Two men shed light on the lost Humboldt generation; the back story beyond crime headlines; they thank their Public Defender for a glimmer of hope

Live coverage of the courts involves a lot of waiting around, choosing to cover cases that are not just headlines and telling the human story, being there every day, the booking photos are people I see frequently in the courts, near the courthouse and often follow their cases from start to conclusion.

There is a trust because they know to me, they are not news. I will still be there for them long after they are no longer a headline. And I have been there. It is that trust that led to this post.

I talked with two young men in the criminal justice system, outside Courtroom 1 waiting for their cases to be heard in an intervention hearing.

Joseph Alvarez thought his past was behind him. "On paper, I don't look good," he said to me. "I have made mistakes and some bad choices in my past." He thought that past was behind him. He was going to school, works at a local restaurant and if you saw him on the street, all you would see is a clean cut pleasant young man. One day he is sitting outside WINCO with groceries waiting for a ride home and is questioned by the police. He tells them his name. There was a month left on an old warrant he was not aware of and he ended up in custody. "Why now?" he asked me, "I am trying to turn my life around. I am so close."

A couple of days later, I was eating at one of my favorite restaurants and he stopped by my table to say hi. He works there. He has not hid his past from his coworkers or bosses. On their own, they told me he is a hard worker and despite getting "a bad break" he is the first to show up to work, first one to help them out. Joseph told me he realizes he made bad choices but he wants to put all that behind him. He took responsibility for his past.

The other young man is Riley Clark. "They make me look so bad in LOCO always saying I've been busted for this and that."  Riley also said that the headlines don't tell the whole story. He said he didn't want to talk about others he grew up with that are now in the County jail and only wanted to share his circumstances but many share the same back story that leads them into being in the system again and again. "I made a few choices when I was young that made me end up in the juvenile system. I was just a kid smoking pot." Peer pressure led him to make some bad decisions. "Once you are in the system, no one helps you address why you are there. What led you to this place." As a first offender, Riley was around "hardened criminals" who brainwashed him and caused him to mistrust the system. He started doing hard drugs and "I became an addict." That led to the crimes that keep him in the adult criminal justice system. Riley is awaiting the outcome of his latest case and hopes to get into a treatment facility, do rehab, and get a job. Riley's family tired of his constant addiction and getting in trouble don't want anything to do with him.

Until these men met their Public Defender,  Ms. Heidi Holmquist, their trust of the system was non-existent. They thanked her for giving them a glimmer of hope.

Both men's interventions were postponed on a busy docket day for another month. In Humboldt, under trying circumstances, they need to stay clean and an extra month can make a difference between life and life in prison. I did a post on a program the jail is doing to help those who want to change their life around. It is now up to local businesses and politicians to help people like Riley and Joseph.

When someone takes responsibility, turning your life around has no time limit. You have to dig yourself out of  years of a "black hole." There are others who don't want to take responsibility. Riley and Joseph did not blame anyone else, they just shared their back story.

Crime headlines and booking photos are not the last word.