MY TIME BEHIND BARS WITH MS-13
On august 12th, 2017. I caught a 2nd Degree Assault Charge in long Island New York. I live in the city. But how i got caught up out there in LI isn't important. What is important is that i was remanded to Nassau County Jail.
While being transported there, I overheard the usual new inmate talk in the van.
Guys cursing under there breath. Kickin themselves for getting caught.
When we arrive at the jail and placed in the bullpen, the talk among the inmate took on a more serious tone. The topic switched from men feeling sorry for themselves to wondering out loud about where in the jail they would be housed. It wasn't my first time in jail or in this situation. But it was my first time in nassau county jail.
Being new, my ears perked up. Getting insight on how overall violent the jail is and the type of gangs that were there is important information to know.
During their conversations, three gangs where brought up the most. The Bloods, the Crips, and MS-13.
Being from the environment that i am from, i knew the first two gangs intimately.
I'd only heard about MS-13 from watching the news. The only thing i knew about the gang was that theyr from mexico. I'd heard on the news and on the streets about the story's of them killing mostly highschool kids in Long Island. But i had never seen them in action on the inside.
I was housed in a violent part of the jail. Got into a fight in one housing area. Had to be moved. Same thing happened in the next housing area. Had to be moved. This time
CO told me that there is no room in the building and i was being shipped to a different section of the jail called the Satellite. This was a newer jail than the Main Building I'd spend my fist couple months in. There were no bars. It was cleaner. Has electric cell doors. The cells are bigger. And it had a separate tv area.
While waiting for the 'bubble' to open the steel door to my new housing area. I heard the CO standing near me say, "The Bloods are at war wit MS in here."
I did see a few fights while i was there. Some one-on-ones, a slashing, and one mass fight involving the bloods. But the group opposing them were not MS-13. Or even Crips. They turned out to be a rival bloods 'set' fight over something stupid. MS was there. But they were all in PC.
This jail was diffent than the others I'd stayed in. The most differential thing being how nassau county housed it's Protective Custody inmates.
Usually a jail has a separate wing for housing PC inmates. One far away from General Population.
But from what i was told, due to a lack of space and manpower at the jail. PCs were locked in GP along with everyone else.
Since the Satellite consisted of all cells, contact between prisoners can be fully controlled by the staff.
Over time i noticed that during recreation time, everyone in General Pop would be let out of there cells. But PC inmates were kept in their cells.
There was no direct contact with them. I would see them through the windows of their cell doors. And i saw them when they were let out of there cells later on during the day. But that was it.
When GP were locked back in their cells, the PC doors would open and they'd be let out.
As it turned out, most of these PC guys were MS-13.
There were about 12 to 15 of them. Almost all were minors. And most were there on serious charges and facing serious time. Only a couple of them spoke english. And they rarely interacted with us inmates in GP.
On the times when there was interaction,
it was usually arguments between the 'gates'.
Whatever group was out 'ran' the tv.
When GP was out, the tube was on a sports game or some talk show or a movie. But when PC came out, they'd change the channel to spanish speaking stations.
Some of the guys in GP that were now locked in their cells didnt like that. And would yell at MS to change the channel back. When PCs refused, the GP guys would curse at them, threaten them, hurl racial slurs, and make fun of them for being in PC.
It was through listening to these little spats, that i found out that all the adults in MS were on Voluntary PC.
Any inmate in Nassua County Jail can request to be placed in Voluntary Protective Custody. Or can be placed on Involuntary PC by the guards for any reason.
Every thirty days a CO Sergeant would come and ask the inmates on PC if they wanted to stay on PC. And if so needed to sign a paper.
I saw this a couple of times myself.
I also learned that murder is the initiation to get into the gang. And that older members of MS recruit kids to do their dirty work. Their explanation for this being that juveniles get shorter prison time for violent crimes. I know this to be an old tactic used by american gangs aswell. (Most notably by Demetrius Holloways 'Best Friends' gang from Detroit).
My housing area was next door to BMU 'The Hole'. Many more of the MS-13 guys were locked in there aswell. Everyday the MS guys in my housing area would holler back and forth with the MS guys in BMU. I guessed they were talking about their crimes or court cases.
One night a guard who usually works BMU, came over to my side to cover another CO on break. While he was there I overheard a conversation he was having with a couple of GP inmates.
The CO was saying how most of the MS guys "Do shit on purpose to be sent to BMU. Just to get out of GP." He continued by revealing that he witnessed countless times when an MS guy would 'Smoke Out' of a housing area. Or sign into Voluntarily PC purely out of fear. "They'd cry an everything!" He said. "Its pathetic!"
To be fair. This was jail. Not prison. Where it's a totally different ball game. One i hope to never experience. MS guys may be hard core gangsters and killers 'Up North'. Or on the street. But from what I saw of them during my 6 months and 15 days locked up at Nassau County Jail, Long Island New York. Was the complete opposite.
- jonathan donnell riley 🖕
While being transported there, I overheard the usual new inmate talk in the van.
Guys cursing under there breath. Kickin themselves for getting caught.
When we arrive at the jail and placed in the bullpen, the talk among the inmate took on a more serious tone. The topic switched from men feeling sorry for themselves to wondering out loud about where in the jail they would be housed. It wasn't my first time in jail or in this situation. But it was my first time in nassau county jail.
Being new, my ears perked up. Getting insight on how overall violent the jail is and the type of gangs that were there is important information to know.
During their conversations, three gangs where brought up the most. The Bloods, the Crips, and MS-13.
Being from the environment that i am from, i knew the first two gangs intimately.
I'd only heard about MS-13 from watching the news. The only thing i knew about the gang was that theyr from mexico. I'd heard on the news and on the streets about the story's of them killing mostly highschool kids in Long Island. But i had never seen them in action on the inside.
I was housed in a violent part of the jail. Got into a fight in one housing area. Had to be moved. Same thing happened in the next housing area. Had to be moved. This time
CO told me that there is no room in the building and i was being shipped to a different section of the jail called the Satellite. This was a newer jail than the Main Building I'd spend my fist couple months in. There were no bars. It was cleaner. Has electric cell doors. The cells are bigger. And it had a separate tv area.
While waiting for the 'bubble' to open the steel door to my new housing area. I heard the CO standing near me say, "The Bloods are at war wit MS in here."
I did see a few fights while i was there. Some one-on-ones, a slashing, and one mass fight involving the bloods. But the group opposing them were not MS-13. Or even Crips. They turned out to be a rival bloods 'set' fight over something stupid. MS was there. But they were all in PC.
This jail was diffent than the others I'd stayed in. The most differential thing being how nassau county housed it's Protective Custody inmates.
Usually a jail has a separate wing for housing PC inmates. One far away from General Population.
But from what i was told, due to a lack of space and manpower at the jail. PCs were locked in GP along with everyone else.
Since the Satellite consisted of all cells, contact between prisoners can be fully controlled by the staff.
Over time i noticed that during recreation time, everyone in General Pop would be let out of there cells. But PC inmates were kept in their cells.
There was no direct contact with them. I would see them through the windows of their cell doors. And i saw them when they were let out of there cells later on during the day. But that was it.
When GP were locked back in their cells, the PC doors would open and they'd be let out.
As it turned out, most of these PC guys were MS-13.
There were about 12 to 15 of them. Almost all were minors. And most were there on serious charges and facing serious time. Only a couple of them spoke english. And they rarely interacted with us inmates in GP.
On the times when there was interaction,
it was usually arguments between the 'gates'.
Whatever group was out 'ran' the tv.
When GP was out, the tube was on a sports game or some talk show or a movie. But when PC came out, they'd change the channel to spanish speaking stations.
Some of the guys in GP that were now locked in their cells didnt like that. And would yell at MS to change the channel back. When PCs refused, the GP guys would curse at them, threaten them, hurl racial slurs, and make fun of them for being in PC.
It was through listening to these little spats, that i found out that all the adults in MS were on Voluntary PC.
Any inmate in Nassua County Jail can request to be placed in Voluntary Protective Custody. Or can be placed on Involuntary PC by the guards for any reason.
Every thirty days a CO Sergeant would come and ask the inmates on PC if they wanted to stay on PC. And if so needed to sign a paper.
I saw this a couple of times myself.
I also learned that murder is the initiation to get into the gang. And that older members of MS recruit kids to do their dirty work. Their explanation for this being that juveniles get shorter prison time for violent crimes. I know this to be an old tactic used by american gangs aswell. (Most notably by Demetrius Holloways 'Best Friends' gang from Detroit).
My housing area was next door to BMU 'The Hole'. Many more of the MS-13 guys were locked in there aswell. Everyday the MS guys in my housing area would holler back and forth with the MS guys in BMU. I guessed they were talking about their crimes or court cases.
One night a guard who usually works BMU, came over to my side to cover another CO on break. While he was there I overheard a conversation he was having with a couple of GP inmates.
The CO was saying how most of the MS guys "Do shit on purpose to be sent to BMU. Just to get out of GP." He continued by revealing that he witnessed countless times when an MS guy would 'Smoke Out' of a housing area. Or sign into Voluntarily PC purely out of fear. "They'd cry an everything!" He said. "Its pathetic!"
To be fair. This was jail. Not prison. Where it's a totally different ball game. One i hope to never experience. MS guys may be hard core gangsters and killers 'Up North'. Or on the street. But from what I saw of them during my 6 months and 15 days locked up at Nassau County Jail, Long Island New York. Was the complete opposite.
- jonathan donnell riley 🖕
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