I arrived at USP Pollock in December 2022. My first cell mate cut himself in front with a razor blade in front of officers in order to get off the yard. I almost got hit for that, but that’s another story.. After he went to the SHU, they put a guy named Joe S. from Nebraska in my cell. He had just gotten out of the SHU for stabbing a guy named Whiteboy in the face over a piece of K2. Once he moved in with me, he began running up large bills with other races, mostly for K2. When the bills became too much, he started talking about “blowing the yard up,” meaning assaulting someone randomly and causing a race riot in an effort to get himself removed from the yard. That way, he could make up some lie saying that he was disrespected and had to act. But since he was my cellie and also my race, I would have had to ride with him regardless of whether he was right or wrong. So, I decided I would help him pay his bills (about $1,000),
At USP Pollock, inmates make moonshine. A 12-oz bottle of shine goes for $50. And I just so happen to have a good free-world friend who worked in the commissary and could get me the items I needed to make a large batch. I told Joe that all I wanted was my investment back. But in the meantime, an inmate in another unit killed his cellmate and kept him in the cell over the weekend. As a result, the institution went on lockdown. Communication stopped. But the need for the bills to be paid did not.
As we came closer to day when we’d come out and go to store, I still had not heard back from my friend. But the debt collectors were heavy on Joe about paying the bill. The day before store, he asked me to just go ahead and put $200 on his account and we’d “figure it out.” I knew what he was doing. He was just trying to get the money on his account so he could pay something on his bills. When I told him no he became volatile. We fought. He won. We fought again. He won again. When we came out for our rec time, the whites in the unit heard the fighting and wanted to know what was going on.. After it was explained, it was decided that because I had not put in work yet, I had to move. So we went to the cops and explained that there was an Issue between us and I needed to move to another open white cell. The cop said he would get it done. We locked down in good faith.
But the next thing I know, a kite came under the door saying the cops reneged on the move and Joe and I could either live together or go to the SHU, but we should not use weapons. Nevertheless, Joe pulled a knife and said we are not living together. “You’re gonna get the cop up here and see what we can do about this move. I’m not telling you to check in, but I’m telling you I’ll hurt you. We’re not living together.” So I beat the door down with a toilet seat and got the cops to come. Again, I explained that we can’t live together. The cop looked at me and said, “You keep telling me there is a problem but I don’t SEE any problem.” I turned around and Joe was already halfway across the cell with a knife out. I was stabbed four times, in the shoulder, armpit, elbow and back of the head. I was sent to the ER in an ambulance.