Page 28 - Michael Bates News Today

In the citys bergen county jail about 15% of the inmates are gang affiliated. while most are divided among racial lines, the dominant gang here has found strength in diversity. >> the predominant gang inside bergen county jail is united blood nation. they recruit anybody. they believe in numbers. its a numbers game for them. there could be bloods from different ethnic backgrounds, black, white, hispanic. when i worked in the state prison system system i actually had a blood gang member who was a...

I been in every prison in the state of new jersey except the southern state so everybody knows me. my word is gold to them because they seen me action. they dont just hear my audio. they seen my video. they know if i say something its law. all i got to do is send an order and its going to be carried out. whether i want somebody poked up or i want somebody stabbed, its going to get done. >> recently, the self-proclaimed minister of defense of the bloods was transferred into the same housing unit ...

You may get blessed out and you may not. im not going to say tomorrow im not going to be a blood or next year i might not be a blood. who knows? but i know what i want for myself. i just dont know when its going to happen. >> and right now bates cant take any risks. another member of the bloods with a reputation for violence, enrique cruz, recently transferred to bates unit and says he was looking into rumors about bates loyalty. >> come on in. >> and now hes just invited himself into bates cell...

Down and say it to me. she came to the top of the stairs, so i decided to meet her up there and she just kept getting in my face and she shoved me. >> the whole unit got in everybodys business. just stupid, petty drama. >> both women will receive several days in segregation for fighting. tensions continue to rise in another unit as well. enrique cruz says he came to s-4 on his own free will in order to investigate the alleged misdoings of fellow blood member michael bates. >> i was sent here. af...

Has missed out on raising due to the years he spent behind bars. >> im supposed to show him exactly what he is supposed to do, aint supposed to do, right from wrong, to be there as a plan and father to do that. when i was 12 i was smoking weed and cigarettes and having sex. that was back then. now its more, the world is more advanced now. so i can imagine the positions he put in right now. >> can you imagine if your son ends up like you? >> i dont even want to think about that. i hope not. absol...

Not only did he recently complete a nine-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter, hes now awaiting trial on two new counts of aggravated assault. if thats not bad enough, today is his birthday and all he has is a gift from another inmate. >> he told me happy birthday and gave me toilet tissue with my name on it and gave me some of these. >> having served time before, bates knows this is no random collection of items. theyre to make a device known in jail as a fifi. >> you could get a t...

Not necessarily the victor in a recent fight with inmate food server jonathan bevelac. cruz says it was all a ploy to get back to his former housing unit in order to confront fellow bloods gang member michael bates. but after serving 15 days in segregation, cruz was assigned to a different unit. bates, a recognized leader of the gang, says he is still baffled by cruz and his allegations. >> i never knew this dude. i dont have no problems with this guy. i never knew him. i dont know whoa is. hes ...

His maximum security status was changed based on his sentence, so he went to medium. he is going to be transferred there tonight. >> thank you. i appreciate that. >> cruzs plea deal will result in a maximum of four years in prison on his charge of drug possession with intent to distribute in a school zone. his final sentence will be issued in an upcoming hearing, but for now, cruz is busy making his presence known in his new unit. >> yeah, yeah. whats up, old-timer? how you doing? all right. wha...

Down and say it to me. she came to the top of the stairs, so i decided to meet her up there and she just kept getting in my face and she shoved me. >> the whole unit got in everybodys business. just stupid, petty drama. >> both women will receive several days in segregation for fighting. tensions continue to rise in another unit as well. enrique cruz says he came to s-4 on his own free will in order to investigate the alleged misdoings of fellow blood member michael bates. >> i was sent here. af...

In the citys bergen county jail about 15% of the inmates are gang affiliated. while most are divided among racial lines, the dominant gang here has found strength in diversity. >> the predominant gang inside bergen county jail is united blood nation. they recruit anybody. they believe in numbers. its a numbers game for them. there could be bloods from different ethnic backgrounds, black, white, hispanic. when i worked in the state prison system system i actually had a blood gang member who was a...