Posted on 04/14/2005 11:00:40 PM PDT by RWR8189
usuke Joshua Banno is a college student from Arizona marooned in Manhattan. In his old life, he would be feeding his two chickens, riding his bike and working in the maintenance department of the student union. He would also be graduating next month.
Instead, Mr. Banno is answering phones at a Midtown restaurant, Blockhead's Burritos, to help pay legal expenses. He has fallen a semester behind at Prescott College in Tucson, and is learning more about criminal law than he ever cared to know.
The change in Mr. Banno's life dates from August, when he traveled by bus to New York City to join crowds of protesters at the Republican National Convention.
He was arrested on Aug. 29 and was charged with assault and reckless endangerment, accused of igniting a papier-mâché dragon. For months he has proclaimed his innocence, saying that in the chaos of the crowd, the police just picked the wrong person. Last week, prosecutors seemed to agree, after concluding that a police officer had misidentified Mr. Banno.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office said the case would probably be dismissed.
Behind the story of Mr. Banno's legal travails, there is a personal one. It is a tale of the obstacles and financial hardships faced by an ordinary family in a case that appears likely to be dismissed, like so many others from convention week. As of last month, about 80 percent of the convention arrests had been dismissed, adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, or ended in acquittals, according to statistics from the district attorney's office.
Beyond the immediate problem of the charges, which could have brought Mr. Banno a prison term of up to seven years, money was a serious concern. His lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, took the case for a very low fee, but it would still cost thousands of dollars to take to trial.
For Mr. Banno's mother, Betty Jo Banno, who learned of his arrest while watching television at home in Prescott, Ariz., the amount of her son's bail, $200,000, came as an early shock.
"I just couldn't believe it; I thought it couldn't be real," she said, sitting on a couch in a Midtown apartment that she sublet for herself, her son and out-of-towners involved in the case. "The first thing I thought was, 'I don't have $200,000.' "
"They said, 'What do you have?' and I said, 'I can use my house as collateral.' "
Mr. Banno's friends mobilized for his defense. They held a potluck party in Tucson. One friend started a Web site. Another sold T-shirts. His college put out a jar for donations. A friend, Toby Fraser, watched dozens of hours of videotape at the National Lawyers Guild, an advocacy group for change in political and economic matters.
Mr. Banno spent six days in jail, avoiding the meat dishes and eating canned string beans, mashed potatoes and grits. He was not allowed to make long-distance phone calls, so Ms. Shroff arranged a conference call so he and his mother could talk.
Eventually, Mr. Banno's bail was reduced to $10,000. Mrs. Banno wiped out nearly half her savings to send the bail money. As the case wound its way through the legal system, Mr. Banno's trial was delayed five times, Ms. Shroff said. Mrs. Banno bought plane tickets for herself, Ms. Shroff, Mr. Fraser and four witnesses.
In January, Mrs. Banno took a leave from her job to help with the trial preparations. She took out a $55,000 home equity loan to cover her family's living expenses. In all, she said, she has spent about $30,000 on the case.
"I used to feel pretty free going out to eat and taking a trip to visit my mom in Hawaii," Mrs. Banno said. "All of that has pretty much stopped."
The ordeal has created plenty of tension for Mr. Banno's extended family in Japan. His father, who is Japanese and works in Fukuoka as a yoga teacher, was told by his relatives that his son's arrest had shamed them. Mrs. Banno has not heard from her in-laws since then.
After months of pressing the case for Mr. Banno's innocence, a big break came late last month, when Ms. Shroff and Mr. Fraser tracked down time-sequence photographs taken by a Daily News photographer that showed Mr. Banno was far from where the fire began. A week later, prosecutors stated in court that the officer had misidentified Mr. Banno, and yesterday a spokeswoman said that the case would probably be dropped.
For Mrs. Banno, it was not a moment too soon.
"I want our calm life back," she said. "I can't wait to go home."
Back atcha! ;o)
Nor the pictures that prove his innocence, or the authorities now backing his story.
I would not be defending this guy if all I had was his word.
But, we have pretty strong evidence, including the authorities themselves backing down, that he was innocent.
The others are saying he went to a violent protest so it shouldn't matter whether he was violent or not himself.
What nonsense. I don't care if he was in the middle of a riot. If he was peaceably protesting, he deserves compensation for being falsely imprisoned.
Welcome to Amerika.
The only thing more disgusting that what happened to this American is the fact that many so-called "conservatives" will applaud his abuse by "the system"
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Good call. I agree. Pretend it was a Conservative going to protest a Dem convention. The double standards on here can sometimes be pretty amazing.
Welcome to New York. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
If some kid was busted in the LA riots who was just there screaming and shouting (but the officer thought he saw him throw a brick) is that abuse or life??
The OP should have said violent protest...
You got that right. Doctored evidence, false arrests, cops perjuring themselves, 90+% of the cases dropped. And freepers say no problem cuz them Dems wuz asking for it. FReeping idiots.
I don't feel sorry for this jerk. I don't believe he travels cross country to participate in a peaceful and orderly demonstration. He came looking for trouble and he found it. That's life. If his mother wants to foot the bill for her son's stupidity, that's her choice.
Why do you repeat a lie? It is not true that 90% of the cases were just dropped. The majority of the cases were pled. That implies the exact opposite of what you are trying to argue.
Resorting to these tactics leads me to believe that your argument is weak.
Spare me. The difference between charge dropped and and adjudication withheld is trivial at best. The fact remains that the cops blew their credibility throughout this entire ordeal. Oh, and freepers think it's just fine and dandy for cops to lie and cheat as long as it's a leftist who's being screwed--that's a fact, not an argument. Didn't you read the thread? Here, some snippets: Great story! Glad he is enjoying his trip to NYC!.... Karma.... I feel no sympathy at all for him or his family.... I think he got what he deserves.... He got what he deserved. Came to New York to cause trouble and got more then he bargained for.... anyone willing to disrupt the rest of our lives to try and prove their political point deserves to be arrested....
I completely agree with this statement. I will always stand up for the people's right to assemble peaceably. "Protestors" lately have gotten ridiculously out of control.
Did you pay attention at all during the Kobe Bryant case? The Sheriff filed charges behind the DA's back. If you think that police cannot file charges independently of the DA, you are living in a dreamland. Call my statement ridiculous all you want, but, facts are facts.
Where do you see anywhere in this article that there is exculpatory evidence? The article merely stated there is video, at one point, of this jackass acting civil. I really don't see how this matters. Just because at a certain point in time he was acting peaceably, does not mean he kept acting that way. This is politically motivated, hands down. Last I checked, New York is a predominantly Demoncrat state. If they can elect Hitlary Clinton to Senator....anything is possible.
"This thread sure is SMOKING! hhehehehe."
Smoking? It's EN FUEGO! I've yet to see a thread on FR so heated. [rimshot]
FREEPER FREEPUN PING!
I dont think there are any "youth socialists".. Socialism is just an euphemism for Communism ;)
Well, I have never protested against anything, physically, either here or back home.. its more due to lack of interest in joining a particular political cause than anything else.. participation in online discussion forums is the only form of political expression I knw, and its more or less satisfactory for a guy like me, who doesnt feel too strongly about many topics (esp social issues).
Off topic, does anyone see any "great contribution" that we are making to society by chatting with strangers in online discussion groups like Freep ?
Most of the guys I see are merely killing time here, either picking up fights with strangers or reinforcing their already firm beliefs..
"News" story is right.
"Prescott College" in TUCSON does NOT EXIST.
And where might PRESCOTT COLLEGE BE? Prescott AZ
Too bad the bimbo who wrote this is clueless about doing research, but since when has the NYT cared about FACTS?
It would appear JAYSON BLAIR has a new name and job...
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