by Doris Miller
Two months later, tons of people are outside the court building lined up waiting to get inside the court building. One of the men, a middle aged white male turns to a black woman on the line and asks, “Are you here to see Diane D‘s cousin Dana‘s trial?”
“I sure am,” the woman says. “That Dana is something else, ain’t she, attacking that newspaper reporter, then chasing his vehicle on the highway and shooting at his vehicle three times then try to run him off the road then beat up two female police officers right after that!”
“I know. She is a dangerous cookie. I wouldn’t want to mess with her.”
“Me neither. I try my best to avoid individuals like her.”
“Me too.”
An hour later, the people are inside the courtroom. Diane D, her family and relatives including Dana's family, Michael, Tony, Teresa, Joseph, Officer Cooper’s family and Officer Martinez’s family sit in the audience in the middle of the courtroom.
Dana sits in the front of the courtroom with two of her lawyers. Prosecutor Jacob Blair, a male white around his late forties with dark hair, stands up and says, “I would like to call the defendant to the stand.” Everyone in the courtroom looks at Dana as Dana stands. Dana turns and walks to the front of the courtroom towards the stand.
Dana approaches the stand. She then turns and faces Jacob Blair.
Jacob Blair tells Dana, “Raise your right hand please.” Dana raises her right hand as Jacob Blair says to her, “State your full name please.”
“Dana Jean Brown,” Dana says.
“Okay Miss Dana Jean Brown, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God?”
“Yes.”
“Sit down please.”
Dana sits down in the stand.
“Okay Miss Brown, did you and the rest of your family attack and beat up newspaper reporter Felix Green outside of a Catering Hall on the evening of September seventeenth?”
“Yes we did.”
“Why did you and the rest of your family attack and beat up newspaper reporter Felix Green?”
“He called my cousin a dirty name that we didn’t appreciate.”
“He called your cousin a dirty name?!”
“Yeah and he threatened to expose her in the newspaper.”
“Your cousin Diane D, right?”
“Right.”
“You and your family didn’t appreciate what Felix Green called your cousin Diane D and you didn‘t like the idea of him threatening to expose her in the newspaper.”
“No we didn’t.”
Diane D sits slightly sideways leaning against Michael with his arms wrapped around her waist as she firmly looks towards Dana and Jacob Blair. Her family looks towards her and pats her on the shoulder as they look back towards Dana and Jacob Blair.
Jacob Blair continues, “What dirty name did Felix Green call, your cousin Diane D?”
“He called her a ‘crack head‘,” Dana says.
“He called your cousin Diane D a ‘crack head‘?”
“Yes he did.”
“And what did Felix Green threaten to expose your cousin Diane D with?”
“He threatened to lie and expose about her using drugs and she doesn’t.”
“I see. Being that Felix Green called your cousin Diane D a crack head and threatened to attack her about her alleged drug use in the newspaper, you and your family felt you all had every right to attack HIM, didn't you?”
“Yes we did.”
“Did you chase newspaper reporter Felix Green down the highway after you and your family attacked him?”
“No I didn‘t.”
“Well the police spotted a dark blue vehicle and Felix Green's vehicle racing down the highway going at a hundred miles an hour! Did you shoot at Felix Green’s vehicle as you two were speeding down the highway?”
“No.”
“Well there is a bullet hole and a shattered window in his car to prove it! Why did you attack and beat up the two female police officers that pulled you over that same evening, Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez? Why did you attack them?! Did they call your cousin Diane D a dirty name and threatened to expose her in the newspaper too?”
“No.”
“Then why did you attack them?”
“Because they putted their hands on me!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“What!” Jacob Blair says. “Because they putted their hands on you?! They putted their hands on you because they felt that you were armed and needed to frisk you! They had a right to put their hands on you if they're going to frisk you! Felix Green stated to the police that you shot at his vehicle three times as you two were speeding down the highway! The two female police officers had a call on their police radio to look out for a dark blue car that might have been involved in a speeding and shooting on the highway! Not long after that, the two female officers spotted a dark blue car that looked suspicious! They figured that dark blue car might be the car involved in the speeding and shooting on the highway, that’s when they decided to pull that dark blue car over! When they pulled that dark blue car over, they spotted you alone in the driver’s seat, so they figured you had to be armed! When the female officers had you step out of the car, they searched your vehicle! They didn't find any weapons inside your vehicle, so they figured the weapon had to be on you, that's why they felt they had to search and frisk you! Soon as they started to do that, you went on the attack and beat the crap out of them!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“Why did you do that?”
“Because they putted their hands on me!” Dana says.
“They putted their hands on you, so what! You beat those two women up so bad they couldn't be here today! They became physically and emotionally scarred by what you did to them! You caused Officer Janice Cooper to miscarry her unborn baby!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“Her inside organs might be damaged for life! She might not ever be able to have children in the future because of what you did to her! How do you feel about that?! How do you feel that you caused Officer Janice Cooper to lose her unborn baby?!”
“I have no comment about that,” Dana says.
“You have no comment about that?! What do you mean you have no comment about that?! Don’t you have any kind of remorse for the unborn child whose life was lost?!”
“I have no comment.”
“But Miss Dana Brown, you killed an unborn baby! A baby that would have been born in several months! Because you attacked its mother, the child is not going to be born! Now Officer Janice Cooper and her husband have to donate and give away all the baby stuff that they had bought for the baby!”
The entire courtroom gasps again.
“Officer Cooper’s family, friends and relatives were all planning to throw a baby shower for her several months from now, but now they have to cancel that baby shower!”
The entire courtroom gasps again.
“They had already put a down payment on the catering hall that they were going to rent for the baby shower! Officer Cooper and her husband had remodeled one of the rooms in their house into a nursery when they found out they were having a child! Now since their child is not going to come, they have to make that nursery room back into what it use to be!”
The entire courtroom gasps again.
“It would be nice if they could keep the room a nursery, for future babies, but that might not happen! Because of you, Officer Cooper might not be able to have any children at all in the future! You killed her chance of ever becoming a mother!”
The entire courtroom gasps again.
“Did you know that Officer Janice Cooper was pregnant when you decided to beat the crap out of her and then beat the crap out of Officer Liz Martinez?! Did you know that any of the female officers was pregnant?!”
“No!” Dana shouts. “What the hell do you think I am, the pregnant inspection police? I am not gonna look a
t anybody to see or inspect whether or not they’re pregnant!”
“So in other words, you wouldn’t care if they were pregnant or not if you decide to go on the attack and beat the crap out of them?!”
“If they come up to me first and decide to mess with me, I’m just gonna defend myself against them, that‘s it, no questions asked!”
“But Miss Brown, you didn’t have to defend yourself against Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez! They didn’t come up to you to harm you! They were only doing their job when they came up to you because they felt that you were involved in the speeding and shooting on the highway! They thought you might be armed and needed to frisk you! Once you found out that Officer Janice Cooper lost her unborn child as a result of your attack on her, did you have any remorse about that at all?!”
“I told you, I have no comment about that!”
“No comment at all?!”
“No comment! Next question please!”
The entire courtroom gasps seeing Dana‘s unremorseful behavior.
“Well Miss Dana Brown,” Jacob Blair says. “Since you’re not the least bit remorseful of an unborn child whose life YOU took, are you at least remorseful for what you did to Officer Liz Martinez? You caused her to be shot! You used her as a human shield when you threw her right in harm's way of a bullet that was meant for YOU!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“You caused the bullet to hit Officer Liz Martinez right in her spine, now she is paralyzed! She lost the use of her legs! She‘s not going to be able to walk again! She is going to be in a wheel chair for the rest of her life!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“Officer Liz Martinez is now permanently disabled because what you did to her! How can you just throw somebody in front of a Live bullet?!”
“It was either me, or her!” Dana shouts. “I chose her!”
The entire courtroom gasps at Dana‘s harsh statement.
“How can you be so heartless Miss Brown?!” Jacob Blair says.
“What do you mean how can I be so heartless?!” Dana shouts. “What the hell you expect me to do, throw myself in front of the bullet?!”
“No! How about not throwing ANYBODY in front of the bullet at all! You could have thrown both yourself and Officer Liz Martinez to the side away from the bullet, but instead, you threw Officer Liz Martinez right to the bullet and threw yourself to the side! Now Officer Liz Martinez and Officer Janice Cooper are both quitting and retiring early from the police force on a kind of YOU! You caused bodily injury on three and a half different people, all in one evening!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“You did not have to attack reporter Felix Green, you did not have to attack Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez and you did not have to kill Officer Janice Cooper‘s unborn baby! Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez weren't trying to harm you when they first pulled you over! They didn’t call your cousin Diane D a dirty name and they were not planning to expose her in the newspaper! Why did you have to beat THEM up?!”
“Because they putted their hands on me!” Dana shouts.
“I just told you why Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez had to put their hands on you! I just told you why! You know you really need to respect authority!”
“And the authority needs to respect me!”
“Oh yeah?! How did they not respect you?!”
“They putted their hands on me!”
“Why is it so important to you that Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez not touch you?! Why were you so against them frisking you?! Were you afraid of what they might feel or find?! Were you afraid that they might feel or find a gun on you?!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“You probably did have a gun on you, that’s probably why you were so against them frisking you! You probably wanted to make sure that Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez didn’t feel or find a gun on you, so you went on the attack and beat the crap out of them before they can ever get the chance to do that!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“You know Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez told investigators, that when they first tried to pull you over, you didn’t stop right away. They claim they kept telling you over and over again to pull over, but you did not stop. They claimed you kept driving and driving refusing to pull over! They said you did not pull over at all until you reached an isolated area. An area where no one else was around and where no one else can see you!”
“Ooooh,” the audience says.
“They said it was like you lured them to this isolated area where there were no witnesses around!”
“Ooooh,” the audience says.
“They said after they first came out of their police car to approach your vehicle, you suddenly drove and moved your vehicle over to the left. They said they didn’t know why at first. Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez now believe, that when they first tried to pull you over, right away you started planning in your head, to lure them to an isolated area where there weren’t any witnesses around, that way you can beat the crap out of them before they can ever get the chance to frisk you and find a gun on you!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez now believe that’s why you really beat them up and left them for dead, to prevent them from identifying you! They now believe that’s why you suddenly drove and moved your vehicle over to the left when they were about to approach your vehicle, to get out of the view of the police dashboard camera so you won‘t be seen and identified on video beating the crap out of them!”
“Ohh shoot,” the audience gasps.
“They now believe that you deliberately left your keys inside the ignition when you first stepped out of the car, that way once you finish beating the crap out of them, you can leave them for dead, then you can just run and jump right back into your vehicle and quickly start up the engine to make a quick getaway!”
The entire courtroom gasps.
“Isn’t that true Miss Brown? Isn’t that why you really beat up Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez, to keep them from feeling and finding a gun on you?! Isn’t that why you left Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez for dead, to keep them from identifying you?! Isn’t that why you suddenly drove and moved your vehicle over to the left when Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez were about to approach your vehicle, so you won‘t be seen and identified on police dashboard camera beating the crap out of them?!”
“No that is not why either!”
“Then why on earth did you beat Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez up and leave them for dead?!”
“Because they putted their hands on me, that‘s why!”
Jacob Blair angrily stares at Dana. He then throws his arms up in the air and turns to the judge shouting, “Judge, I give up on this one! No more questions!” Jacob Blair angrily turns away and walks back to his seat.
The judge, an older white male with salt and pepper hair turns to Dana and says, “You may step down ma'am.”
Dana stands up and steps down from the witness stand. She goes back to her lawyers and takes a seat.
A half hour later, the judge says, “Will the lawyers stand please.” Dana's lawyers stand. The judge them tells them, “The defendant is found guilty on three assault charges and permanent bodily injury for three persons! Newspaper reporter Felix Green, Officer Janice Cooper and Officer Liz Martinez! The defendant will spend three years in prison!” The entire courtroom screams and becomes shocked! The judge then says, “Three years in prison will include the two months time served the defendant had in jail! Plus the heavy fine her family has to pay for Janice Cooper, Liza Martinez and Felix Green's medical expenses!” The entire courtroom screams and becomes shocked!
Liz Martinez's husband and family members sta
nd as Mr. Martinez shouts to the judge, “That's all she gets is three years in prison?!” Everyone in the courtroom look on at Mr. Martinez as he shouts, “She caused my wife to be paralyzed for life! She killed Officer Cooper's unborn child and beat up a reporter! She chased the reporter down the highway and shot at his vehicle three times and that's all she gets is three years confinement! She is a danger to society and she is a danger to authorities as well! She is a violent person! I don’t think the public is safe as long as she’s around! You should lock her up and throw away the key!”
“I charged her family a heavy fine for your wife's medical needs Mr. Martinez! We will do everything possible to help your wife and the rest of your family!” Mr. Martinez and the rest of his family start to cry and become very upset. The entire courtroom is emotionally upset.
Diane D becomes frustrated as she, Tony and Diane D's family and relatives desperately try to hurry to Dana. The court officers hold them back. Diane D gets more upset and shouts to the officers, “Get your fuckin hands off me!”
“You can't go up there!” one of the male officers tell Diane D.
“Just move the hell out of my way! I want to go to my cousin if you don't mind!”
“I do mind ma'am! None of you are allowed up there!”
Diane D shoves the officers aside as she, Tony and her entire family desperately try to get to Dana. “Dana!” Diane D, Tony and Dana’s family shout. “Dana!”
“Diane, I want you all to get back here!” Margarita shouts as she Mary, Barry and rest of the family try to get Diane D.
Dana sits there in the front of the courtroom looking towards the back at Diane D. She then turns and faces the front of the courtroom showing no emotions.
The next day, several people are in the street holding and reading a newspaper with a headline that reads: DIANE D'S COUSIN DANA IS SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON FOR THE THREE ASSAULT CHARGES ON REPORTER FELIX GREEN AND FEMALE OFFICERS JANICE COOPER AND LIZ MARTINEZ!: “Wow,” one of the women says. “Diane D’s cousin Dana assaulted, attacked and beat up three different people all in one evening and that’s all she gets is three years in prison? It’s like she got a year for each victim.”
“I know,” one of the men say. “She probably took a plea bargain or got hell of a good lawyers to serve only that little amount of time in prison.” The people continue to look at the article.
The next day, Diane D sits behind the desk in one of the organization offices angrily typing away on the computer as Michael sits on a chair besides her. Margarita and Tomas enter the office. Diane D stops typing and turns towards her grandparents as they approach her and Michael. “Hey Michael,” Margarita says.
“Hey Grandma,” Michael says.
“How you feeling Diane?”
“Not too good Grandma,” Diane D says.
“You're still thinking about Dana aren't you?” Tomas says.
“Of course I am Grandpa.”
“Dana will be home before you know it. She'll be back soon.”
“See?” Margarita says. “Now you see why we wanted to keep this information from Dana that day at the Catering Hall when we first heard and found out that Felix Green wanted to expose you in the newspaper, because look what happened. Dana goes and confronts Felix Green. He decides to challenge her, then he winds up getting beat up then shot at three times on the highway, two female officers get beat up and injured for life and have to leave the police force, an unborn baby will never get to be born and Dana is now being sent to prison. This is why we were so desperate not to let Dana find out that Felix Green was planning to expose you in the newspaper.”
“I understand that Grandma,” Diane D says, “but I wasn’t the one who told Dana about Felix Green. It was Mickey who told her. He told Dana about Felix Green before anybody can get the chance to stop him. He said he felt she had the right to know about it because Felix Green not only threatened to expose me in the newspaper, he threatened to expose Dana too claiming that she and I both use drugs! If Felix Green would have expose me and Dana in the newspaper, Dana would have saw and read about it in the newspaper anyway.”
“I know. All I got to say, is that this whole situation came out horrible.”
“It sure did,” Michael says.
“Well anyway, we have a show in four weeks. You think you'll be able to perform then Diane?”
“I don’t know Grandma,” Diane D says. “My mind is still on Dana right now.”
“I understand Diane. I understand. You don’t have to participate in the next show if you’re not up to it. You can skip the next show and wait for the one after it.”
“Can I Grandma? I mean can I take a break from doing any show for a couple of months and just work here in the office, because I don't really know if I'm up to singing and dancing for anybody for a while.”
“Okay Diane, whatever you feel. I just want to make sure that you’re alright.”
“Yeah I’m alright Grandma. I just need a break from the crowd for now.”
“Okay Diane, you got it. Your feelings are more important.”
“Thanks Grandma.”
“Come on downstairs Diane and Michael,” Tomas says. “Everybody wants you two to come join them.”
“Okay,” Michael says. Diane D stops working on the computer. She and Michael get up from their chairs. Margarita and Tomas smile at Diane D and Michael as they take Diane D and Michael away and head towards the doorway.
One month later, the theater lobby is packed full of excited people! There are large posters and large signs that read: THE DAVIDSON ORGANIZATION PRESENTS: NICOLAS AND MICKEY DAVIDSON, MICHAEL AND THE DAVIDSON BAND, THE DAVIDSON CHOIR AND MANY MORE! The people are all excited as they read the posters and signs! Four teenage girls and two teenage boys read the posters and signs and turn to each other as one of the teenage boys says, “Hey. I don’t see Diane D and The Dianettes’ name up here. How come they’re names are not up here?”
“I heard Diane D and the Dianettes aren’t performing tonight,” the other teenage boy says.
“They’re not? Why not?”
“I heard Diane D wanted to take a break from performing for a while.”
“Diane D wants to take a break from performing? How come?”
“Ever since that incident that happened between her cousin Dana and that reporter Felix Green and those two female police officers, she’s not up to performing for a while.”
“No?”
“No.”
“My God. I guess I can’t blame her. Well what about the Dianettes? Are they still going to perform?”
“I usually don’t see the Dianettes performing without Diane D, it‘s very rare. If there’s no Diane D, then most likely, there will be no Dianettes either.”
“Wow, so you know when Diane D is going to perform again?”
“I don’t know. I hope soon, that way we can see her and the Dianettes again.”
“Yeah, I want to see her and the Dianettes too.”
The crowd continues to look at the signs and posters.
Two hours later, the theater is packed full of excited people! There are a lot of people holding large banners and large signs high in the air. Some banners and signs read: 'NICOLAS AND MICKEY DAVIDSON' with very large bold letters printed on them while other banners and signs read: 'DIANE D AND THE DIANETTES' THE SUPER SEVEN' with very large bold letters. Other banners and signs read: 'MICHAEL AND THE DAVIDSON BAND'. An announcer comes up on stage. He speaks into the microphone and says, “Alright ladies and gentlemen, give it up one more time for the Diaz-Davidson brothers, Nicolas and Mickey Diaz-Davidson!” The crowd claps and cheers! “Okay, the next performance is about to come out!” The crowd cheers more as the announcer shouts, “Ladies and gentlemen, The Diaz-Davidson Organization presents Michael and The Diaz-Davidson Band!” The crowd cheers and screams as music starts to play. Michael and The Diaz-Davidson Band appear on the stage and start to play musi
c.
Chapter 8
Dana’s Home Coming
