Laz Rojas - an old Doomer in trouble.

[Murdoch]

I really don't know what to say at this point Laz. Beyond horrendous. Is there really nowhere else you can go? No family or friends elsewhere in the country who could take you in?

[Redneckerz]

At this point i feel we, as community, should make a stand and get some prominents hp here.

 

Aside the legal issues, let Laz have atleast have a home. Im not US-based, but i massively want to see Laz  atleast have a safe harbor, legal issues be damned.

 

No matter what i believe, the fact is that a good man is on the streets next week. For someone who has given this community so much, we should do something beyond a gofundme. I cant be the only one thinking this.

[OceanMadman]

9 hours ago, Laz Rojas said:

After months of trying to obtain a civil rights attorney to help me file a lawsuit over my false arrest and imprisonment and the destruction of my life that they incurred, the only lawyer who gave me an appointment and agreed to look into my case eventually changed his mind and decided not to help me. His only advice was to continue looking for a lawyer. I've contacted dozens and he was the only one to respond positively at first. All the others either never responded or told me unbelievably that what was done to me didn't justify their involvement. Who the hell else am I supposed to contact who will actually want to help me and won't fink out afterwards?

 

It is inconceivable that in this country, a 100% innocent man can be completely framed by the authorities, have his entire life destroyed, have the case against him thrown out ten months later when the truth comes out and shows the charges and allegations against him were fabricated and false, be released and set free with nothing left to his name, and then be unable to get anyone to help him sue and obtain some measure of justice and compensation for all he was put through and forced to lose.

 

My civil rights were violated in numerous ways, as were my constitutional rights and my basic human rights, and yet no civil rights attorney will champion my cause. My case encompasses multiple aspects and consequences and damages, each of which is sufficient cause and basis for legal action. I could literally file a separate lawsuit for each of them, or one big one that includes everything. But the criminals who did this to me so gratuitously and maliciously are not held accountable; and me, the victim of their egregious abuses of power, cannot find anyone to help me get any compensation and be able to build a new life.

 

It's absolutely obscene and incomprehensible. I have a huge civil rights case and no one wants to touch it. If someone totaled my car, they'd have to pay for it, or their insurance company would have to. If neither did, I'd take them to court and I'd be awarded damages. These people totaled my LIFE and left me with nothing, and there's nothing I can do about it? The crimes against me continue to this day despite my release and I have no remedy and no recourse.

 

I've been living on the street again for days now with little food and without any sleep at all. I don't know which will do me in first, lack of food or lack of sleep. No one can go on this way for long without succumbing to one or the other. If this weren't happening to me I would never ever think it was possible, but it's come down on me like a curse. I wish to thank everyone here who donated for extending my life for a few months, but I don't have much hope for the future anymore and it's only a matter of time before I reach the end. This has crushed my soul and destroyed my faith, and when it comes, death will be a relief and an escape from this horrific nightmare.

 

Hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people appreciate you not only in this community because your great and creative contributions, but also in the wolfenstein community, and also because your film contributions... the clips of your one-man showcase are outstanding. There are many people around the world whom you've managed to entertain and make them able to escape from reality, at least for a couple of hours (Me included)... and that's more than enough reason for you to earn our respect.

 

Please, somebody explain to me how someone who isn't incredibly talented and creative would come up with...

maps like these: (In the late 90s and early 2000s)

 

Pieces of art like these:

 

Pixel arts like these:

 

Or THIS FILM:

And I could keep going.

 

 

Laz is a genius who deserves way better than this, we can't lose him.

 

Please, don't give up. You are not alone.

Edited July 18, 2023 by OceanMadman

[innerethos]

Is it not possible to start a new fund in order to create a new film?  That one-man showcase looks wildly entertaining.  I bet there would be plenty of people not only in the DOOM community, but many other places elsewhere who might like to contribute towards such a project.

 

Is it not also possible to make the film related to your current plight?  You could play all the characters of everyone involved.  I'm also willing to bet that you'd get a lot of help for free.  There is no shortage of talent here and elsewhere that could help with video editing, script editing, promotion, etc.  It might be a lot of writing work and even more work getting everything recorded, but that could also help keep you busy so that the focus is no longer on the plight, but what can become of it.

 

Use the funding to get yourself some help first.  Obviously if the one-man show isn't healthy enough to write, perform, and record, there can be no film.  It would also be a great way to promote your cause to the media.  Perhaps somebody who sees it might be willing to help.  I'm almost positive that you can stipulate within the fund that most of it is going to go towards assuring your basic needs in order to fulfill the obligations of the film.

 

I would be willing to contribute my meager video and writing editing abilities completely gratis.  Who knows what other talent you could muster?  California is a big place--not all of it is LA or SF like it sometimes felt when I lived there.

 

It might feel hopeless, but just remember that you're not the only person going through what you're going through.  If you might be able to help somebody else and maybe even prevent this from happening again, then would it be worth the risk?  What do you have to lose by trying? 

 

Just some ideas.  Wish I could do more.

[Murdoch]

As admirable as your intent is @innerethos I think the best thing for Laz would be stability. A reliable roof overhead, food, and a job, even if it is menial. Something he can use to stablise his life and start to rebuild. A creative project getting some net positive result is a Hail Mary even in ideal circumstances, and these are about as far from ideal as you could possibly get.

[innerethos]

16 hours ago, Murdoch said:

As admirable as your intent is @innerethos I think the best thing for Laz would be stability. A reliable roof overhead, food, and a job, even if it is menial. Something he can use to stablise his life and start to rebuild. A creative project getting some net positive result is a Hail Mary even in ideal circumstances, and these are about as far from ideal as you could possibly get.

A man needs a purpose.  From what he wrote, it seemed likely that little purpose was able to be found.  Forgive me for trying to inspire some purpose in such a bleak world.

[Panzermann11]

On 7/18/2023 at 6:44 PM, Laz Rojas said:

After months of trying to obtain a civil rights attorney to help me file a lawsuit over my false arrest and imprisonment and the destruction of my life that they incurred, the only lawyer who gave me an appointment and agreed to look into my case eventually changed his mind and decided not to help me. His only advice was to continue looking for a lawyer. I've contacted dozens and he was the only one to respond positively at first. All the others either never responded or told me unbelievably that what was done to me didn't justify their involvement. Who the hell else am I supposed to contact who will actually want to help me and won't fink out afterwards?

 

It is inconceivable that in this country, a 100% innocent man can be completely framed by the authorities, have his entire life destroyed, have the case against him thrown out ten months later when the truth comes out and shows the charges and allegations against him were fabricated and false, be released and set free with nothing left to his name, and then be unable to get anyone to help him sue and obtain some measure of justice and compensation for all he was put through and forced to lose.

 

My civil rights were violated in numerous ways, as were my constitutional rights and my basic human rights, and yet no civil rights attorney will champion my cause. My case encompasses multiple aspects and consequences and damages, each of which is sufficient cause and basis for legal action. I could literally file a separate lawsuit for each of them, or one big one that includes everything. But the criminals who did this to me so gratuitously and maliciously are not held accountable; and me, the victim of their egregious abuses of power, cannot find anyone to help me get any compensation and be able to build a new life.

 

It's absolutely obscene and incomprehensible. I have a huge civil rights case and no one wants to touch it. If someone totaled my car, they'd have to pay for it, or their insurance company would have to. If neither did, I'd take them to court and I'd be awarded damages. These people totaled my LIFE and left me with nothing, and there's nothing I can do about it? The crimes against me continue to this day despite my release and I have no remedy and no recourse.

 

I've been living on the street again for days now with little food and without any sleep at all. I don't know which will do me in first, lack of food or lack of sleep. No one can go on this way for long without succumbing to one or the other. If this weren't happening to me I would never ever think it was possible, but it's come down on me like a curse. I wish to thank everyone here who donated for extending my life for a few months, but I don't have much hope for the future anymore and it's only a matter of time before I reach the end. This has crushed my soul and destroyed my faith, and when it comes, death will be a relief and an escape from this horrific nightmare.

Just when I thought I would be hopeful about this, I was wrong. I can never believe this. I try to keep my view of police forces as neutral as possible, but damn. These... creatures who treated him like this, their level of deranged and vile would make even Hitler and Mengele horrified. All his life and dreams being crushed by the corrupt local police and left to a fate worse than death, and the fact none of the lawyers he could find was willing to help him.

 

I'm very speechless about all this. I'm really sorry if I can't help you and give you any suggestions. Like I said, I don't live in the United States whatsoever. All I can only say is I wish you the best of luck, if there's any luck still left in you.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Panzermann11

[ZigfriedYoshimitsu]

@Laz Rojas hang in there old man.

[Laz Rojas]

Update: I wouldn't wish my life on my worst enemy.

 

This is what my life has been like for the past month. During the day, I kill time by riding back and forth on the MetroRail trains, or by sitting at a station and watching the trains go by. At night, I sleep on a bench in a park, averaging about four hours of sleep a night.

 

At first, riding the trains seemed a good way to pass the time and have someplace to be, until I realized the police and sheriff department are cracking down on homeless people. On one occasion, they made me get off the train, and on another, they made me get off the train, then made me pay again to get back on it.

 

Now, I don't look like a homeless person. I'm clean shaven, my hair is neatly trimmed, my clothes are clean, and I only carry a duffel bag with me -- since all I have left in this world after the police destroyed my life and made me lose everything fits into a single duffel bag. I look like any typical commuter. But somehow they know, probably through some form of profiling, and I get victimized by these fascist tactics.

 

A week ago, I stopped off at a Target store in Azusa to buy food, then got back on the train to Pasadena. But I decided to kill some time at the station in Irwindale, because it's the least busy station and a quiet spot to pass the time. When I got off the train there, there were only three people at the station -- myself, and two deputies. The deputies were at the far end of the platform and walking away from me down the exit ramp. So I sat on a bench.

 

They must have had eyes in the backs of their heads, because not two minutes later, they were right beside me. One was a woman, the other a man. The woman stood in front of me and asked me if I was okay. The man stood a bit to the side and watched as if ready to act should I pull out a weapon.

 

I couldn't for the life of me understand why they doubled back and came all the way down the platform to ask me anything, when I had just arrived and all I was doing was sitting there, so I replied, "Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

 

Then she asked me, "Are you going to get on the next train?"

 

My first impulse was to say, "Maybe, maybe not. Why should you care? Am I doing something wrong?" But then I thought, I already have enough trouble as it is and don't need any more. So I answered, "I suppose so."

 

Would you believe they remained standing there for fifteen minutes until the next train arrived? When it did, I got aboard, wondering what would have happened had I stayed on the bench. The entire time I sat there, I felt intimidated and abused. They had no right to even approach me when all I was doing was sitting there like any regular commuter. As far as I'm concerned, they invaded my personal space and infringed upon my personal liberties, and I did nothing whatsoever to warrant it.

 

Supposedly, I've been a free man since January 9, but I don't feel free. I was under less scrutiny when I was in jail. It is a disgrace that after everything I've endured since March 6 of last year, and everything that was inflicted on me, I should be dealing with this sort of thing. The abuse of power that put me in jail in the first place continues even after exoneration and release, and I continue to suffer in its aftermath. It feels like I'm caught behind enemy lines during a war, and something as simple as riding a train or waiting at a station could lead to a situation that I never would have envisioned.

 

That's what my life is like during the day. Nights are not much better. The police show up in the park sometimes to chase me out of there as well.

 

One night, I was sitting on a bench playing solitaire on my phone when a patrol car came into the park. The police shined a light in my face and ordered me to leave, else they'd have to give me a ticket. So I left, with absolutely no idea where to go or what to do. I walked around the area for about an hour and returned to the park only to find them still there, so I continued to walk around. When I went back again, they were no longer there. But before I could reach the bench, they showed up yet again, and I was forced to hide inside some playground equipment, a small mock train that small children play in, until they left.

 

Needless to say, this is nerve wracking for me. Having to play cat and mouse with the police as if I were a criminal on the run just to get some sleep is something I never would have conceived of, yet that is the situation I find myself in. And the only reason I'm in the park in the first place is because the police framed me and ruined my life. This is beyond sheer irony. It's beyond outrageous. It's an abomination.

 

But the police are just one factor hampering my attempts to sleep. The weather is another. Regardless of how warm it might be in the daytime, the nights can get quite chilly. Sometimes so much so that I actually shiver. But this past holiday weekend was a nightmare, because a storm system came in and it rained all Friday night and through much of Saturday.

 

I wasn't able to sleep a wink that night because it was impossible to be outdoors without getting drenched, so I had to find a place to duck into. I tried the train station right next to the park, but the ceiling has openings in it through which the rain got in, and even the benches were wet and impossible to sit on. So I ended up hiding all night in the park's playground, crouching inside the same mock train that I hid from the police in.

 

But that was nothing compared to what happened the following night. The rain stopped Saturday evening and I was able to go to sleep on the bench. But at some point during the wee hours, someone shook me awake suddenly as I slept. I was in a deep sleep at the time, and I was so groggy I didn't know what the hell was going on. I looked up and all I could see was a man towering over me and staring down at me. It caught me completely by surprise, and I heard him ask, "Who are you?"

 

My brain still hadn't kicked into gear and I just stared up at him and said nothing, so he asked me again, "Who are you?"

 

I scrambled for something to stay, and I didn't want to give him my name, so I said, "I'm just me." He said something I didn't understand, then walked away. I waited until he was out of sight before I tried to go back to sleep, but it was quite a while before I was able to do so.

 

That incident was disturbing enough, but it was just a prelude for what happened later on Sunday. That afternoon, I decided to kill some time at the Irwindale train station again, the same station where those two deputies harassed me a week earlier. As usual, the station was empty most of the time, so I sat down and played solitaire on my phone.

 

After about a couple of hours, I saw a homeless man get off a train that had stopped at the platform opposite me. He didn't leave the station and sat down on a bench some distance away, apparently intending to kill time just as I was doing, so I continued playing solitaire.

 

After a while, however, the man got up and sat down on a bench directly across from me and started to say something. I couldn't make out what it was, and at first, I thought he was talking to himself. But he got louder and insistent, and I realized he was addressing me directly. So I ignored him and continued to play as if I wasn't aware of him, hoping he would lose interest and stop.

 

He didn't stop. Instead, he got up, jumped off the platform onto the tracks, crossed the tracks, then climbed onto my platform and sat down right next to me and started to berate me with a tirade of vulgar and obscene ranting. Among the things he shouted at me were demands that I get my dick out of his head. I won't even repeat the other things he said.

 

The minute he started crossing the tracks, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Now I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I never would have expected anything like this at all. I was so stunned by it that I literally didn't know what to do, and I just sat there trying to ignore him. That just made him more insistent and belligerent, and I felt trapped and scared. I thought of getting up and leaving, but I feared he would simply follow me and perhaps even get physically violent. If he had been compelled to actually cross the tracks to get in my face, there was no telling what he was capable of.

 

This went on for two or three minutes, during which I sat there basically paralyzed into inaction and praying to God to protect me and make him go away. At one point, he shouted, "I don't care if you have a Uzi in there" -- referring to my duffel bag -- "I'll take you out! You wanna fight me? You wanna fight me? I'll take you out!"

 

I finally spoke to him and said, "Look, I don't want any trouble. Please leave me alone."

 

He continued threatening me and berating me as if he hadn't heard me, but then a train arrived at our platform and he broke off and got on the train. As I watched the train leave, I was relieved the situation had ended so abruptly, and I went back to playing solitaire and tried to recover.

 

About fifteen minutes later, a train arrived at the opposite platform and the man got off it. He must have gone only two or three stops and then caught a train in the opposite direction and doubled back. He immediately came over to me again and picked up where he'd left off. I was completely stunned, unable to believe this was happening on top of what had already taken place. But before I could think of what to do, a train arrived at our platform and I got up and quickly boarded it. He didn't follow me, but I was literally shaking as I sat on the train and left him behind.

 

After the events of this weekend, I feel shell shocked. Whenever I see someone nearby, I bristle, because I don't know what to expect. They might be the nicest person in the world, or they may want to harm me. I just don't know; I can't read their mind. And I tense up whenever someone walks in my direction, because I can't help but feel they're going to confront me, and it's a relief when they pass by without incident.

 

I used to live a normal life in a safe and secure environment. That was all destroyed last year. First, I found myself in jail, a place completely inimical to me and that I never should have been in. Now I'm out, but again I find myself in an environment where I don't belong and which I have no experience handling. This nightmare didn't end when they released me from jail eight months ago. It just took on a different form, and continues uninterrupted to this day. Because everything I'm going through, everything that's happening, each and every single day, is the direct result of what they did. And it won't end until it is rectified in some manner, until they are held accountable and I am compensated for their malicious and unconscionable abuse of power and the heinous injustice they committed against me. Only a lawsuit will accomplish that, it seems, because even my application for General Relief was denied by the county. I can think of no one more entitled to GR than me, as my current situation is the result of the corrupt and criminal actions of county employees.
 

[Murdoch]

I want to say something but ... what is there to say to that?

[Redneckerz]

1 hour ago, Murdoch said:

I want to say something but ... what is there to say to that?

It feels completely Twilight Zone to me. And even if it were all made up (Which i don't doubt is even remotely the case here), why would anyone do that to anyone?

 

And then it happens to, judging by the Vice interview, one of the most humble folks you would ever meet. It is so strange.

 

I wish Laz would live here. Because there would be a lot more options. There would be some humanity involved again. I don't know where Laz resides, but it seems the outer people have lost that a long time ago if this is how they are to treat its own kin.

[Murdoch]

1 hour ago, Redneckerz said:

It feels completely Twilight Zone to me. And even if it were all made up (Which i don't doubt is even remotely the case here), why would anyone do that to anyone?

 

It's a difficult thing to wrap one's head around, especially if you have not grown up in a place where it is a major issue. Here in New Zealand it is relatively rare, but has become more of an issue with cost of living crisis. Even here in my small town I have seen a couple of homeless people and it breaks my heart. I think any society that can't supply it's people with basic necessities to survive has failed at a fundamental level.

 

1 hour ago, Redneckerz said:

I wish Laz would live here. Because there would be a lot more options. There would be some humanity involved again. I don't know where Laz resides, but it seems the outer people have lost that a long time ago if this is how they are to treat its own kin.

 

Indeed.

[Kyka]

@Laz Rojas

 

So sorry for your ordeal. I wish a speedy end to this ordeal, and a return to normalcy. Godspeed.

[OniriA]

I've said this before but my god I'm so sorry to read what you're going through right now. Reading your story makes me appreciate and be thankful for having a roof upon my head, warm food on the table, living in a safe and secure environment and being able to work on my art.

 

I wish you the same with all my heart.

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by OniriA

[Biodegradable]

Yeah, this shit is heartbreaking. I'm still holding out hope things will turn around for Laz, I just wish there was more we could do to help.

[TasAcri]

I don't understand how someone can lose their possessions after something like this. I get the cops probably searched the whole place and took a lot of stuff but don't they store that stuff somewhere? Don't they give these back after? Or is it that in 10 months with no one in the house it got robbed?

[Laz Rojas]

I don't even know what to say right now, how to put it, I'm barely holding it together. Thank God for the Center for Health Justice where I was able to come now after what happened this morning, in whose office I wrote and posted the update to this forum yesterday. This morning, my duffel bag was stolen as I rode on the train. Everything I had is gone. What little I had left was in that bag and it's all gone. Two phones and a tablet, which I received not two weeks ago along with free phone and internet service as government relief, are gone, along with everything on them. Important information, passwords, even my mother's death certificate. Everything that I've been carrying for these months which kept me going, which helped me survive from day to day, all gone. I thought I was back at square zero before; where am I now??? All I have are the clothes I'm wearing. I don't even know where I'm going to sleep tonight without any of my stuff. I have absolutely no plans or idea what to do from this point on. things were bad enough as they were, but today their even worse. Today makes what I described in my update seem like a picnic. This is too much, just too much to happen to one person. I still couldn't wrap my head around everything that happened before over the past year and a half, now THIS. Pray for me. Please pray for me. I can't believe any of this is happening. It's so overwhelming I feel as though my mind is going to short circuit from the stress. I simply cannot believe any of it is actually happening, but it is. I don't know if it's worth trying anymore. For what? Why keep trying when a setback like this just comes out of nowhere and wipes everything out again. Why?

[Redneckerz]

... Don't we have someone in the vicinity of Laz that could help? I realize this is an offchance and that DW usually doesn't do this, but if there ever was going to be an exception, than this.

 

We have a lot of US-based Doomers. What can we do?

[OniriA]

It feels like someone put a curse on you where bad luck is constantly following you like a leech or something. Someone should  just send out a chopper at this point and get you of there already. 

 

You need urgent help, I really hope and pray you get it. I hope for the best but I'm fearing for the worst. Please be safe out there.

Edited September 8, 2023 by OniriA

[Murdoch]

1 hour ago, Redneckerz said:

... Don't we have someone in the vicinity of Laz that could help? I realize this is an offchance and that DW usually doesn't do this, but if there ever was going to be an exception, than this.

 

We have a lot of US-based Doomers. What can we do?

 

I was wondering the same. It's hard to believe there's no one he knows who can take him in. Even if it's two towns over from the middle of nowhere, it beats this.

[Blzut3]

13 hours ago, TasAcri said:

I don't understand how someone can lose their possessions after something like this. I get the cops probably searched the whole place and took a lot of stuff but don't they store that stuff somewhere? Don't they give these back after? Or is it that in 10 months with no one in the house it got robbed?

It's far simpler than that I'm sure.  Timelines vary from location to location, but if you don't pay the bills for 10 months it's entirely possible for things to be considered abandoned property.  This is why I consider the unreasonable bail the worst part of the story since at least if Laz was on bail with a restraining order, while it would still suck going through all the proceedings, at least he wouldn't have had to lose everything in the process (along with all the other stuff that happened while held).  I'm quite shocked there wasn't something in that for the lawyers to jump on.

[thedoc]

Hearing all of this is revolting tbh - I knew the US was an inhospitable place for homeless people but this is simply unbelievable.

I too have enjoyed Laz' creative works in the past and would like to give something back - unfortunately since I'm resident in Central Europe all I can do is offer monetary support, which I'm not even sure Laz is able to receive atm.

 

I suppose the most important thing now is to remain level-headed - even in the face of these seemingly unsurmountable obstacles.

Just let us know where and how we're able help you right now. Do you still have access to a PayPal/Bank account?

[Lila Feuer]

@Laz Rojas

Words fail to describe adequately the frustration I'm feeling for someone I've never met, but can highly relate to due to past struggles and turmoil.

This is such a goddamn frustrating thing to read, to call it morbidly depressing barely even begins to scratch the surface. It's single handedly the shittiest and upsetting row of unfortunate scenarios one after another. It's times like this you, or at least I question one's faith and a higher power because if this is what's intended and is god's willing then he has pretty shit taste, just to put it very nicely for others' consideration.

I really am at a loss here, obviously if I wasn't in a financial sinkhole like most Americans in current year I would donate. Prayers are nice but you really need a lot more than that at a time like this when the odds are clearly against you at every foreseeable avenue. Really, when your back is against the wall, and I'd know from personal experiences, you either ride it out because you want to survive, you want to see the outcome of you getting out of there, or you're going to die, and if that's the case well I was going to die on my feet, not down like some dog in a ditch. I hope you never have to actually face that reality though. I'm fortunate I never had to.

Again I relate to your torment, I was homeless for a year from Nov 2012 to Nov 2013 and while I had my nasty months and this ain't a pissing competition I feel like my plights paled in comparison with what I've read. It's beyond sickening. I also lost both of my parents in recent months, my mom in Oct 2022 and then my father in Jan 2023. It's hard enough losing one parent, let alone both in just three months of each other, but the circumstances surrounding their demise was both one of gross neglect and the other being extremely fishy. Both died as a result to the same hospital. Without going into further detail, I had enough to work with from my late father's friend to potentially sue, but alas the one lawyer that dealt with the hospital before didn't want to take my case. Needless to say I've been extremely discouraged and reading this thread didn't fucking help, no offense to you whatsoever, because again I can relate.

Also on a final note; if perhaps biased, I lived in California for almost two thirds of my life so I feel wholly justified to say that state's a dumpster fire and it deserves all the shit it gets. To think it's actually gotten even worse since I left too.

However, to not end things on a completely negative note, I just want to say your WolfenDoom mods blew me away when I was 12 back in 2001 and I still have fond memories of playing them, several of which I've wanted to return to someday. They actually further peaked my interest in Wolf3D if you can believe it. But besides that note, I will just say may you receive the damn justice and redemption you are rightfully deserving of and that you're able to someday heal from this traumatic ordeal, once all's said and done. Trauma will unfortunately become one with you, but I know you're a strong person and you will succeed in this nightmare. It's the most terrifying thing; not being able to see a light at the end of the tunnel, it's that uncertainty that was the scariest thing for me when I was homeless. Had I known I was going to be okay, that it wasn't going to be years of this shit, I'm sure I would've had a better attitude about things during it...

[TasAcri]

Can't someone represent themselves in the court? How does that work? What evidence there is that he can't get? There are records about his imprisonment and it's duration and the autopsy results. Maybe there won't be justice for every single different event but can't there be some justice with whatever proof he has? Maybe not 100 million but just 1? Even that is enough for someone with zero footprint to fix his life, financially at least.

 

What about lawyers that are assigned to you by the state? Isn't that what they say when you can't afford one? Sure, they say that when you get arrested, but is that the only way? Maybe if he can get a lawyer this way, some newcomer lawyer who is just starting his career or something, instead of a "regular" lawyer who already has a bunch of cases and doesn't want to bother with more complex ones. Maybe this kind of lawyer would help?

 

I'm only brainfarting here.

Edited September 10, 2023 by TasAcri

[Blzut3]

1 hour ago, TasAcri said:

Can't someone represent themselves in the court? How does that work? What evidence there is that he can't get? There are records about his imprisonment and it's duration and the autopsy results. Maybe there won't be justice for every single different event but can't there be some justice with whatever proof he has? Maybe not 100 million but just 1? Even that is enough for someone with zero footprint to fix his life, financially at least.

You can, but without expertise in the law good luck.  In this case the people that are supposed to be experts in the area apparently don't think it has enough of a chance of winning to be worthwhile, so I doubt going alone will get anywhere.

 

1 hour ago, TasAcri said:

What about lawyers that are assigned to you by the state? Isn't that what they say when you can't afford one? Sure, they say that when you get arrested, but is that the only way? Maybe if he can get a lawyer this way, some newcomer lawyer who is just starting his career or something, instead of a "regular" lawyer who already has a bunch of cases and doesn't want to bother with more complex ones. Maybe this kind of lawyer would help?

That's for the defense when accused of a crime (criminal cases).  Laz already won that using a public defender.  If you want to sue for damages (civil cases), you're on your own.

[TasAcri]

3 hours ago, Blzut3 said:

You can, but without expertise in the law good luck.  In this case the people that are supposed to be experts in the area apparently don't think it has enough of a chance of winning to be worthwhile, so I doubt going alone will get anywhere.

 

Ok, i just don't see how you need to be a lawyer to say "i was innocent and they put me in jail for 10 months" when the official, written, confirmed documents that prove, a) You were imprisoned for 10 months and b) you were innocent, exist already. I don't see how there is room for any doubt or how the defense can prove otherwise.

 

Sure, this person endured more things during that time and a lawyer could probably make the case for more but my point is, if there is nobody who can take this case anyway, having some justice is better than having none at all especially when things have got so bad and all hope feels lost?

 

Sorry if this is stupid thinking, i'm not a lawyer after all.

[Murdoch]

4 hours ago, TasAcri said:

Sorry if this is stupid thinking, i'm not a lawyer after all.

 

Lawyers have a saying. A lawyer who represents themselves has a fool for a client. It goes doubly so for non lawyers.

[Blzut3]

4 hours ago, TasAcri said:

 

Ok, i just don't see how you need to be a lawyer to say "i was innocent and they put me in jail for 10 months" when the official, written, confirmed documents that prove, a) You were imprisoned for 10 months and b) you were innocent, exist already. I don't see how there is room for any doubt or how the defense can prove otherwise.

 

Can you cite the laws that were broken?  I'm not a lawyer, but I don't believe that holding an innocent man that couldn't make bail for 10 months is by itself illegal. You would need to be able to show exactly where the improper behavior is.  (Be it the bail was set too high based on factors the law considers, or finding a way to prove the suspected malice done to try to force a conviction.) We all feel like there has to be something there, but you'd have to actually prove it. That and knowing what to file against whom is what lawyers are for.

5 hours ago, TasAcri said:

if there is nobody who can take this case anyway

I don't believe he said, but given his situation I imagine he was talking to lawyers that work on contingency. Surely someone would take the case if paid ahead of time regardless of result. But if the lawyers had a good reason for thinking Laz wouldn't win then it's hard to say it's worth dumping money into.

[Laz Rojas]

My life has become an extended, never-ending Twilight Zone episode. Ever since my stuff was stolen two weeks ago, things have gotten worse..Although I was able to replace most of my stolen things, including the phones, more things that I'd never have expected continue to happen , and it feels as if I'm under a curse

 

This past weekend was the weekend from hell. After not encountering him for the past three weeks, the guy who crossed the tracks at the Irwindale Metro station and harassed me showed up again. Four separate incidents; two on Saturday and two on Sunday, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. I spent both days fleeing from him and filing reports with three different police departments as he followed me from city to city.

 

Saturday morning, I was sitting at the Irwindale station passing the time after buying food at the Azusa target store. After a couple of hours, he got off a train on the opposite platform and apparently immediately recognized me, because he walked to the end of the station and crossed over to my side. As he approached from the distance, I wasn't sure it was the same guy from three weeks ago; but as he got closer, I realized it was him. I prayed he wouldn't confront me, to no avail. He stopped about 25 feet away and started haranguing me just as he'd done during the earlier incident, spewing paranoid and vulgar rants that made no sense whatsoever. "Why don't you leave me alone?" I asked him. "I'm not bothering you in any way, I'm just sitting here. Just leave me alone." He responded that he knew I was there to spy on him and that he was going to "take me out".

 

I told him, "There are cameras here. Law enforcement is watching." He replied, "I don't give a f*ck. I'm gonna take you out."

 

I grabbed my things and got up and moved past him as quickly as I could so I could reach the station entrance, where a red emergency call box is located. I didn't realize at the time there was another box just a few feet in the other direction. As son as I reached the box, I pushed the button. As I waited while the line rang, he started to advance towards me. No one answered the call yet, so I gave up and crossed to the opposite platform to get away from him and call from the box there. As I made the call, he crossed the tracks and continued coming towards me. I glanced at the screen that shows the ETA for the next train and saw it was due in just one minute, so I abandoned my second attempt at a call and ran towards the far end of the platform, hoping the train would arrive and I'd get aboard before he closed the distance and reached me. The train arrived, and as I got on, I looked back. He had stopped halfway up the entrance ramp because three other people had entered the station, and he just watched as I got on the train.

 

I rode the train to the next stop, Azusa Downtown, and got off. The Target store I had been at earlier is located right next to the station, and there's always a Sheriff's department car parked outside. I went to the car planning to tell the deputies what had just happened, but there was no one in the car. So I went back into the station and called from the red emergency box there. I explained what had just happened at the Irwindale station and was told two deputies would be sent out to that station. I crossed to the other side hoping to catch the next train back to Irwindale and hoping both the guy and the deputies would be there so I could point him out to them. But the next train was due in 12 minutes, and by the time I got to Irwindale, the guy was gone and there were no deputies around.

 

Three Metro Ambassadors got off the same train, though, and I went to them and told them everything that had happened. They told me they would file a report and suggested I download the Transit Watch app from the Google Play store and install it on my phone. With it, I could submit a report on the incident and also call for help during an emergency. I thanked them and got on the next train.

 

I downloaded the app aboard the train, but I got off two stops later at the Monrovia station and sat on a bench on the platform to make the report. I wrote out a detailed account of the incident, answered all the questions, and submitted it. Just then, a train arrived and the same guy got off it! He saw me and walked right past me, ranting as usual, and stopped bedside the red call box between me and the station exit. And he stood there, blocking my access to the box and continuing to rant and threaten me. Among the things he said was, "I don't want to see your ass at Irwindale nor more. Keep your ass out of Irwindale."

 

Just as I had done at Irwindale earlier, I grabbed my things and moved past him and out of the station. There's a park directly next to the station which you enter as soon as you come off the ramp, and there were two women from Jehovah's Witnesses there to hand out material. I approached them and said, "Do you have aphone? I need you to call 911 for me. I have a phone but I put it away and I'm too nervous to use it."

 

I explained what had been happening, and they quickly called 911. For the next 20 minutes or so, I repeated my report to the police four or five times as I was transferred from one department to another. During this, the guy stopped at the entrance to the park and stood there, watching both me and the women. They began to get scared, but after a while, he went back up the ramp and we couldn't see him anymore from our angle. The police asked me for a description of him and I gave it to them. Then they told me they were sending two deputies out and asked me for my own description so they could find me quickly.

 

After the call ended, the women said they need to leave and did so. After they were gone, I peeked down the station platform and the guy wasn't there. He'd gotten on one of the trains that had passed during the call, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The deputies arrived about 15 minutes later and I recounted the incident to them. They were concerned but told me there really wasn't much they could do because these had been chance encounters that didn't rise to the level of stalking. They also advised me to be careful and keep my eyes opemn, and to call 911 immediately from my own phone if I ran across him again.

 

By now, it was noon. All of this had happened within an hour span that morning. I spent the rest of the day trying to follow my normal routine and recover from the ordeal. At night, I went back to memorial Park in Pasadena where I sleep on a bench and went to sleep around ten o'clock.

 

Sometime later, during the wee hours, I suddenly woke up. I had never woken up that way before. There was no transition between being asleep and arousing. One moment I was sound asleep, the next I just opened my eyes, fully conscious. There was another man standing right in front of the bench, mere inches away, looking down at me. I didn't even get a look at his face, because as soon as I opened my eyes, he turned and quickly walked away and out of the park. I couldn't believe it, and I wondered what he might have done had I not woken up at that moment. I also felt that God had made me wake up so that I'd catch the guy in the act and prevent whatever might have happened. I prayed for His protection and then went back to sleep.

 

The next morning, Sunday, I followed my normal routine. Bought food at the Asuza Target, then went to Irwindale to pass the time. Despite the two encounters I'd had with that lunatic the day before, I was feeling more angry than scared. I thought, "Who the hell is he to tell me where I can and cannot be? And if I really have faith in God, then I must trust that no harm will come to me. This guy cannot hurt me unless God wills it, and if God doesn't, it won't happen. God controls this, not the guy or anyone else."

 

With that confidence, I sat on the same bench again. But just in case, I dug out a pair of scissors I have in my duffel bag and placed them on top of everything else for quick and easy access. There were also two rocks on the bench and I wondered who would put them there and why.I thought about David and Goliath, and I planned on using the rocks as self defense should the scissors fail.

 

About an hour later, two Metro ambassadors got off a train on my side of the station and remained by the vending machines at the entrance. A while later, the guy got off another train. I tensed up, thinking, "Here we go again!" He saw me, but he didn't approach me. He remained at the entrance, near the two ambassadors. After some time, the ambassadors got aboard another train and left. Then the man started to approach me.

 

r

Remembering what the deputies had told me the day before, I thought, "If THIS doesn't rise to the level of stalking, what does? Every time he sees me, he confront and threatens me, and he just now bided his time and waited for the ambassadors to leave before making his move."

 

Unlike the day before, when he stopped about 25 feet away from me, he walked all the way to me and passed in front of me and then stopped about ten feet to my left -- right between me and the red call box at the middle of the station. He said, "I want your ass out of Irwindale. I don't want to see your ass in Irwindale any,more."

 

Despite my earlier resolve not to be intimidated by him, despite my having the scissors and the rocks, and despite my desire to stand fast in my faith and in God's protection, I jumped onto the first train when it arrived and escaped. As I rode the train, I castigated myself for fleeing. I felt like a coward, and I felt I had shown a lack of faith. I got off at the next Station, Duarte, to report this new incident on the red call box there, but the two ambassadors who had been at Irwindale and who he had waited until they'd left were there. So I told them what had happened, and about everything that had happened the day before. They asked me, "Was he the guy who was standing near us?" I said yes, and they said they'd file a report and that they knew what the guy looked like. They also said they'd recommend that these stations be watched more and that security be increased.

 

I spent the rest of the morning afternoon trying to resume my normal routine and not allow all this to rattle me, and I went back to the Irwindale in the afternoon. I sat there for three hours and was planning to leave in about another half hour when three Metro ambassadors got off a train. My first impulse was to tell them about all the incidents, but then I thought it would be redundant after all the reports I'd already made to three police departments. But after a few minutes, another train arrived and the guy guy off. Just like before, he saw me and started to approach me, then he stopped and sat on a bench between me and the station entrance. The ambassadors were at the far end of the opposite platform. I grabbed my stuff and quickly walked past him to go to the ambassadors, and as I passed him, he said, "Why are you hanging out around here, old man? I told you I don't want to see your ass around here."

 

I reached the ambassadors and quickly told them everything that had happened since the day before. One of them went with me halfway down the platform to get a closer look at the guy, and he said, "Okay, we know what he looks like. We'll include that in our report. If we see him again, we'll take a picture of him." The guy watched us, then got aboard the next train and left.

 

Four encounters in two days. As a writer, it would never have occurred to me to write a story like this and have all these things happen to the protagonist, but this is what my life has become. As I write this, I have absolutely no idea what's yet to come, what more may be in store. Nothing would surprise me at this point, which is why I've just ordered a stun gun and pepper spray from eBay which I should receive by Friday, before the weekend. I don't want to be caught unarmed should I come across this lunatic again. For all I know, he may be all talk and never actually attempt any physical violence, but he's obviously disturbed and I cannot predict what he might do if the situation goes further or what he's capable of. I admit that if I'd been armed with a gun yesterday, I would have shot him without hesitation. For now, though, the police departments of Azusa, Irwindale, and Monrovia, as well as Metro police, all know about this guy, and hopefully there'll be increased security.

 

[Stealth Frag]

@Laz Rojas
I'm wondering if the best solution would be to record this guy on your phone. Let him know that everything he does will be secured online.