Opportunity only knocks once

A few days ago I was reviewing drug arrests and came across a guy that interested me. This guy had been arrested a few times for possession and previous reports indicated that he dealt some decent mid-level dealers. This made him a potential informant.

Since he had several previous drug convictions and had just been caught with a distributable amount this time around, he was a candidate for being filed on federally. My department likes us to try to do this with repeat offenders because there is no early release for federal time. Ten years means ten freaking years. Before I filed that federal paperwork, I wanted to give the guy a chance to help himself out by providing information about his "business associates".

I went to the jail to speak with him but it didn't go very smoothly. As soon as I started talking about him helping himself out, the dude got agitated. He said that he would never talk and that he was insulted that I would even ask. Then he started going on about how I should be ashamed of myself for trying to blackmail him and that God would judge me for that.

Now normally I don't care if a crook refuses to play ball. If one doesn't talk, the next one will and criminals are a dime a dozen. However something about this three time felon convicted drug dealer telling me that I was evil was just a little too much to stand. It's hard for me to understand how guys with a criminal history full of bad deeds can fall for that "no snitching" crap. How does honor fit into their lives? I asked him how he thought God would judge some piece of crap drug dealer but he didn't have an answer for that.

I ended the interview by telling the guy that if he didn't do something to reduce his sentence he was going to spend the next couple of years regretting his decision. He said he didn't care and that he could do the time. Things ended with him telling me that he knew I was bluffing and that he would beat the charge anyway.

Fine. Whatever tough guy.

As soon as I left, I got on the phone to start the paperwork rolling. I figured there was no sense in making him wait. A few hours later I stopped by my office and saw that I had a voicemail. It was from the girlfriend of the douche I had talked to earlier. The message said that he had thought it over and would like for me to please come back to the jail and talk with him again.

Yeah right. I'll be seeing that fool in five to seven years. Maybe we can talk then.