Hidden Camera Video Proves Police Used Seized 5K to Get Woman to Cooperate (REPOST)
*THIS STORY WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED AT NEVERGETBUSTED.COM by BARRY COOPER*
CORPUS CHRISTI — A hidden camera video shows how a police detective extorted $5,000 from a rape victim by promising to withhold felony charges if she agreed to forfeit the cash to the police. The woman gave up her inheritance, but was charged anyway and is now a fugitive. The judge who signed the search warrant committed suicide days later. Here is her story…
“Rape Camp”
Between 2007 and 2010, Marilyn Goad, 51 years of age and grandmother of six, was serving prison time for methamphetamine in Live Oak County, Texas. This facility is also known as the home of the “Rape Camp” lawsuit where she, along with over 300 female inmates, were repeatedly subjected to sexual, physical, and extreme emotional abuse by prison guards in detestable and demeaning ways. Marilyn suffers from long term addiction and is a medical methamphetamine patient. She also suffers from PTSD from her time in prison and also has cancer. According to RT.com, two of the former inmate victims currently have federal lawsuits pending against Live Oak County. According to a lawyer investigating the incidents, since RT.com published the story, there have been 300 women come forward with similar stories of abuse.
House Fire
In August 2011, after successfully serving her prison term, Marilyn’s house located in Corpus Christi, Texas caught on fire. Channel 3 covered the story as a meth lab fire, but later the fire department reported the cause as “undetermined.” During the fire, the cops seized $5000, which was found in Marilyn’s house safe. Marilyn claims there was $12,000 in the safe that her parents left her when they died while she was in Live Oak County prison. They also left her the house that was now burned to the ground. The 12k was left in the form of an IRA that she cashed because she doesn’t trust banks. She claims Channel 3 news has the raw footage of the cops opening the safe which would prove the safe contained more than the reported $5,000. No charges were filed on Marilyn although in the secret recording obtained by NeverGetBusted, you can hear the officer claim methamphetamine was found inside the safe.
Because her house was destroyed by the fire and because the police left her penniless, Marilyn was forced to live in a tent in the backyard of her burned home. She lived this way until she could sell enough drugs to no longer be homeless.
As soon as she saved enough money, she rented a house and got out of tent living.
On June 27, 2013, shortly after moving out of her tent, Texas State Police raided Marylin’s rental house with a search warrant signed by Judge Tom Greenwell. In spite of discovering 8 ounces of methamphetamine, charges were not filed against Marilyn because she agreed to be an informant for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Marilyn was never able to help the police with any drug arrests, but she did help solve a double homicide of two children after investigators considered the case cold.
Judge Commits Suicide
Days after the judge signed the search warrant on Marilyn’s rent house, he committed suicide in his chambers. The blogosphere is full of allegations calling his suicide a result of long time sex crimes and mounting debt. The reader should question if a suicidal judge should be signing complicated constitutionally-required permissions to raid homes.
On September 7, 2013, while working as an informant, and under the direction of her handling agent, Marilyn picked up a half pound of methamphetamine to help Texas State Police Investigators. But before she could give the narcotic to the agents, the local police (not State police) busted her and they refused to verify that the meth was part of a supervised and legitimate investigation. The local police seized $1000 from her at this time. She was arrested, but no charges were filed pending further cooperation with the state agents.
Attempted Extortion
In 2014, local police detective, Jesse Cervantez with Corpus Christi Police Department contacted Marilyn and asked her to visit the police station so he could release to her the $5,000 found in the safe during the time of the house fire. Luckily, before attending the meeting, a lawyer friend instructed Marilyn to secretly record the meeting. During the recording, Detective Cervantez can be heard saying if she forfeited the money, they would not file the charges on the second half pound of methamphetamine or the supposed meth found in the safe. Despite the threats, Marilyn is heard refusing the offer while the detective continually repeats his extortion tactic.
“If you want to fight for it, that’s fine, the problem is if you want to do that, we still going to have to go through with your criminal cases…. If you wanted to cooperate with us on this five thousand dollars, ’cause if you want to fight for it you can sure do that, but we will have to bring up all the other cases you are involved in.”—Detective Cervantez/Corpus Christi Police
The day after the meeting and after being terrified all night, Marilyn called the detective and said she would forfeit the money by not showing in court to contest the money. During civil asset forfeitures, it’s common for the victim to not appear in court, which is what the government wants because then the seized assets are automatically awarded to the state. As promised, Marilyn did not appear, but three days later, against his promise, Detective Cervantez allowed Marilyn to be indicted on the half pound of methamphetamine. Yet no charges were brought stemming from the house fire.
During this entire ordeal, the prosecutor first offered Marilyn a plea agreement to serve 15 years in prison. When she refused the offer, the prosecutor tacked on a “Repeat Offender” charge and then offered her 30 years in prison. Again, she refused.
Victim Flees Courtroom
Marilyn appeared in court Monday, July 21, 2015, and in response to her requesting an evidence suppression hearing, the judge stated he would deny all motions and if Marilyn refused to accept a plea (dis)agreement of 10 years in prison, he would grant Marilyn an immediate evidence suppression hearing, proceed to trial, find her guilty, and impose a 15 year prison sentence. Marilyn politely “went to the bathroom” and never returned. She is currently a fugitive.
In the last known poll on a national basis of trial attorneys, Corpus Christi, Texas was voted the second most judicially corrupt area in the U.S. This is right after Janet Reno’s Dade County and just a little worse than Obama’s Chicago. The internet is riddled with judicial corruption and misconduct stories coming from Corpus Christi, Texas.
Help the Victim
Texas law forbids police officers from negotiating plea offers or asset forfeiture deals. Only the state’s attorney is allowed to make deals. The law also forbids agents of the state (in this case, namely, Detective Cervantez) from using promises of not going to jail in return for money. This recording has never been played for any person except Marilyn and NeverGetBusted. I’m sharing it with you, our readers, so you can help us get Marilyn the assistance she so desperately needs. We need a lawyer willing to sue Live Oak County on behalf of Marilyn and the sexual abuse she suffered while in prison. Marilyn needs you to email Nueces County Courthouse calling for a proper and fair investigation.
