Michael Osborn

Michael and his mother, Laura

Tell them how you feel Laura!  You go girl!!

My name is Laura Osborn; the story you are holding is the joint collaboration between me and my son Michael. The contents are true.

I appeal to anyone that reads this to see the corruption and participation of those involved in the illegal incarceration of my son.

Justice was denied Michael; it is my never ending desire to bring this horrible situation to the attention of anyone who will help expose what has been done.

It is not the job of a prosecutor to convict and incarcerate an individual because of their own personal agenda.  This was proven to those that watched as North Carolina Prosecutor Michael Nyfong attempted to destroy the lives of three young Duke Lacrosse players.  

To gain the conviction that Michael is imprisoned for, Senior Prosecutor Roger Bourne used any means possible to reach the verdict he desired. He enlisted the testimony of an admitted perjurer.

I have personally worked many hours along with the help of a private investigator to prove the testimony of the states “key witness” to be one lie after another. Perjury is against the law, yet when you commit it to aid in the conviction that the state of Idaho wants, it is allowed.

Mr. Bourne’s desire to play a part in the conviction of Michael was so strong, that he stood in front of the trial judge and gave a false statement as to why he was attending trial.

Mr. Bourne stated he was there in case he was needed to step in due to Prosecutor Meehan’s health.  Ms. Meehan was there through the entire trial, yet Mr. Bourne took over as first chair. In documentation for the trial, Mr. Bourne is listed as the prosecutor.

In the contents of this information, you will see false evidence used against Michael, evidence in support of Michael “missing” and documentation that the words of an inmate (who also admitted lying) were used to support the findings of a presentencing investigators report. 

This corruption starts at the county court level and goes to the level of the Idaho Attorney Generals Office.

PLEASE; read this and help me bring this horrible nightmare to an end result that gives Michael his Freedom. Until that is done, justice will not have been served and the life of an innocent man will continue to be wasted.

I will share any documentation or recordings that may be requested.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Laura Osborn

song_byrd15@yahoo.com

Michael’s Input:

On March 28, 2002 I went to an outdoor store to buy a rifle.  My cousin; Natalie’s friend Derrick Bass/Kane was with me. I had been met Derrick a few days earlier and had been hanging out with him. I had decided to buy a rifle for target shooting. I had recently been released from the Army due to a knee injury but I was going to be allowed back in after I did rehabilitation therapy.

I ended up buying an AK-47 rifle.  A decision I will regret for the rest of my life.  Derrick and I decided to drive out to the desert around Kuna, a town outside of Boise to shoot targets.  We then returned to his house in Meridian to hang out.

 That night we went over to the home of a mutual friend in Boise, her name is Stephanie Loop.  I went to school with her older sister Megan, and had met Stephanie the year before. We were there about 45 minutes and her mom said it was getting late and we needed to leave. Derrick & I got into my car and drove off.

 The AK-47 was in my trunk and 10 rounds of ammo were in the console.  Derrick and said a few times earlier in the day how it would be “gangster” to do a drive-by shooting.  I had just let it slide by as I figured he was playing around.  Derrick was 15 at the time and I was just barely 18.

As we drove off Derrick once again said we should do a drive-by. I told him it was a dumb idea, but he kept on and said he wanted to show me how “down” he was. It went on like this for about 10 minutes, I finally said “fine you want to play bad ass, let’s do it.” He asked if I had anyone in mind to which I replied “yes.”

My “yes” was in reference to Nick Martinez Jr. He was a guy that I had been friends with for awhile, until he stole $400-500 worth of my property and started a feud between us.  Nick accessed an AOL account I had set up on his computer and started emailing people acting as me. He went on EBay and received payments under my name and did not send the items that people thought they were purchasing.  The following emails were given to the Boise Police by the Martinez family; that alone should have been proof that they had access to that AOL account, but no one cared to pay attention to that. I did not have AOL at home and could not use this account because it was under the Martinez’s home account. I left their house in November 2001; please look at the dates on the emails.

While attending a concert, Nick came up from behind me and punched me in the back. He then ran off and when I went after him, I was stopped by a much larger friend that was at the concert with him. I tried contacting Nick to get this to stop, instead of agreeing to do so, he threatened to come to my house and “cut off my dick and stick it in my man f**cking ass.”

Laura’s Input:

The following is a copy of the email between Michael & Nick Martinez Jr.

 Although during the email Nick pretends to be a guy named Ryan, it is later stated in police documents that it is actually Nick in this email.

Neveh19                    is Nick

Sicknotclown420     is Michael. 

Please read the email in its entirety.  Although both Michael and Nick use offensive language, it is Nick who threatens Michael (on the first page) by stating he knows where Michael lives and what he could physically do to him.  Several times you will read where Michael is asking to be left alone.

On the second page of the email, third comment from the bottom by Neveh19; Nick states “they are not the ones messing around with your com”.  An entry after that Nick makes the comment about Michael still being able to email.  That should have been proof that it was Nick Martinez getting into Michael’s email and computer, yet it was over looked by everyone involved.

The Boise Police, the Ada County Prosecutors the Idaho Parole Commission and later a Presentencing Investigator all ignore the true contents and insist that Michael is doing the threatening.

I would also like to add, that after the concert where Michael was hit by Nick; I was outside waiting to pick Michael up, I witnessed Nick, his sister Nicole and another occupant of the car drive past and yell obscenities at Michael while making hand gestures at him.

I have also enclosed another email (page 67) that was used against Michael.  This conversation took place between Nicole Martinez and another individual. It seems obvious to anyone not bias against Michael that it is a female. The screen name DaDdEsPrinCeSs15 (Daddies Princess) is not a name a male would use. Although Michael stated repeatedly this was not him, because the Martinez family said it was, it was used as evidence against Michael.

In the following report by Det. Ayotte; it is stated that Nicole Martinez “believed” that the Daddesprincess person was Michael, yet at the end of the email she asks; “is you name Alannah” never does she ask if it is Michael.   

Without any proof; Det. Ayotte goes on to describe this person as “he” or “the writer” no attempt was ever made to find the true identity of this person.

In this same police report you will see where it is stated in the 6^th paragraph, that it was Nick in the chat with Michael, where Michael was being threatened.

Michael’s Input:

I drove Derrick and myself to Nick’s house where he lived with his mom (Maria), dad (Nick Sr.) and sister (Nicole).  It was close to eleven p.m.; the house was dark which was unusual for this family.  Nick, his mom and sister normally stayed up until all hours of the night and slept during the day. I thought since it was spring break that they might be out of town.  Derrick said he wanted to shoot the rifle to which I agreed.  We decided to shoot into the air, my thought was that if they were home this would scare them but not hurt anyone.

Derrick retrieved the rifle from the trunk of my car and loaded 5 rounds into the magazine.  As I drove by Derrick leaned into me from the front passenger seat and shot off the rounds in a quick volley of blasts.  My ears went deaf from the close range at which the rifle had been to me.  I quickly sped off from the scene and nearly crashed into an on coming car that pulled out in front of me. I drove outside of town and we threw the shell casings that and flown into the back seat into a field.  I slowly regained my hearing; I was in disbelief to what I had just done. Derrick was laughing and said “did you see me shoot that house up?”  I looked at him completely caught off guard by his comment. I asked him if he had really shot into the house and he said “hell yeah.” I began yelling at him about how that was not what we had discussed.  Derrick just laughed and told me to “chill out.” We got back into my car and drove back to his house in Meridian.

I called my cousin Natalie, who also lived in Meridian. I met up with her and a few of her friends; we walked over to Shantelle Gauthier’s house.  Shantelle was Natalie’s best friend and Derrick’s girlfriend.  I told Natalie what we had done.  Natalie had recently told me that once when Nick & I were at her house, Nick had reached over and touched her private area, I figured she would be interested to know what we had done.  When we got to Shantelle’s house, she was talking on the phone with Derrick who was bragging about shooting the gun.

The following day, Derrick and I picked up two girls that he knew. One was Kim Quinterri and the other was Jessica.  We were in Derrick’s car as I had left mine that morning at a repair shop in meridian for a scheduled maintenance.  Derrick wanted to show the girls what we had done the night before, so he drove by the Martinez home.

I decided I needed to get rid of the AK, Jessica’s boyfriend had mentioned earlier in the day that he wanted to purchase it.  I was going to purchase a different rifle and sell the AK, that way if the police questioned me the AK would not be in my possession.  It was a very ill-conceived plan to cover up what we had done.  While at the pawn shop, an officer that had been at the crime scene the night before over heard my name while I was talking with the pawn shop employee.  The officer called in to the detectives on the case (knowing they were looking for me) and gave my location.  He followed us and when the four squad cars and three motorcycle officers met up with him, we were pulled over. With all involved officers pointing guns at us, I was ordered out of the car. I was in the back seat along with Jessica.  Derrick was driving, and was ordered out of the car next. An officer asked if we had guns in the car and Derrick said “yes.” The officer then identified himself as Detective Mark Ayotte; he asked where the guns were and what kind we had. I told him we had an AK-47 and an SKS in the trunk of Derrick’s car.  Detective Ayotte then explained why we had been pulled over. He stated that I was a possible suspect in the shooting the night before.  When I asked why I was a suspect, he showed me a copy of the email between myself and Nick; he stated that I had been threatening Nick in the email. I tried to explain that it was I, who was being threatened, but Detective Ayotte as I would soon learn was no different from anyone else on the state side; he would only see what he wanted.

Detective Ayotte went on to explain my options: 1) I could sign a voluntary consent to search Derrick’s car (which was actually his mom and step-dads car) and let them seize my rifles for ballistic testing or 2) I could force them to get a warrant and they would impound the car until the warrant arrived.  He went on to say that since I was the only one over 18 that if anything else were found in the car that I would be held responsible.  I knew that Derrick smoked marijuana so I decided not to chance being charged with drugs and gave consent to search the car. I signed a consent that stated “consent to search my 1991 Nissan Maxima”

While Det. Ayotte was talking with me, Derrick was being questioned by Det. Morgan. Before we had gotten out of the car, we had decided to say we had been at Stephanie’s house and then went back to Meridian.  I had agreed to get in touch with Det. Ayotte and we were released to leave. We dropped off Kim & Jessica and Derrick and I went to his house.

I told Derrick that I was going to leave town.  We went to his dad’s apartment (Don Bass) and told him what we had done.  Don laughed and told Derrick how proud he was of him and how this would be on TV. Don took me to the Holiday Motel and rented a room for me.  He told me to stay put and that he would come back in the morning and drive me to California since my car was still in the repair shop. This was all a ruse to get me somewhere easy to find for the police. He left and took Derrick with him.

Derrick showed up a few hours later and was very nervous.  Shortly after, his step-father, Dan Kane was outside my motel room drunk and banging on the door.  I told Derrick not to open the door, but he did so anyway.  Derrick opened the door with the chain still attached; Dan flipped out at not being allowed in and kicked the door, taking the chain off the hinge. He started to aggressively interrogate us. I told him several times to leave the room, but he became more enraged toward me.  He picked up the phone and dialed 911; I went to the bathroom hoping to make an exit through a window.  That was not possible so I started past Dan to exit the room. Dan tried to pat me down, making the statement “if you did a drive-by who’s to say you won’t do a walk-by.”  I pushed him away and he grabbed me and tried to wrestle me to the ground. I hit him in the chest and fell backwards onto the bed. Derrick started yelling at Dan, in which Dan reacted by turning his anger towards Derrick, I saw his physical assault on Derrick as my opportunity to exit the room.

I headed towards my house which was 3-4 miles away. Dan was tying to run after me, but could not keep up.  As I was walking, a police officer spotted me and ordered me down on the ground.  After he questioned me I was told I could leave. I decided to head back to the motel to retrieve my belongings.  When I arrived at the motel, Derrick and Dan were talking with the police.  Derrick’s mother and his aunt arrived shortly after.  Derrick’s mom thanked me for not pressing charges against Dan for assaulting me. Before I could leave the room, an officer came in and told me that Dan Kane wanted to file a statement against me for my alleged confession to the shooting and therefore Det. Ayotte wanted to interview me.  I was asked to get into the police car but was not put under arrest.  Derrick and his family followed behind and we all arrived at the detective sub-station.

I was placed in a small holding room.  I could hear the conversation between Derrick, his family and the police.  Derrick was putting it all on me and claiming to not have been with me at the time of the shooting.  When Det. Ayotte came in to speak with me he asked “where you trying to kill tat little girl?”   He was referring to Nicole Martinez who supposedly had a cut lip from a piece of glass.  I told him that I did not try to kill anyone and that if I was under arrest I wanted an attorney.  He said I would need one with all the time I was facing.  I was booked into the Ada County Jail and charged with Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm into an Occupied Dwelling.  Derrick wrote the following statement and was not charged.

Laura’s Input:

I have a copy of a report by Boise Police Detective Ayotte; in it he questions Derrick in regards to the fact that what he told Det. Morgan and what he now wrote in his statement was completely different. Derrick stated that all along he had told the Detective that there was a time when Michael left without him. So, a trained Police Detective believes what he is now being told by a suspect rather than what he was told by his fellow officer.

Michael’s Input:

I spent the next 312 days in jail trying to get my case handled.  The majority of this time, I was housed in a single cell protective custody unit. I was locked down for 23 hours a day, with one hour out to make phone calls and to shower. Not once did any of the three paid attorneys my mom hired look into the legality of the search warrant despite our multiple attempts to get them to.  While out free, Derrick had contacted anyone that was aware of the shooting and told them to tell a completely different version from the truth.  Shantelle and two other girls he had spoken to aside from Kim & Jessica wrote false statements for him.  All three of these girls Shantelle, Anzle and Danielle wrote that I had confessed to being the shooter.

A private investigator by the name of Peter Smith was hired to work on my case.  Peter met several times with Kim Quinterri and her grandmother who she lived with.  Kim not only admitted to Peter that she was told by Derrick that he had shot the gun; she helped Peter by taping a conversation with Derrick.

Laura’s Input:

Peter Smith met with the parents of the girls that had written the false statements.  The girls all came forward and wrote statements admitting they had written false statements on Derrick’s behalf.  The taped conversation between Derrick and Kim as well as the statements from the girls were all brought to the attention of the Ada County Prosecutors office.  Senior Prosecutor Roger Bourne had removed the initial prosecutor from Michael’s case and placed himself in charge.  Mr. Bourne had filed an amended complaint stating that if Michael was found to be the driver, then his charge would be reduced to Aide & Abetting. Not only did this not happen, after Derrick wrote a second statement he was charged with the reduced Aide & Abetting.  He received 45 days in juvenile detention and probation. 

The taped conversation between Kim & Derrick that was given to Roger Bourne seems to have mysteriously disappeared from his office.  A copy of this tape was also given to Michael’s attorney Shari Dodge; it to has disappeared.  We did not know until after Michael’s sentencing that while acting as a defense attorney; Ms. Dodge was preparing to run for the position as the Canyon County Prosecutor.

Michael’s Input:

I was told by my attorney Shari Dodge that my only real option was to plead guilty. Ms. Dodge told me that “we would win this at sentencing.”  On February 5^th 2003, I plead guilty to driving the car.  Judge Joel Horton reduced my bail from $200,000 to $50,000 and set my sentencing date for March 12, 2003.  My mom and family paid my bail and I went home for the first time in 312 days.

On March 13, 2003 Judge Horton sentenced me to a six month boot camp program called a “rider.”  During this program, the judge retains jurisdiction and at the end of the rider, can either release you to probation or send you to prison.  My sentence was to be one and a half years fixed and three and a half years indeterminate with credit for the 312 days in jail to be cut off my fixed time. Therefore after completing my rider I would have served my fixed time and be eligible for probation.  I was set to return in front of Judge Horton on September 9, 2003 for my review.

Laura’s Input:

Following is a copy of the sentence Michael was given by Judge Horton.  There is nothing stated saying the sentence will be amended at the prosecutors request. There is not a condition stated that if Michael was not allowed to finish his rider successfully that the sentence would be amended.  I have spoken with several attorneys and they have all said that they have never heard of a sentence being changed after a rider review. Michael was given a 5 year sentence with 1 year 6 months fixed.

Michael’s Input:

I was sent to Cottonwood Idaho on March 31, 2003; this is where the Rider program is run.  After a few weeks I was moved into Dorm 2 and I began taking my required programs as well as a few optional ones.

While I was in Ada County Jail, an inmate named Ty Jacobsen was placed in my unit. He was being housed in PC (protective custody) because he was being charged with Rape. Although he originally gave me a fake name, I later learned his true identity.  During the course of a conversation, Ty told me that he was friends with Prosecutor Bourne’s daughter.  He stated that Mr. Bourne had promised him everything would work out for him. Being that Mr. Bourne was working very hard to send me to prison, I decided to end any communication with Ty.  A few days later Ty was moved to another part of the jail.

After a month of being in Cottonwood, Ty Jacobsen arrived in Cottonwood and was placed not only in my unit, but in a bunk right beside me.  I thought that Mr. Bourne had not come through as promised, when I questioned Ty about this he told me that his charge had been reduced to Assault with Intent to Commit Rape.  Even though DNA was found in his victim and she awoke to find him in the act of raping her, his charge was reduced.  I decided my decision in Ada County to stay away from Ty was a great idea.  To this day, I have never understood why he was housed in Dorm 2 when all other sex offenders were housed in Dorm 4.

One day during a conversation with another inmate I had met in jail, we started talking about our cases and who prosecuted us. I told this individual that Roger Bourne had been my prosecutor and that he was very crooked in his handling of my case.  I spoke about the fact that Bourne had heard the tape of Derrick admitting he shot the gun, and how I plead to driving the car; yet my charge still read as if I was the shooter.  When Ty heard me state this, he started defending Mr. Bourne saying what a wonderful person he was.  I told him that I thought Bourne was a “piece of shit and an asshole.”  Jacobsen went off telling me to “shut the f**k up.”  I told him to stay out of any conversation I had and we would not have a problem.  

Around May 23, 2003 I was placed in segregation due to an investigation in to the false report by another inmate that I had been attacked by two other inmates. It is looked upon rather highly if while on a rider you give up information about other inmates, it doesn’t matter that your statements are not true; it just looks good to go along with the system.  I was approached by officers to make statements about two different inmates; false statements.  I was told that I would be “flopped” (failed) on my rider and my judge would be told that I interfered with a department investigation.  On May 27, 2003 I had a nervous breakdown and was sent to the medical unit at the Maximum Security facility in Boise.  After a week in this unit, I was told I was going to the medium security facility (ISCI) to finish my rider.  I spent the next three months in a protective unit waiting to be reviewed by my judge. I was not able to complete any programs while at ISCI due to it not being set up for the rider program.

In August of 2003, the unit counselor Darren Bushee called me into his office and told me he was recommending that I be “flopped” on my rider.  I was not a discipline problem at ISCI; I had one write up in Cottonwood for disrespecting a staff member. I was kept from completing my programs due to where I was housed.  Mr. Bushee made a remark about me threatening my prosecutor, I told him I did no such thing but he did not elaborate on this comment. I was also told that Mr. Bourne had called and spoken with Mr. Bushee.

Laura’s Input:

After hearing Mr. Bushee’s recommendation, I called and spoke with him. I told him that it was unfair to punish Michael for not completing his programs when the decision to keep him in Boise was what caused him to not complete them. I asked what he meant by his comment that Michael had threatened his prosecutor. Mr. Bushee told me that Mr. Bourne had sent him a copy of a letter stating Michael had threatened himself and his family and that Mr. Bourne had discussed Michael being “flopped” on his rider.

I called and spoke with Shari Dodge; she informed me that she had received a letter from Mr. Bourne; I went to her office and she showed me the letter.  It was written by an inmate in Cottonwood and it stated that Michael had made threats against Mr. Bourne and his family. Upon hearing this, Michael knew who sent the letter; it was Ty Jacobsen.

Michael’s Input:

On September 3, 2003 I went in front of Judge Horton for my “rider review.” Although it was now a “personal” conflict for him to be there, Roger Bourne stayed on as prosecutor.  Ms. Dodge and Mr. Bourne had a brief one on one discussion out side the court room.  Upon returning, Ms. Dodge brought up the letter to Judge Horton.  She stated that any programs I had not had the opportunity to complete could be taken on probation.  Mr. Bourne was given his chance to speak. He stated that he expected to see me return as a “shiny new penny” after the favorable comments made on my behalf at my March sentencing. Judge Horton not only sentenced me to prison, when Mr. Bourne told him I was suppose to have received a sentence of two and one-half years fixed and two and one-half hears indeterminate, Judge Horton changed my sentence. I was not given any kind of “plea deal” so, to say that I should have been given any different sentence then what I was originally given was wrong. Unless of course you take into account that while Judge Horton was a prosecutor, Roger Bourne was his boss.  My sentence was changed and I was sent to prison.

Laura’s Input:

Following is the sentence that Roger Bourne told Judge Horton Michael was “supposed to receive.”  At the bottom in the REMARKS section, you can see the new time calculation.

Michael’s Input:

On September 10, 2003 I was told that I was moving from Unit 14 to Unit 9.  An inmate named Robin Bagshaw heard that I was moving and came and spoke to me.  Bagshaw told me that two Aryan members that ran Unit 9 had made threatening remarks about me.  He told me that unless you are Aryan or someone that mattered, in order to make it on that unit I would have to pay rent or I would get beat up. I called my mom and told her what was happening, she told me to go directly to my unit sergeant and discuss this with him.

I went to the office and asked to speak with Sgt. Murray.  I tried to explain the situation and requested that I be allowed to stay in Unit 14.  Sgt. Murray told me I could move or go to segregation (the hole). I tried to no avail to reiterate that I was trying to stay out of trouble, and out of an unsafe situation.  I was told again to move or go to segregation.  I went back to my unit and called my mom to inform her of Sgt. Murray’s negligence attitude toward my safety.  My mom told me to pack slowly and she would try and reach someone higher up and make them aware of the situation.  I began to panic and I told my mom that if I was made to move and someone attacked me that I would defend myself.  I stated that if I was forced to protect myself, that it would be Sgt. Murray’s fault. My mom told me to calm down and watch what I was saying.  We spoke for awhile, and my mom was able to get me to calm down. When it came time to move, I did. When I got to Unit 9 an officer showed me what cell I was to take. I checked out the tier and realized Bagshaw had been lying and that I was going to be alright. I went to the day room and called my mom. I told her I was sorry for being so upset and that I was going to be okay. I told her not to worry about calling anyone and that I would see her in the morning for visiting.  I got off the phone and went to the gym.

An hour later I came back to my unit for count time. The Unit 9 sergeant came to my cell and asked if I had a jacket, I told him yes and handed it to him. He searched through my jacket and then asked me to step out of my cell, he ordered me to “grab some wall”, meaning I was going to be searched.  He had me place my hands behind my back; he cuffed me and told me I was going to segregation. 

A few hours later while sitting in a segregation cell, I was given a DOR (disciplinary offense report) stating that I was being charged with “menacing” for my comments on the phone with my mom while in Unit 14.  The DOR listed only the actions I said I would take to defend myself if attacked. It was made out to make me look like a psychotic person, not the scared 19 year old that I was. I will be the first to admit that I should have controlled myself better, but I also blame Sgt. Murray for neglecting his responsibility when I went to him and leaving me on my own to deal with what I saw as a threat to my safety and possibly my life.  I requested a hearing so that I could discuss the situation in its entirety. 

I was given a hearing a few days later, I told the hearing sergeant that I would plead guilty only because I could not deny the recorded comments. I tried to explain that I also made a second call from Unit 9 and let it be known that I was alright and that I was sorry for getting so upset.  The sergeant said it did not matter because I was a “threat” and that if I would attack an inmate then I would attack a guard. I tried to tell him that I was not going to “attack” anyone I was only going to defend myself if necessary.  The sergeant told me he was giving me 30 days in “the hole” and that I was being sent to IMSI, the Maximum Security Institution down the road. I later found out that Bagshaw had alerted staff to my phone call comments to gain favor with the officers. 

Laura’s Input:

Upon hearing the sergeant’s decision, I called and spoke with Warden Randy Blades, I literally begged this man to listen to the second phone call that Michael made from Unit 9. I asked him to take into consideration that Michael was 19 years old and being told his life was in danger and did as directed and went to staff for assistance.  Mr. Blades was the first of many cold, uncaring individuals I would come in contact with within the department of corrections. He made no attempt to look into this situation and he approved Michael going to IMSI. 

Michael’s Input:

I was sent to IMSI on October 10, 2003.  I was placed in a segregation unit awaiting the outcome of a hearing to see if I was going to Administration Segregation or Ad Seg for short.  Ad Seg is a 23 hour lock down 7 days a week. This is a unit used to house some of the most dangerous inmates that are confined in single cells. I was held in Ad Seg for close to four days, until I was accidently released into general population. I was in general population for about 12 hours until staff realized they had made a mistake in releasing me. I was then sent back to Ad Seg; pending a hearing.  After 6 days I was given a hearing by two deputy wardens and the captain of IMSI.  The decision was made to place me in general population as I was not seen to be a threat to the security of the prison despite the DOR for “menacing.”  The next day I was moved to Unit J-2.

Laura’s Input:

At the time of all this, I had a co-worker who had worked for the Idaho Parole Commission and was living with her boyfriend Benny Poole that was and still is a Parole Hearing Officer.  Try and imagine the fear in my heart when Benny (an ex-guard at the prison) informed me that J-2 was an unsafe unit for Michael to be placed on.  Your son being in prison is a fear beyond any mother’s nightmare, then to hear from someone that knows the system, someone that showed little if any emotion for inmates expresses concern.  It would not be long before Benny’s concerns proved to be warranted.  The sooner Michael finished some programs, the sooner he could get moved off this unit.  Michael put in several requests for programming, J-2 was not a unit offered programs as often as many other units.

 Michael’s Input:

When I was put on J-2 I was housed in cell 53 with an inmate named Mike Parrish.  For the time that I had Parrish for a cell mate, all was fine for the most part. I did however have a run-in with an inmate named Frank Gorrell.  Gorrell asked me to purchase several items from commissary for him which he was going to pay me back for.  Little did I know that he planned to rip me off all a long.  When I went to confront Gorrell about this matter, I was told by his gang that if I tried to do anything about it to him or reported it to the officers that I would be stabbed. I was told that it was a dead issue and that Gorrell and I would call a truce.

The gang I am referring to is the Aryan Knights or AK.  The AK is an all- white; White Power gang that for the most part controls the tiers of IMSI and to some degree the tiers of ISCI.  They were started in the mid 1990’s by about 10 inmates at IMSI.  The AK has been involved in mass amounts of violent and deadly attacks on other inmates.

Toward the middle of December 2003 my cell mate Mike Parrish was moved to a different housing unit.  I was left in my cell for about a week by myself.  I was approached by an inmate named Dutch Reneker and told he wanted to be moved into my cell.  I had gotten to know Reneker shortly after moving onto J-2.  I told him that I already had someone in mind to move into my cell, this did not go over well.  I was instructed by Reneker to tell the officer in charge of cell moves that I wanted Reneker to move in.  I told him that I was not going to do that but, Reneker told me I would be “in a world of hurt” if I did not follow through.  I was aware that he was a part of the AK and realized that not going along could be very dangerous.  He moved in the next day. 

Reneker quickly made it known that he was in control of how I would do my time. He told me that he would fill out my commissary orders each week and that I would do his laundry. I was also told that I would get my mom to start writing him so that he would have a female pen-pal.  That was an issue I did not push, what I had to deal with was one thing; I wasn’t going to allow him to be a part of my mom’s life.  I was ordered to purchase a subscription to ESPN magazine for him. That was just how each day went, I knew saying anything about my situation would put me in serious jeopardy.  I had already learned from Sgt. Murray what going to an officer would do for you. I figured it was best to go along with the situation and try to take programs and hope for parole; or at least get by until my points went down and I could move from IMSI.  It was a way to survive.

Reneker started to make sexual advances toward me around Christmas 2003.  It started with the occasional comment about typical prison sexual humor (i.e.; “don’t drop the soap” ECT).  Then it became more physical, he would walk up behind while I was urinating and grab my butt cheek and make a crude comment about wanting to have sex with me. I told him I was not gay and to leave me alone, this would cause him to become irritated and he became more aggressive toward me.  At times when I angered him, Reneker would hit me on the legs and body with a plastic coat hanger.

Laura’s Input:

Over the New Years weekend, while I was visiting with Michael I heard that his unit counselor Mr. Mahoney was working.  Michael asked the visiting officer if it would be possible to ask him to come and speak with us. Michael, Mr. Mahoney and I met in a room off of visiting; we talked about getting Michael in programs.  We were then joined by a female counselor names Vicki.  When Vicki came in she made the statement that she had asked the tier officers how Michael was doing, she said she was told that he was hanging around some questionable inmates. This brought great concern to me, I asked if they did not like who he was around then why they didn’t have him moved. Both said that it was Michael’s responsibility to tell them if there was a problem. They started questioning him if he knew what kind of beliefs his fellow tier members had, if he knew what their tattoo’s meant. Michael could sense my concern and tried to down play the situation, I will always regret not pushing the issue. Like Michael, I had no faith or trust in the department employees.

Michael’s Input:

It was Saturday, January 10, 2004 when my life reached its lowest point. I had come back from a visit with my mom and Reneker told me I was “going to give it up tonight.”  I told him it was not going to happen and to f**k off.  He told me that I could either “give it up, or he could take it.” I told him again to leave me alone, that it was not going to happen. Reneker punched me in the stomach, I lost my breath and fell backwards, and he advanced on me and continued to beat on my body.  I tried to fight back and defend myself for close to 30 minutes but, it was like he was unstoppable.  I was cornered and could not stand up to defend myself; I eventually became so weak and tired that I could not hold him off any longer despite my desperate attempts to do so. 

Laura’s Input:

 I have edited the in depth account of the brutal attack Michael was subject to; this information is available if necessary.

Michael’s Input:

The next day I stayed to myself during our day room time, I ventured out to take a shower and stayed in my cell the rest of the day.  That evening Sunday January 2004, Renecker assaulted me again.  I felt so degraded and wished I would die.

For the rest of the week, one of Reneker’s pals stayed close by whenever I made a phone call.  I waited anxiously for the following weekend as I knew my mom would come to visit.

On January 17, 2004 my mom came to visiting. She told me that Benny Poole had called her and expressed concern for the amount of commissary I was spending. Benny was thinking I was being harassed by other inmates and buying commissary for my safety.  I told my mom that I was having problems bigger than just my commissary money being taken.  I tried so hard to keep my composure as one of Renecker’s friends was sitting close by.  I told my mom that I had been raped; the look on her face is something I will never forget. As she sat there crying and listening to what had happened, I told her she had to stay calm. As she left visiting, she told me she would have me moved immediately. 

Laura’s Input:

I left visiting and went to Benny Poole’s house. I told Benny what was happening to Michael.  Benny called the prison and spoke with the duty officer, Lt. Derek Butler. Butler and Benny had worked together when Benny worked at the prison. Benny gave Butler Michael and Renecker’s IDOC numbers and cell number. He told him in detail what was happening. Butler said he would take care of it.  Michael called me a few minutes later from the outside recreation yard, he was very upset as Renecker was threatening him and asking if Michael had told what had happened.  I told Michael it would be alright, that I was at Benny’s house and that the officers would be coming right away to move him.  I drove home not knowing what to do next; I knew that Michael would at least be moved somewhere safe for the night.  At 8a.m. the following morning, my phone rang. I could see it was coming from the prison and thought Michael had been allowed to use a phone. It was Michael; he was very upset and told me that no one came for him.  I told him I was on my way, and that I would talk to someone other than Lt. Butler. When I arrived at the prison, the sergeant that answered the phone would not allow me to speak with the duty officer; Lt. Ramirez unless I said what I wanted. I told him that I was not going to talk with anyone over the phone and that it was urgent that I speak with Lt. Ramirez. The sergeant repeated what he stated earlier. I called Benny and told him what was happening, he said he would call out there immediately and speak with Lt. Ramirez.  I sat in the parking lot waiting for the gates to open for visiting.

Michael’s Input:

When the morning count was called I went back to my cell, hoping that I soon would be removed.  Renecker was looking out of our cell window and noticed about seven officers coming onto the tier. He began to panic and confronted me as to whether I had told my mom what happened. During this time he began assaulting me by reigning down a series of strikes to my torso. He heard the unit door pop open and went back to the window; I knew then that the officers were coming for me. Renecker was ordered out of the cell and placed in handcuffs; I was ordered out and handcuffed next. Renecker was taken to the segregation unit (J-3) and I was taken to medical.  Lt. Ramirez was waiting for me in medical, he told me had spoken with Benny and knew what had happened to me. He said I would be going to the hospital but he would like to ask me some questions first. He asked what led up to the rape, I explained that I was not a racist and had made that clear to the AK inmates on my unit. In the beginning they shunned me and left me alone, over time they began to dislike me more and more and eventually I started being threatened to purchase commissary items for several of them, and then Renecker moved into my cell. It got worse from there.

Laura’s Input:

As I signed in, I was told that Lt. Ramirez wanted to speak with me.  Lt. Ramirez was not aware that I had been trying to reach him.  I told him how I had reported to Benny Poole what had happened, and how Benny had called and spoken to Lt. Butler the night before. Lt. Ramirez told me that he had sent officers to J-2; and that Michael and Renecker were removed from their cell.  He stated that he had just returned the night before from out of town from attending a class on PREA; Prison Rape Elimination Act.  Lt. Ramirez said that he hoped he had shown Michael the compassion he deserved.  He told me that Michael broke down while they spoke. I asked if I could see him, I did not know (due to security reasons) that Michael had been taken to the hospital. Lt. Ramirez told me to come to the facility the following morning and he would arrange a visit.  I was asked to write a statement in regards to Michael had told me about the assault and about Lt. Butler being made aware of the situation.  I was so emotional I could barely think or control my ability to write.  Lt. Ramirez was very kind; he apologized for how this horrible situation had been handled.  I will always appreciate the manner in which he treated both Michael and me. 

Michael’s Input:

After I returned from the hospital I was placed in a medical unit.  Although I was safe, I did not understand why I was being treated as if I had done something wrong. I was not allowed any of my property, not even a radio. I sat in a cell with nothing to do but think about what I had been through. Ada County Sheriff Detective Jim Gardner came and interviewed me. He also spoke to Renecker. Although Renecker tried to deny what he had done, the bruising on my body and the admission from Renecker that he hit me with a coat hanger from time to time along with his comment “I already have a life sentence, what more you gonna do to me” was enough for Det. Gardner to charge Renecker with rape. Two IMSI officers came to do an in house investigation.

I told these officers that I was fearful of my mom’s safety, that Renecker had taken my home address and given it to an inmate about to me released.  Although it took a lot of urging on my moms part, one of these officers eventually searched this inmate’s property and did find our address.  Several inmates were investigated for the possession of property bought with my commissary money and placed in segregation.

My case was sent to the Ada County Prosecutors office, I was told that Jean Fisher would be the prosecutor on the case. I waited to be contacted by Ms. Fisher, however this never happened. In April 2004 I was put on a bus and sent to ICIO Idaho Correctional Institution Orofino; 287 miles from home.

Laura’s Input:

I was contacted by Ada County Prosecutor Jean Fisher and a time was arranged for the two of us to meet.  She seemed sincere in her desire to prosecute this case.  On 3/11/04 Ms. Fisher contacted me and cancelled our meeting; she advised me that against her protest, Senior Prosecutor Roger Bourne wanted the case conflicted out of the office. I was told that Mr. Bourne had made the comment that “Michael Osborn will not be seen as a victim in this office.”  She told me that the Idaho Attorney General’s Office would handle the case.

On approximately 3/23/04; I was contacted by Idaho Attorney General Prosecutor Jay Rosenthal. Rosenthal told me he would be prosecuting the case and that an investigator by the name of Gary Deulen would be contacting both me and Michael.  Gary contacted me shortly after that, and then went to see Michael in Orofino.  I had told Gary that Michael and I both had been told by Bruce Gordon with the Department of Corrections that Michael would receive counseling to help deal with what he had been through, and that I was later told Michael had no victim rights and therefore would not receive counseling.

Gary confirmed that this was not true; he worked very hard to make counseling available to Michael.  Over the course of the next few months, I spoke quite a bit with Gary.

Both Gary and Rosenthal told me that they were concerned about Michael’s safety after he testified. They were working on a grand jury indictment for Renecker.  On July 22, 2004 Gary called me and asked me when in August was Michael’s parole hearing scheduled.  Gary told me that Rosenthal was going to attend and see to it that Michael was paroled.  This of course made my day and I could hardly wait to tell Michael.  Although I drove up as often as possible to see him, I could see what the distance from home as well as the emotional and psychological trauma from what had happened was doing to him.  Because he was placed in protective custody; Michael spent the majority of the day under lock down in a cell.

Mr. Rosenthal told me to see to it that Michael had a job upon release and he would take care of everything else. He told me that he and Olivia Craven the Director of the Parole Commission were “great friends of 25 years.”  

Mr. Rosenthal asked me to bring him any information I had on Michael’s case so that he could familiarize himself for the parole hearing.  In the information was a copy of the letter written by Ty Jacobsen, although I had told Gary about this situation I had not spoken to Rosenthal about it.  Had I been trying to hide this from anyone, it would not have been in the information I brought to him.

Mr. Rosenthal accused me of trying to get something over on him, he yelled at me and said that I knew the “letter was used to fail Michael on his rider” and therefore kept it from him. I tried to explain that I was not keeping anything from him; he did not want to hear it.  I did not know at that time that Rosenthal and Bourne were and still are close friends.

 Gary Deulen called me on August 3, 2004 and said that he was going to the Ada County Jail to take Ty Jacobsen for a polygraph test and that he would contact me afterwards.

I have a copy of the taped conversation between Officer Butler and Ty Jacobsen. Not only do I fail to hear the emotion Butler speaks of, I have spoken to two different polygraphist and been told that getting the subject emotional is part of the guidelines for a polygraph. Neither of these two examiners ever heard of any examiner inputting his personal view point as to the subjects “emotions” being a reason for scoring as Deceptive. Jacobsen scored deceptive for one reason and one reason only……he LIED.

After completing the polygraph and while being interviewed by Gary Deulen, Jacobsen admitted to lying when writing this letter.  Jacobsen admitted he did this as part of a “plea negotiation.”

Gary called me as he said and told me the results. He also made me aware of a report that he submitted in regards to Jacobsen’s admission to lying.  I told Gary that I wanted charges brought against Jacobsen for willingly submitting false evidence against Michael.

This of coarse would need to be done by a prosecutor, such as Rosenthal or Bourne. Not only was it not done, every effort has been made to protect Jacobsen for doing this.

Upon requesting a Public Records Release of any documents available, I have been told that the report Gary told me about does not exist. In a 15 page transcribed conversation provided to me by the Idaho Attorney Generals Office, Gary makes reference to this report.

Not only did Jay Rosenthal go back on his word to speak at Michael’s parole hearing, he went so far as to contact his “good friend of 25 years” Olivia Craven and discusses the polygraph with her.

It is my belief that when Gary said he gave his report to be submitted with the polygraph results, that he meant he gave it to Rosenthal.  When Rosenthal sent the results to Olivia Craven and later to the Presentencing Investigator on Michael’s case, the report was not included.

I believe this is called WITH HOLDING EVIDENCE, OR TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE.  What ever you call it, it is against the law.

Jay Rosenthal knew Roger Bourne used this letter to fail Michael on his rider, and I believe he personally saw to it that the report containing Jacobsen’s admission to lying was destroyed.

When Jacobsen told Gary Deulen that he did it for a “plea negotiation” it would be safe to assume that since his case was in the Ada County Court, that it was done for negotiations there. 

So, we now have proof to what Michael and I knew all a long; Michael was sent to prison for statements he never made, and Ty Jacobsen was allowed to admit he purposely submitted false statements and went unpunished.

Michael did not know Bourne had a daughter named Megan, or where he lived. The person that knows this is Ty Jacobsen. He lied even further in his letter when he stated Michael did not know he (Ty) knew Bourne. He made Michael aware of this when they were in Ada County Jail, long before they were in Cottonwood together.  While Ty was being interviewed by Officer Butler for the polygraph on 8/3/04; Butler asked if Ty had ever taken a polygraph before. Ty said “NO, this is the first time.”  Yet in the probation officer’s report on page 46 you will see an attempt was made on 5/7/04 to administer a polygraph to Ty, but he would not cooperate during the process.

Keep this thought in mind; had Jacobsen not written that letter, had Michael not been “purposely” failed on his rider, Michael never would have met or been brutally attacked by Dutch Renecker.  This is a realization I live with as Michael’s mother everyday. 

I have attached the letter written by Jay Rosenthal to Olivia Craven.  Rosenthal was driven to see to it that Michael was not paroled; he told us both that he feared for Michael’s safety yet that quickly changed. He never followed through on his promise for counseling either.

Michael’s Input:

In August 2004 I went in front of the parole commission.  At my pre-sentencing hearing a few months prior, hearing officer; Joe Martinez recommended I be denied parole.  Joe Martinez stated that he had been contacted by Roger Bourne and that “if Roger had his way you would do more time than given.”  My mom, my aunt and my uncle were present at this hearing. Mr. Martinez yelled at my mom when the emails were brought up. She was trying to ask Mr. Martinez if he had bothered to read what was being said and by who.  Joe Martinez recommended I attend a TC (therapeutic community program). Not only do I not meet the requirements for this program (it is drug & alcohol related) I could not attend if I wanted because there is a long waiting list for inmates that do fit the requirement and therefore they are not going to enroll an inmate that does not need it. I put in a request and was denied, to show the parole commission how ridiculous the recommendation was. I would think that a hearing officer would know how these programs work, but obviously not.   

I was denied parole, because according to one of the commissioners I was not “fixed yet.”  During this hearing my mom tried to bring up the letter by Ty Jacobsen and the polygraph results.  Ms. Craven interrupted my mom and told her the letter “has no place here today”, my mom tried to ask why; yet she was told to “be quiet.”  I was told to return in a year for another hearing.

Although I had asked my mom to contact the Attorney General’s Office and make them aware that I had no intention of testifying, Rosenthal, Gary Deulen and an Investigator Kouril came to Orofino to speak with me.  Gary was leaving the AG’s office and Kouril was taking his place.  I told the three of them that I was not going to testify.  I said that being that Mr. Rosenthal did not keep his word about coming to my hearing; I did not trust that they would see to it that I was moved somewhere safe.  I was told by Kouril that since I was never told directly that Rosenthal would come to the hearing that no promises were broken.  In my thinking and opinion, saying it to my mom, who relayed the information to me, was no different.  I also did not appreciate the manner in which my mom was treated by this office. In the long run, I was punished for what was done to me. Renecker was moved for awhile to medium security where he continued to harass people. I was moved far from home and family. It is a grueling and somewhat dangerous drive from Boise to Orofino. For a large part it is a winding two lane highway traveled by semi-trucks for logging and various other products.  There are a lot of accidents related to wild life. It is not a road you would want your loved ones to travel on a regular basis. While in protective custody, my mom traveled round trip approximately 11 hours to see me for two days of visiting at 3 hours a piece. 

Once I was denied parole I decided that the only way to get parole was to move to general population and take the programs that were not offered to inmates in PC.  I moved to B-2, a unit that offered all the programs I needed. I enrolled in anything I could, I even signed up for drug/alcohol programs as well as parenting programs.  I worked with a 16 year old inmate and helped him to obtain his GED. I went two years without any type of disciplinary problems.

At my previous parole hearing I was given a psychological examination, it is called an MMPI.  This is a test given by licensed psychologists, the state employee administering and scoring the outcome of my test is a licensed family counselor. Overall the test was not in my favor, it did however show that I had symptoms of PTSD- post traumatic stress disorder.  This was caused by the attack I suffered by Renecker. In 2005n I was given a second test.  The results came back saying I was rehabilitated and in a much better mind set. It also stated that I was now taking responsibility for my part in the crime that sent me to prison. Yet, I have always taken responsibility, I admitted that I bought the gun, I drove my car and I knew the family. I was continusely judged for not claiming to shoot the gun, which I did not do. So to say I was not taking responsibility does not make sense.   I will never say I did the shooting that Derek did.

Laura’s Input:

It was May 2003 when Jacobsen was thought so highly of by Roger Bourne that he used his false letter without ever verifying the contents.  Yet, in a search through Jacobsen’s court documents, I came upon some very interesting material.

 Following is another part of the report previously shown on page 39; written by Jacobsen’s Probation Officer. 

Battery with Intent to Commit Rape, Registered Sex Offender, Battery; on another female, suspect in an auto parts theft ring; and now failure to admit his criminal activity.  Yet his letter full of lies was used against Michael and his admission to lying was covered up.

Michael’s Input:

In August 2005 I met with hearing officer Ricky Forbus; although he to commented that I was still not taking responsibility and he referred to the results of the 2004 exam as if they were the 2005 test results, he ultimately stated I should be offered parole.

In November 2005 I went to my parole hearing.  I was given an open date. This meant that as soon as the paperwork was completed I could go home.  On December 9, 2005 my mom flew to Orofino and we drove home to Boise. 

On December 12, 2005 just three days after I was released, I was hired by Sturner & Klein for telemarketing.  I was working 30 hours a week and was promoted after 2 weeks to an advanced sales position.  I was recognized several times as lead salesperson.  I was being considered for a position as a supervisor.   

I met with a counselor at Boise State University and was preparing to register for college.  I had applied for grant money through an organization called the Trio program; I had received this information from my parole officer.  I had also applied for federal grant programs and was waiting to take entrance examinations at the college. I was on a steady path to rebuilding my life.

Although it felt great to be outside without restrictions, walking in the Idaho winter two miles to work was sometimes difficult.  My mom helped me with the down payment on a car. The monthly payment was $280.00 a month.  I made more than enough to cover my car payment and insurance.  My mom told me that once school started, if I needed to cut my work hours to attend school, she would cover half my car payment. 

I had and still have a huge emotional and financial support system. 

I started giving a co-worker named Keisha Oliver rides to and from work.  One night, Keisha invited me to come and watch a movie with some friends.  I told her I would be back after dinner.  When I returned to the apartment complex, I could not locate Keisha.  I noticed a man sitting on the patio talking on the phone; I asked if he knew where Keisha was.  He said he didn’t and then asked if I was her friend that did music.  I said that I had an interest in music and hoped to one day make an album. I told him my name was Michael but I went by “OZ” as a rapper. He told me his name was Brooklyn. We exchanged numbers and I headed for home.  Two weeks later, Brooklyn called and said he was headed to down town Boise to compete in a rap contest his friend was putting on.  He asked if I would be interested in competing.  I met up with Brooklyn and a guy named Chris.  Also there was Brooklyn’s girlfriend Priscilla.  I went inside the club called the Mardi Gras with Brooklyn and we paid a $5.00 entrance fee.  Before the competition started, Brooklyn and I spoke about music.  He told me he was an under ground rapper with a large record label known as the Diplomats aka (Dip Set).  I had no reason to outwardly disbelieve what he was saying.  After the contest (battle) I came in second place and Brooklyn came in last. He told me he was going to talk with his producers about me. Brooklyn stated that he was going to New York in a few days to work on a music video with the Dip Set.

Over the next few days Brooklyn and I hung out several times.  I learned that his name was actually Bryson Lassiter.  He asked if upon his return from New York if I could help him get a job at Sturner & Klein.  I asked him why he needed a telemarketing job if he was under contract. He said that he only made a small amount of money as an underground artist. He went on to tell me that his girlfriend was pregnant and that he had bills to pay. It all seemed so reasonable to me and I didn’t see any reason for him to lie.  I was so wrong.

                  Bryson Lassiter

During the time that we hung out, Lassiter never seemed to have any money. I invited him to my house to work on my computer doing music.  I fed him and gave him rides to do errands.  He told me that he was 21 years old. That he was from Brooklyn New York, and that his mom was dead and he never knew his dad. He said he had been on the streets since he was 12 years old and that music had saved his life. He moved to Mountain Home Idaho when he was 16 to be with his sister and brother-in-law that were stationed there in the Air Force.  He told me that he had helped to purchase his sister a house and that he had a car but had wrecked it and had not yet replaced it.

Lassiter went to New York on or about February 1, 2006.  We spoke several times while he was there. He said he was negotiating his contract and was hoping to bring back money to help up record an album. I spoke with Lassiter on February 12, 2006 he said he was home from New York and on his way to Mountain Home. I picked him up later that evening from Priscilla’s apartment and brought him to my house.  While we were driving, Lassiter said he was not able to get the money he had hoped for; he said the Dip Set wanted him to record in New York rather than Boise. I introduced him to my mom.   My mom asked him why he was applying for a job if he made so much money doing music. He said that he was in need of extra money because his girlfriend was pregnant. We went upstairs and played around on the computer and recorded some beats.  I took him home later that evening and said I would come and get him the next day on my way to work so he could apply. 

The next morning I woke up around 9a.m. to my cell phone ringing. It was Lassiter asking if I could pick him up early so he could run some errands.  I took him to get a key made to his and Priscilla’s apartment and so he could pick up a .99 cent box of candy for Valentines Day.  We went back to my house to get something to eat.  While we ate, Lassiter told me about his concerns over being a father.  He said that he really needed to come up with $500.00 to help cover rent and bills that he and Priscilla had.  I told him not to worry that things would get better once he started working. We left my house and went to my work.  I left Lassiter to do his interview and I started my shift.  I called him on my 5:30 break and asked how his interview went. He told me that he was not hired and it was due to racism. That I worked for a bunch of racist. I told him race had nothing to do with it as I had met him through a black co-worker.   He went off on how he needed $500.00 and asked if I would loan it to him.  I told him I could not do that, that I did not know him that well and I did not think it was a good idea. I told him I would come pick him up after I got off and we would think of other places for him to apply. I had the next day off and offered to take him around.

I left work around 9p.m. and drove to Lassiter’s apartment. When he opened the door, he seemed very moody. The apartment was dark and he told me to wait in the living room as he finished what he was doing on the computer. We got in my car and headed towards my house, he started in with the racist remarks. I told him to let it go and that I would talk with my boss to see what was up.

When we arrived at my house, I went up to my mom’s room. She was getting ready for bed. I asked if it would be alright if after we went and returned some DVD’s and ate if we could come back and mess around on the computer if we were quiet. She said that was fine and we left for the video store.

We returned the DVD’s and Lassiter asked me to show him where I had bought my car. The lot was across the street from the video store so I drove him by.  We headed towards my house and he asked if I wanted to drive downtown to see if there was anything going on.  I agreed and on my way downtown I stopped at US Bank and withdrew $20.00 from my account.  We drove around and nothing was happening as it was a Monday night.  I told him I needed to stop for gas and then we could get something to eat.  We stopped at a 7-11; I gave Lassiter

 A $20.00 bill so he could get us a soda, as I paid for my gas on my credit card. We drove to Carl’s Jr., at first Lassiter made some snide remarks to the effect “well since I don’t have any money, because I don’t have a job I can’t eat.” I told him I would buy our dinner; he asked for the three piece chicken strips and then said “I won’t have anything else because I don’t have money.”  As we ate, Lassiter started asking me about being in prison; he asked if there were gangs and a lot of violence.   He asked again about borrowing $500.00.  After we ate I started towards home, I never made it there.

I told Lassiter I wanted to show him a building that I thought would be a cool music studio.  We started in that direction and Lassiter’s cell phone rang.  It was Priscilla she was asking when he would be home. Lassiter stated that he had “some business to take care of” and that he’d be home in about an hour.  I was kind of lost as to how we were going to drive by the building, record some songs and get back to his house in an hour. I let it slide because I figured he was stalling her like he usually did when she called and started nagging him about coming home.

When he hung up the phone his mood seemed to change. He asked me if I remembered promising him a job, and I said that I did.  Then he started in with “well I didn’t get the job did I bitch?”  I asked him, “what, the hell did you just call me?” He then got more aggressive and said “listen motherf***er, you told me I was gonna have a job but, now I don’t so you‘re gonna get me my money!” I yelled at him to chill out.  Lassiter then pulled out a gun from his hooded sweat shirt and pointed it at me.  He went on to say that I owed him the $500.00 since he didn’t get hired and that its “white cracker mother***ers like you that keep messing with me!”

Lassiter started telling me that I was going to get the money back by robbing the 7-11 we had gone to earlier. I told him that he was crazy and that I would do no such thing.  He told me how he let someone go in front of him to pay and that they used a $50. 00 bill.  He told me I was going to get that money or else. I told him that I was going to pull over and he was going to get out because I wanted nothing to do with this. As I headed towards the side of the road, he hit me on the head with the barrel of the gun. I told him if he involved me in anything that I would tell the police, I tried telling him that the video at 7-11 would trace back to us and that I would tell the police what he had done. I thought this would scare him into thinking about what he was doing. He told me to keep driving and he would find someone to rob.  He made the comment that he was going to do things the “Brooklyn Way.”

After a short while, Lassiter noticed a truck driving in front of us and said for me to follow it and that I was going to “hit them.”  It started to snow and I told him I needed to turn around because I did not have snow tires and I did not have much practice driving in the snow.

We ended up on Hill Road and for the most part it’s a deserted road without any businesses and houses on just one side.  He started yelling at me to find someone to rob.  I turned down Collister and wondered if it would be better to go left or right when I got to the main intersection of State Street.  I prayed for Priscilla to call him again, hoping he would decide to go home and end this idea.

As we headed down State Street, a truck was pulling into the Wells Fargo ATM. I did not think he had noticed this, however he yelled at me to pull into the bank parking lot.  As I drove into the lot, Lassiter told me to park on the side of the bank and leave the car running. As he was talking, he started to take off his large gold medallion and earrings; he placed them in a compartment of my car.  He took some things out of his pockets and threw them on the floor of the car.

I tried to tell him about guys I had met in prison that were doing 20+ years for robbery. He responded by telling me that I had better not get us caught. He told me it was my fault he was doing this and that I forced him to go back to doing things the “Brooklyn Way.”  He told me that if I didn’t do as told that after he took care of me he would go to my house, rob my mom and shoot her. Lassiter threw another gun from within his sweat shirt at me. I made a comment about it being fake, and he retorted with “yeah mother***er but this one isn’t; holding up the first one I had seen.

As we got out of the car, he pulled his sweat shirt tight around his head to conceal his face.  I took my sweat shirt from the car put it on and pulled the hood up, not tightening it. I knew I had no choice but to do as I was told.    Lassiter told me not to do anything stupid; to get the money and wallet from the person in the car.

I approached the truck and there was a man sitting in the cab.  I told him to give me his money and his wallet. He opened the truck door and reached for his money, he said that this was “stupid” and “don’t do this.”  I told him again to give me the money and the wallet.  He handed me the money without the wallet, I told him I needed the wallet too, and he “no you don’t.”  As he went to hand me the wallet, he threw it to the ground.  It landed between the truck door and the cab.  I feared that if I leaned over for it he would try and jump me not realizing that Lassiter had a gun inside his sweat shirt.  I looked towards my left at Lassiter, and then turned and took off running for my car.  I could hear Lassiter coming from behind me as I made it to my car. He yelled at me to stop. He got into the car and told me to drive.

Lassiter yelled at me to “hand it over”, I threw the gun at him and he said “no the money.”  I threw the money at him, he started counting it and screamed at me that it was only a f***ing bullet, a f***ing bullet. I asked him what he was screaming about and what was a bullet; he said “its only $100. You bitch!”

I was really shook up, I started yelling at him and telling him that he had no right to screw with my life because of his problems. He told me to shut up and drive.

I drove back onto Hill Road and shortly afterwards noticed an extremely bright beam glaring down on me.  Lassiter then picked up his ringing phone and told Priscilla to chill out and he would be home later. I told him that I thought the man was following us, Lassiter looked back and said “it’s the cops don’t do anything stupid.”  I sped up thinking that maybe it would cause me to be pulled over; it was my hope the officer would help me out of the horrible ordeal.  Lassiter yelled at me to slow down. I turned into a parking lot and the cop followed, motioning for me to pull over.  I stopped the car and the officer stopped behind me, Lassiter poked me in the side and told me to drive before things got bad.

As I drove off, I accelerated too fast I lost control of my car and I drove down a 10-15 foot canal.  As the car came to a stop, I remember hitting my head on the steering wheel. The next thing I remember was Lassiter yelling at me to get out of the car.  I took off up a hill and had no idea where Lassiter was. I started running and I never looked back.

Laura’s Input:

At 11p.m I awoke to someone knocking at my door. I went down stairs thinking it was Michael. From the porch I heard a voice saying “Boise Police please open the door.”  My first thought was that Michael had an accident.  The officer asked if Michael lived at this address, I said yes and he informed me that they were looking for him in connection to an armed robbery. I started to cry and told the officer he was wrong that Michael would do no such thing. He asked if I knew where he was and who he was with. I told him I would call him on his cell phone. The officer told me that Michael’s car was in a canal and the phone was inside it. I was beyond myself with worry.  The officer was very polite, and told me that if I heard from Michael I needed to call him. About 45 minutes to an hour later I called the officer and asked if they had found Michael, he said no, he told me he was parked in my driveway and that he was hearing over the radio that a black male had turned himself in and said that he was with a guy that did a robbery and that the guy had pointed a gun at him. I told the officer I knew this was not the truth, I don’t know why he responded as he did, but the officer said, “I don’t believe it either Mrs. Osborn”, he said he thought I should speak with the Lieutenant in charge and that he would have him call me.  I received a call from Lt. Myers he was rude and abrupt. He told me that Michael was being considered armed and dangerous and stated that it said something about him that he would point a gun at his “friend.” I told him Michael did not have a gun. The Lt. told me “Mrs. Osborn, if you hear from your son you need to tell him to turn himself in, you need to know that if we find him and he does not approach us as we see fit that it won’t be myself or any of my men that don’t go home tonight.”  I responded by saying “are you telling me you are going to shoot my son?” He repeated his previous statement.  While I was speaking with him, my other line rang; I saw it was from a pay phone and I knew it would be Michael. He was hysterical he asked if I was okay, he told me that he thought Lassiter was going to kill him. I told him that Lassiter had turned himself in and was saying that Michael had pointed a gun at him. Michael asked me to come and get him he had left his sweat shirt in the car. It was February and we were having colder than usual weather. I told him the officer was in the driveway and that I would come as soon as possible. A police officer drove by Michael while he was at the pay phone, he was scared and begging me to hurry. Michael and I both were concerned with the attitude of the police lieutenant and also were aware that Roger Bourne would be a part of this. Michael told me where he was and got off the phone, he said he would wait for me to come.  I walked outside close to 2:30 am and noticed the officer was gone. I was so scared they would follow me to Michael. As I was driving to get him, Michael called back he was so cold he could hardly stand it. I told him I was on my way. I picked him up and drove us home. I told Michael I was going to take him to an attorney’s office that I had met. I could not turn him over to the police and I wanted help in doing this.

Lassiter’s first of many stories/lies. Lassiter told two different stories in one night. At trial he admitted he had lied when he said Michael pointed a gun at him. Yet, no one cared to see the significance of that remark. Lassiter pointed a gun at Michael and forced him to be a part of the robbery.  Why would he even come up with the thought of someone having a gun pointed at them had it not been a part of this scenario.

In this first statement Lassiter states “he saw the police lights yet continued to run.”  At trial he stated he was so “traumatized” that he never looked back and did not see the police behind him where the car had gone off the road. On the recorded 911 tape, you can hear him stating something about the police being there.  

No where in her report does Officer J. Stephens confirm Lassiter’s so called “traumatized” state of mind. Yet at trial she made remarks about him being emotionally shaken and went so far to say “he was pale” and then caught herself as she must have then remembered he is Black. It was important I am sure to help confirm Lassiter’s testimony that he was an “innocent” bystander. The

prosecution needed his testimony to convict Michael. When asked why by Mr. Cahill that his demeanor was not noted in her report yet 8 months later she testified to it, she did not have much of an excuse.

In the second report by Det. Dave Smith you will see that Lassiter changed from the story about buying lottery tickets, to now they were going to eat at Carl’s Jr. There is not a Carl’s Jr., or a place to purchase lottery tickets in the bank parking lot.  Lassiter lied from the beginning and continued to lie, yet no one cared; he was their “star” witness.

Michael’s Input:

My mom drove me to the attorney’s office, David Lloyd and Sandi Carter walked me down to the court house. The whole time we were walking I kept thinking this is wrong, I did nothing wrong and no one is going to listen to me. The police came to the court house and took me to the Criminal Investigation Department also known as CID.  When I got there Detective Dave Smith came into question me. I told him I had nothing to say without my attorney present.  They took several pictures of me, my clothes and my shoes. They had me pull my sweat shirt over my head, which was senseless since it was a different one. I was asked if I knew where the gun was and I replied again that I had nothing to say without an attorney present.  I was taken to jail and booked for robbery.

On March 16, 2006 I went for my preliminary hearing.  My attorney at the time was Steve Botimer a Public Defender. The victim Richard Kent Venosdel was asked to identify me as the robber. He had looked at a photo lineup and picked out 2-3 different people that seemed to resemble the robber. He could not identify me as the person that robbed him. He stated that the person that robbed him had on a green sweat shirt and gold glasses. I had a black sweat shirt on that night and I have silver glasses. In the photo that Mr. Venosdel saw I did have gold glasses but those were broken while I was in prison. My mom had purchased new glasses (silver) for me when I came home in December.

Judge Reardon stated that there was not enough evidence to bind me over to trial court.  He dismissed the case, I was re-charged before I was able to leave the court house. Two more charges were added.  Use of a Firearm & Illegal Possession of a Firearm.

My next preliminary was March 31, 2006.  This time, Lassiter testified and was allowed to take the Fifth Amendment on any question related to him; he lied about my involvement and committed perjury several times. Mr. Venosdel still could not identify anyone and continued to state that I had on a green sweat shirt and gold glasses.  This time the case was in front of Judge Swain who decided there was enough evidence to bind the case to trial court. It has always been the practice of the Ada County Jail to house co-defendants apart from each other, yet the Prosecutor made a statement in court to Lassiter that they would see we were kept apart in order to protect him. This I feel was done to make me look bad.

While in jail Lassiter began telling other inmates that I was a rat and had been the reason he got busted.  He was also telling anyone that would listen that he had millions of dollars, that the jewelry he left in my car was worth $30,000 and that he had recorded with every major rapper including Jay-Z and Juelz Santana. After it was discovered in court that Lassiter was testifying against me, he was beaten up and sent to protective custody. When I would pass by his cell for visiting, he would point at me and call me a rat and yell “you ain’t shit now bitch.” The other inmates in his cell (also PC) went along with this behavior.  One night after getting into an altercation within my cell an officer came to escort me to a different area. As I passed Lassiter he made hand gestures and called me a rat.  I yelled at him that he was the rat. The officer told me I was not helping my situation. I told him he had no idea what was going on. I then said “f**k that nigga!” What I said was not meant to be racial at all. Lassiter and as well as any other black guy I knew used that term, referring to each other as my “nigga.” It is no different then when someone says “my brother”, it is not racial.  I was given a write up regardless and received three days in segregation.  Before I spent my first day in seg, I was transferred to the prison.

It was July before I went up in front of the court again. My attorney was now August (Gus) Cahill, he was supposed to be one of “the best” Public Defenders. I was told that the DA wanted to offer me a deal of 3 years fixed plus 7 years indeterminate with a Rule 11. That would mean that if the judge, I and the DA signed off on it that no one could back out and change my sentence. I told Gus that I was not going to prison for something I did not do and that we would go to trial. Trial was set for October 10, 2006.

Laura’s Input:

I attended all of Lassiter’s court hearings as well as Michael’s.  Judge Neville was Lassiter’s judge.  I was present at Lassiter’s hearing when he was told that he would receive 3 years fixed and 10 years indeterminate along with a rider. This meant that if he did well on his rider he would be home in 6 months. Lassiter was told that he must “truthfully” testify against Michael to receive this deal. Judge Neville made comments that Lassiter had not been truthful in the past. This is called perjury yet no one seems to care. He told Lassiter that he was still telling a story that did not match what the victim was saying and that he better think about what he was going to say when he returned for sentencing after Michael’s trial. He told Lassiter that he was aware that he was causing “racial tension” in the jail. That he had a poor work history and the last four semesters of school he had received straight F’s.  At the last court hearing before Michael’s trial, Judge Neville asked why I was attending court. He said that Lassiter had told his attorney that I was there to intimidate him from testifying. Lassiter also was accusing Michael of harassing him in jail. I told Judge Neville that not only was I not there to intimidate Lassiter, that Michael had been removed from the jail in May and this was now September. Judge Neville was unmoved by the fact that Lassiter was continuing to lie.  

Judge Neville was so taken in by Lassiter’s sister and brother-in-law. They both violated a code of the Armed Forces by wearing their uniform to court to make a good impression; it worked. 

Enclosed is a copy of Lassiter’s Plea Deal. I do not understand why the statement was made that Lassiter must “truthfully testify” not one member of the court system was concerned about his acts of perjury before or during trial.  Seeing that Michael was convicted was their goal. 

Michael’s Input: