Dear Garrett..

Another routine prisoner transport wasn’t a big deal until I checked in with the prison official at Sacramento. The call came in mid morning to pick up a woman prisoner in Sacramento and fly her to Santa Cruz County. I thought, “A simple flight out to Sacramento and back to Watsonville…great…easy trip.”

Transporting a woman prisoner meant that I’d have to find woman to fly the trip with me acting as a matron for the female prisoner. The matron did not have to be a Prisoner Transportation Deputy like me, just a woman. I could take any woman willing to fly the trip with me. There was no compensation, just the excitement of flying a prisoner run with a twenty year old Prisoner Transportation Deputy!

My bosses wife, Gwen, normally flew the prisoner trips with me but she wasn’t available to help with this particular trip. I asked my girlfriend, Jennifer, next but she couldn’t help either. The only other woman I could think to ask was my brother’s wife, Elaine.

Elaine and I departed Watsonville in the afternoon for Sacramento. It was a pretty day, no clouds or whether to worry about. The flight to Sacramento was just a 100 nautical mile trip. Even though we departed later in the day, I wasn’t expecting to have any problem making it back to Watsonville before dark. When we departed Watsonville, little did I know that I had a big surprise in store for me before returning to Watsonville!

I never knew ahead of time how big or small a prisoner might be until I’d arrive wherever the prisoner was located for me to pick up. Today Elaine and I would pick up an extra light prisoner. She was an elderly woman seemed like in her early sixties. I was surprised when the guards told me she weighed only ninety-eight pounds. “Wow” I thought. “She’s really a tiny sweet looking woman.”  For a few moments, I wondered about even handcuffing her to a waist chain? I chained and cuffed her anyway deciding to err on the side of safety best thinking that even a tiny woman could create problems if she decided to act up. I didn’t want to fly with a mad woman!

While Elaine was inside the facility helping with the inmate out processing, I was notified that a message had arrived informing me that I was to pick up another prisoner at the Vacaville prison on the return trip to Watsonville. No details were given, only that I was to pick up another prisoner. That was a turn in events I wasn’t expecting – darn.

We departed Sacramento later than I was expecting. Elaine and I loaded the woman prisoner into the aircraft and departed Sacramento for Vacaville. Night time fell during our flight to pick up the second prisoner. The Nut Tree Airport wasn’t easy to see at night. Elaine said she couldn’t see it until we were landing. The airport was dark and quiet when we stepped out of the aircraft onto the ramp. I would need to take the woman prisoner and Elaine with me into the Vacaville prison.

The usual taxi service drove us to the prison. After securing Elaine and the female prisoner in the reception area, a guard accompanied me into the reception area inside an interior section of the prison where prisoner receiving and releasing took place.

I noticed a normal compliment of guards and trustees strategically positioned as I entered the release area. Visually scanning the area, I could feel an extra somber and quiet mood among the guards and trustees. I checked in with the head guard seated at the inmate release desk. He looked surprised when he saw me. Everyone looked surprised when they saw me. When I followed the guard’s eyes shifting his attention from me to the caged area twenty feet in front of his desk, I saw the reason for every ones concern. My prisoner was twice my age and nearly twice my size! Obviously concerned too, I asked the head guard, “How much does he weigh?” “242 pounds” replied the guard. I could see the 242 pounds was muscle weight, not fat. I had a tall strong prisoner to transport.

I was dismayed at the weight and the appearance of this prisoner. I wasn’t flying a 727!  I was flying a Piper Cherokee 140. And three of the four seats in the 140 were already filled! As the guards prepared the prisoner for release to me, I contemplated this unexpected predicament.  An already amply loaded small single engine airplane and now a 242 pound male prisoner to pack into the aircraft with us! Gosh, I wasn’t expecting nor prepared for this situation!

Without much time to think on my dilemma, the guards motioned me into the caged release area. Approaching the prisoner, I looked slightly more than half his size. The guards had to be wondering how is this young kid going to handle transporting this huge seasoned prisoner? I was wondering the same thing myself!

With guards standing on each side of the prisoner, I placed the handcuff chain around the prisoner’s waist and ran the cuffs through the chain. When I cuffed his left wrist the cuff would only tighten to the second click. I cuffed the right wrist. I thought, “Darn, the cuffs barely fit! Two clicks is too tight, I don’t want to cut off his circulation.”  The guards and prisoner looked on as I deliberated over the handcuff situation.  With seemingly little choice, I inserted my key into the handcuffs and loosened each cuff to one click. At one click, I could see the prisoners circulation wouldn’t be cut off but I wondered how well the cuffs would hold at just one click if the prisoner decided to break loose?

I stepped out of the caged area and signed a form accepting control of the prisoner. Guards escorted the prisoner and me out through the multiple corridors and gates to the entrance of the prison where I had left Elaine and the woman prisoner waiting for me.  A guard scanned my hand and I was cleared to exit the prison.

It felt good to step out into the fresh cool night air.  I left the prison in the waiting taxi with my thoughts stirring with the handling of the two prisoners. I contemplated how well our Cherokee 140 aircraft was going to handle the demand I was getting ready to place on it to fly the four of us safely to the Watsonville Airport. The size and weight of the extra large and heavy male prisoner concerned me most of all.

The Nut Tree Airport was quiet, dark and lonesome as the taxi driver dropped us off at the aircraft ramp area and then drove away.  As we walked toward the Piper Cherokee I thought, “The moment of truth has arrived. Is this going to work or not?”  I wasn’t concerned about the job of flying to Watsonville. My concern was fitting everyone into the four seat Piper Cherokee! Accommodating one tall and heavy prisoner in the back seat of the Piper Cherokee was asking a lot much less a second prisoner in back too!

When the male prisoner saw the airplane he’d soon be flying in he had to be shocked. He could have filled the entire back of the airplane by himself. But on this flight he will have to share the back with the woman prisoner. I was surprised he didn’t hesitate to get into the airplane when he saw its size!

I stepped up on the Piper Cherokee wing then leaned into the cabin and slid the two front seats fully forward to make room for the prisoners to get into the aircraft’s rear seats. I boarded the female prisoner first seating her behind the pilot’s seat. When the male prisoner stepped on the boarding step and wing, I heard the right side landing gear strut collapse. I seated the male prisoner behind the matron’s seat. After securing the prisoners in their seat belts and performing my aircraft preflight, I climbed into the pilot’s seat. I latched the cabin door after the matron boarded in the right seat next to me.

The Cherokee 140 let me know it was heavily loaded as I taxied to the south runup area. The squatting main landing gear struts over extended the nose gear strut pointing the nose of the aircraft higher than normal.

There wasn’t a peep on the radio as I completed the engine runup and takeoff checklist. I rechecked the cabin door latch and lined up on Nut Tree runway 2. The Cherokee accelerated slower than normal when I pushed the throttle full forward to its takeoff power setting. We used more runway than usual but the Cherokee lifted off okay when we reached our rotation speed. The Cherokee could tell it was carrying a heavy load!

The night was cool and dark as we headed south to Watsonville. The sparkling lights of San Francisco and the entire bay area made navigation easy and pretty. Maybe the beauty of the flight was a treat for the prisoners.

Santa Cruz Sheriff Deputies arrived to pick up the prisoners shortly after we landed at Watsonville.  I removed my handcuffs and waist chains as I turned the prisoners over to the deputies.  After thanking Elaine for serving as the matron on today’s flight, I headed to Nate’s Bar. The boys at Nate’s would be eager to hear all about this prisoner run!