Grueling Long Day

August 9, 2006
(These are now posted in chronological order as they were written by Paul)

I finished my 14th book “Thief of Time” by John Holliman which was an interesting read about Native American culture mixed in with a murder mystery. After finishing this I started an epic 967 page tale by Ken Follett,” Pillars of the Earth”. This is most likely the longest book I have ever attempted. It is a 12th century version of “Six Degrees of Separation”. Each character in this epic tale has a connection one way or another with all the characters. It is well written and although I am not a visual person I can see and feel each of these characters.

I was having difficulty in sleeping maybe because the book was SO good and I wanted to read more. I got about halfway through the novel and decided to call it a night at 2:00am. Forty-five minutes later the call came over the intercom “Del Vacchio get your stuff together, you are getting out of here.” Could this possibly be the call I have been waiting for over the past four weeks. I quickly gathered up my mattress pad, sheets, blanket and property box. I knew I am not allowed to bring certain items with me to State Prison. I left all my food (mostly peanuts and rice) and toiletries with my cellmate. I gathered up all the letters and pictures that I have received and placed them in my storage box because the jail will ship this box to my wife. I didn’t want to ship the toiletries and food because they would be best served with my cellmate. I threw out my soap, comb, toothpaste and shampoo because I cannot take these to State Prison. I said my goodbyes to my cellmate but not before getting his home address. I will drop him a letter in a year when he gets out to see how he is doing. I was invigorated to finally leave this place and it did not matter I only had 45 minutes worth of sleep and quickly joined the line with the other inmates who were being transferred. I was excited but I found it odd that no one else was being transferred to State Prison and I hadn’t signed my paperwork but I didn’t give it too much thought because I was so happy to leave.

I went into a holding cell with 7 other inmates. As I glanced at the gentleman in front of me I noticed he had a tattoo on the nape of his neck. I looked closer at the tattoo and instantly recognized the name; LAUREN – my daughter’s name. As soon as I recognized the name my heart grew warmer. A few minutes later I glanced over to my left to another gentlemen who had a tattoo on is left forearm and I instantly recognized the name; JONATHAN – my son’s name, which by the way means gift from God. I learned this when I was reading “the Pillars of the Earth”. This may sound completely corny to some of you, but someone somewhere out there was sending me a message of hope. Could this have been a complete coincidence, perhaps, but I like to believe there is a power greater than me looking out for me and was sending me a message. As soon as I recognized my son’s name, I glanced over at the other tattoo and I could not help but to smile.



The bus departed from Southwest Riverside County Detention Center at 5:30am. It took a very familiar route and memories started to rush into my brain. Some of the memories were good and some were of the “how could I do this to my family” kind. I try to focus on positive events, but I couldn’t help my eyes welling up with tears. This is not how I envisioned leaving a place I have become very fond of but it is my own fault. I do have a lifetime of days to ensure there is nothing but positive achievements for here on in. I intend to do this one day at a time.

We arrived at the Riverside Justice Center in Riverside, California around 6:30am. The last time I was here was for jury duty a little over two years ago. I actually served on a civil jury trial and when we went into deliberations the other members of the jury elected me foreman. We found in favor of the plaintiff but only awarded them $1.00 in damages. We felt both parties were in the wrong and wanted our verdict to state this. But now I am returning to this building as an inmate, my what a world of difference a few years can make.

During the bus ride, the police officers who drove and guard the bus presented a little musical humiliation for the inmates. The officers sent out a dedication to all the inmates (of course including me) with the song from the television program “COPS” – “Bad Boys”. This song was played at a very loud decibel and got a big roar from the inmates (not including me). We arrived at the Center where I was eagerly awaiting some direction and at the very least I wanted to sign my paperwork. Instead of getting directions or for that matter any information; I was placed in a 3x3 vestibule. Apparently all of the holding cells were full and this vestibule was the only “storage” area available. I was placed in the vestibule by a Police Officer who just opened and closed the door with no words communicated. I fully expected this and when I was first arraigned in March of last year, I spent 24 hours in a holding cell but my mind was ready for anything. I had heard that the bus for State Prison leaves on Mondays and Fridays from Riverside, so I was ready to spend 48 hours in a holding cell. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to spend the entire time in the vestibule. After a few hours or it could have been less than that because time seems to stand still when there is nothing to do except stare at the four walls and there is no clock in site. After this period of time I had to go to the bathroom and this vestibule had no facilities. In fact the vestibule only had a stainless steel chair and a metal desk which looked into the business office, but the blinds were closed. The only vestige to the outside world was the window or the door leading into the vestibule.

I was mostly standing because sitting was much too uncomfortable. I had to go to the bathroom so I needed to get the attention of a Police Officer. Unbeknownst to me the vestibule was sound proof and the only way to get anyone’s attention was to pound on the window. I finally got the attention of the officer and after a few minutes I was let into a holding cell with a toilet. After a few minutes (or longer) another inmate was admitted into the same holding cell. This inmate was in his twenties and he struck up a conversation with me. After some small talk he started talking about his case which he has been fighting for over one year. Even though his case was specific to him it was something I had heard from other inmates discussing their individual cases. The stories are either centered around a person who is lying and trying to frame the inmate. I am very interested to hear from these inmates and I was interested to hear this inmate only to pass the time. Our conversation or shall I say his conversation, I only interjected a few “hows” or “oh no’s” and let him talk. After a few more hours or less two other inmates entered the holding cell, now there were four of us in the cell. One of the inmates who entered the cell seemed to know the inmate I was speaking with. The two of them went on and on discussing the trials and tribulations of the County Jail system. Apparently between these two individuals, they had been in all of the jails in Riverside County and they were giving their opinions on each facility along with other jail tales. I did find it fascinating because it did pass the time and it was certainly a conversation I never thought I would have heard. As they spoke my paranoia started working on my mind. They spoke of the jail facility which is located three stories above this holding cell. This facility is the oldest and probably the toughest one in the county and as they spoke I kept thinking to myself, thank God I am being transferred to State Prison and only have to stay in the holding cell for the next day and a half.

Dinner came, which meant it was around 4:00pm and the two inmates were still doing most of the talking, that is not true, they were doing all of the talking. The other inmate and I were quiet the entire time. While I was listening to the conversation, I was wondering why none of the Police Officers has asked me to sign my state prison paperwork. I didn’t dare ask the officers because I noticed the other inmates asking questions only to be met with resistance. I also had seen my “jail card” and noticed it had a housing location on it. I thought this to be suspicious but at the very least I could get a shower and sleep on a foam mattress before being sent to State Prison. I am guessing that it must have been a little before 6:00pm when the officer removed three of the four (one additional inmate entered after dinner) inmates for housing which left myself and another inmate in the holding cell. After these three were removed, the other inmate and I were ushered into a smaller holding cell.

This holding cell had two four foot wooden benches which were laid out consecutively on the right hand side. On the left hand side was a toilet. The walls were painted green on the first four feet of the wall and white the remainder all the way up to the ceiling. The ceiling was very high, 12 feet, which gave the room a bigger feeling (thank God). There was one security camera positioned in the far corner of the room which may or may not be operational. Around the camera was graffiti and I thought it impressive someone climbed up 12 feet to scribble some unintelligible words. I wanted to paint a picture because this is where I knew I was going to be for the next 36 hours. I was wrong (yet again), but I will get to that soon. As the night approached which I could not tell because there are no windows anywhere, the other inmate and myself tried to get comfortable. We each took up one of the four foot benches. These benches were four foot long and one foot wide. They were also very hard and not built for comfort nor were they built for sleeping on. I found the one and only roll of toilet paper and tucked it under my head as I laid down on the bench. I was operating on only 45 minutes of sleep so I should have been tired, but I could not fall asleep. These holding cells were located directly next to the “drunk tank” and the doors on these cells slide and are anything but quiet in fact when they are opened and closed it shakes the en tire holding cell. I didn’t realize Wednesday night was big drinking nights but it seemed like the door to the “drunk tank” was opened every two minutes. I did learn something throughout the night; the officers keep each person for four hours before releasing them. I thought the intoxicated person was confined overnight but jail cells are so overcrowded the drunken person can only stay four hours. I noticed there seemed to be a great deal of traffic at 6:00 and 10:00 pm entering the tank, maybe there are some very attractive “happy hour” specials in the city of Riverside.

Try as I may, I couldn’t get comfortable because those of you know me know I am very skinny. Being skinny does not have any benefit when lying on a hard wooden bench. I could feel just about every bone in my body as I tried to find the right position. As I laid there and closed my eyes I thought of the four most important people in my life. You can probably guess the first three; my wife, daughter and son. The fourth most important person (please I am not slighting anyone, because I have so many important people in my life) is my mom. She has not only been posting this blog but she has been a tremendous advocate. I owe this wonderful lady so very much and I love her so very much. One of the drawbacks of being in a holding cell is thinking. There is nothing else to do but I tried to focus on these four wonderful people which turned a horrible situation into a tolerable situation.