their own products and cook their brains. Too bad it takes so long to find them and try them and move on to the next ring.

There were moments that were funny. Like when they started to show us a video news clip about the car chase and outside the courthouse, sirens could be heard on the street below. Everyone laughed. Or when the police officer who was testifying was looking in a bin of several pieces of evidence for a particular gun. It fell over and hit the bottom of the bin with a resounding “thunk”. He dryly commented, “I think I found it.” While we laughed, the prosecutor says, “For the record, all the weapons being presented in evidence in this case have been deemed safe by the court security officers.” It was classic. The judge’s favorite was when one of the prosecution’s own witnesses was making a point about describing the obvious and pointed to “that piece of fabric over there under that metal eagle”. The prosecutor jumped on her with “That’s our flag, Ma’am.” He’s a recent veteran of OIF (Iraq) and is rather patriotic. She responded, “Exactly, you just made my point for me,” and he calmed down. The judge said he will tease him about that for years – jumping on his own witness.

But there are some scary people living among us – driving on the same streets with us. I am amazed at the weapons they have, at the money they make, at the life they lead – from the outlandish expenditures to the day-in and day-out survival mode in which they are afraid to go to sleep without posting a guard. I’m telling you, this was an eye-opening experience for me.

Thanks for your prayers. God definitely answered as none of us had any doubt. We had to clarify a couple of things and we did look at several pieces of evidence to accomplish that, but it really was an easy decision. And it’s over. And I have time to get ready for my event on Saturday!