The next time I seen Jim Ashley, I was 24 and I had been married for 5 years. The neighbors called the police because of domestic violence. He come to our place and he knew the guy that I was married to. He knew that he beat the crap out of me. But the cops don’t do anything. They come there because they’re called. The neighbors called the police. So here I am beat up, and he just talks to my ex, “what’s going on, domestic violence, blah blah blah.” And nothing is done. They tell my ex to calm down, and “the next time we come out here, one of you is going to jail.” Not long after that I left that guy and went to Florida to work. I was with him for six years.
Just back from Florida
The next time I had a confrontation with Jim Ashley I had moved to Florida and come back. It’d been over 3 years in Florida. By this time I was growed up. I was 28 and I had been married and divorced. I was standing in my front yard minding my own business. Not bothering anyone. So he actually drove up to my house knowing I had come back to town. He was looking for an opportunity. That’s why he come and found me. He was looking for a reason to get me in the back of that cruiser. Right there in front of my brother. And he didn’t care hell or high water.
I was working and I hadn’t been back a month and he sees me and tells me I have a bad check out (a bank check that bounced). Well we get in an altercation right there in front of the place where I’m living at.
I said, “What, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
And he says, “You need to go up to the station right now, you have a bad check out.”
And I says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about – bad check? I just moved back here.” I had my brother standing right there with me.
And I don’t want to go up to the police station with him because I don’t know what he’s talking about. I had just moved back into town. Anyways we got in a confrontation. You know he tells me I’m under arrest and all this bullshit. He was saying that before I left there was a bad check out. And all these years later I come back and he’s talking about something that happened years ago. And I don’t even know what he’s talking about. I feel like this guy’s mad at me since I was 13.
And anyways that’s when he kicked my feet out from underneath me and I landed on the ground and broke my glasses. He wipes them out with his foot like a karate chop. It was a move like a Chuck Norris move. I was staying up and next thing I was down on the ground. He had my hands behind my back and he handcuffed me. My brothers standing there watching the whole thing in amazement. He can’t believe this is happening. He doesn’t do anything. He’s just like in shock you know.
And Jim Ashley had both my hands back behind me and he had me handcuffed. And anyway I’m laying on the ground and I break my glasses and his watch comes off. And I didn’t know it come off. When I was on the ground he takes both my arms and pulls ‘em behind my back and picked me up and pushes me in the cruiser. By that time I’m already done. I had the wind knocked out of me. I didn’t want to get in this altercation anyways. And there I am with all these leaves in my hair. And I feel like my ribs broke from where I landed on my ribs. And I got the wind knocked out of me. And I’m thinking this all happened because when I was 13 I spit in this guy’s face. That’s what I honestly believe, that’s why this happened.
I end up having to get in the cruiser with him. Come to find out there is no bad check. It’s all a fucking lie. I talked to my uncle Ralph later about it, and he said there was a bad check but he took care of it. It was a $29 check and he found out about it and he paid it. And that was years before. So when I go up there to the police station, there is no check out. It was tookin’ care of years ago. I had already left for Florida and I didn’t know nothing about it.
He was bringing me up to the police station just to tell me, “oh no, just go ahead and go home. You’re good.” Yeah sure I’m good. I couldn’t hardly walk I was hurting so bad cause he clip me to the ground. Anyways, so I got to the station, and this checks already been take care of, and he releases me. And then I end up going to the hospital after that.
(Next week; Going to the Hospital)