>> oh! due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ i was diagnosed with this thing odd, a deficiency disorder which is demand. >> a young inmate with a big personality at a long record now faces another problem. >> oh, he has a gambling problem, but we're trying to work on that. >> and -- >> 26-plus years. this is one of the worst cases that i've seen. >> for other inmates who are in

jail after a smocking home invasion robbery and rape. >> i've lost countless hours of sleep trying to avoid the nightmares of that night playing in my head. >> one defendant stands apart from the others. >> when you put your mind to it, you have to keep climbing the wall. >> though nothing will prepare him for what's to come. >> this is my call. i'm done with it. i'm going [ bleep ] back home. by most accounts grand rapids 20 miles east of lake michigan is an ideal place to live. but like all cities, it has an underside. >> when crime occurs here or in the outlying areas, the arrests

parties are likely to spend time at the kent county jail. >> spread your legs as far apart as you can. >> most of the male and female inmates here are accused of crimes and are awaiting trial at the resolution of their cases. jail officials take strides house inmates in a manner that will minimize any problems. >> how you doin'? good. >> we evaluate everybody that comes in, their risk, their need, we have housing areas, so inmates of the same type of risks, same type of needs, and that's how you keep your jail as safe as possible. >> some cases, however, require the jail to take extra precautions. >> d1, can you open 42, please? we have a case in the jail that involves four suspects that were involved in a various, criminal sexual assault and home invasion. and the importance to keeping those people separate is a full-time responsibility for us because you can have some very

violent situation where is in one of those suspects wants to get to the other one before he talks about the case, his life is in danger while he's here. >> the four suspects were booked into the jail one year earlier on charges of first-degree home invasion, armed robbery and first-degree sexual conduct or rape. a fifth suspect is a 14-year-old boy housed in the jail's juvenile wing. three of the four adult suspects, dorran jones, james hodges, and brandon towns pled guilty to all charges and are awaiting sentencing. >> it was supposed to be in and out breaking and entering. once we got in there and people heard things, it was like people getting beat up, tied up, and it was basically like everything happened like that. >> town says he and his co-defendants entered a home during the pre-dawn hours following a party held there the night before. they wore masks to conceal their identities. the home belonged to students at

a local college. >> we picked the house because we knew there was a bunch of people having a party. and they said they were going to be really drunk, so why not go back later. >> according to prosecutors, three male victims in the house were robbed and pistol-whipped. the one female victim reported being tied up, blindfolded, beaten and raped by the suspects. the three who pled guilty said they did so in hopes of receiving shorter prison sentences than they would have if they were found guilty on trial. but they could still receive maximum consecutive sentences on all their charges. >> 15, maybe 20 years. i'm hoping to just get 10 years. >> i'm hoping for 10 years. >> i would rather take something than to go and get my life away and never see my son or nobody. >> one year later the three men are in jail awaiting sentencing. they are required to wait

because the fourth adult suspect, frederick milton, has pled not guilty and is taking his case to trial. >> none of the victims would i be at the scene of the party. there was no dna evidence against me, there are no fingerprints against me, there is no actual physical evidence against me. on a scale from one to ten, i'm at a nine. i know, the lord know, i didn't do this. you don't judge me. >> i know justice will be served. >> when you say justice will be served, what does that mean to you? >> me going home, you know? the truth coming out, showing that people are lying, perjury, lying under oath. >> but all of melton's

co-defendanted said he not only participated in the crimes but was actually a guest at the party. part of a plan in which melton would case for the others. >> if he's found guilty, he'll go down saying he fought going down instead of i didn't take no plea like the rest of them, but when you fight, you ain't doing nothing but pissing them off. you're making the judges and the victims go through this again while they describe it emotional. so if you do lose, you're going to get hit with the max. >> but melton says his co-defendants lack credibility. >> four against one, that is pretty bad odds, but four criminals, you know. >> even though hodges, jones and towns have all pled guilty to criminal sexual conduct, they deny having committed the acts. the victim statded she could not identify their faces because they were masked, but according to hodges, some of the victims

were still able to identify melton. >> they had a party that night, so he went to the party, so they could all identify him being there and she saw his body build, she said, oh, yeah, he was tall, skinny, this and this and that. >> what's the victim say about you and your role? >> the victim didn't say anything about me. >> what did the victim say? >> the victim said she was raped, but she didn't say i raped her. it's like this, the victim said they didn't see anybody. >> what was her description? because she gave a description of the person who raped her, correct? >> somebody in my case, i think we're done here. somebody dip into my case, i'm done. get the mike off. i'm done with this [ bleep ]. get the [ bleep ] mike off me.

>> white people, man. coming up -- >> show him your muscles. >> brandon towns gets a visit. and a deputy goes on a pursuit. >> he's calling this big hot line. you see where they are, you stay away from those areas because there's too many people there. you want to go where the people are not.

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day to day operations at the kent county jail in grand rapids are managed by sheriff's deputies. john hess used to be one of them. now he's the county administrator who oversees the jail and its staff. >> we have some mean, nasty ugly people in jail. some real hard core criminals, but the majority of the people

are people from our community. they are people going back there. so i think we try really, really hard here to have our staff understand that these are just people. >> deputy justin flynn worked at the jail for seven years and says he's bought into that philosophy. >> nobody wants to be in jail. i'm ready to go home after eight hours so i'm trying to make their day better. these guys know that i'll talk to them all. we'll joke around, but if they cross the line, they will get timed in. >> deputy flynn says breaking up the monotony of jail life isn't is important and there are simple ways to do so. >> the game is bean bag toss. the more you can occupy them, the more they're distracted from getting into trouble. now the one thing we can't let these guys do is gamble because this is more or less what they do up here. this one right here, that one over there. >> like horseshoes like this, like horseshoes.

>> yeah, a little farther. >> yeah. >> andre? >> i've been working on it for months. >> i saw that. >> yeah, that's why my head is so big. it's a success. i think it's going to be good slops these guys don't abuse it. >> but not everyone shares flynn's enthusiasm. >> he came up with the bean bag idea. i honestly didn't think he was serious about it. but then they bought it. so now he's like, well, they think it's a good idea so now i got to run with it. >> justin's brother john is also a deputy at the jail. >> other than having bald heads, they are complete opposites. night and day. >> corey, i tried rogaine, they lie to you. that stuff doesn't make anything

grow. >> corey hamilton. >> i don't think i look anything like that guy and they think i'm sometimes him and they come up to me and ask me about these crazy stories and i say, i'm sorry, i don't know what you're talking about. they think i'm completely lying because they think i'm him. all right, well, i'm going to head out. >> all right. see ya. >> as co-workers, the brothers spend a lot of time together but soon, justin will go away for awhile in order to pursue a dream. >> i'm off the whole month of june and we're going to be out in washington and oregon, the olympic peninsula, and we're going to be out there big foot hunting. >> are you really going to look sasquatch? >> yes. >> i don't believe you. >> we're going to washington state to sasquatch and he's taking it to another level. >> too many people are going to the big sasquatch. >> you got to worry about the mom and the dad. >> i walked into his house the other day and he bought a 3.5

foot cardboard cutout, honest to god, standing in his living room. i said, come on, what is this? i said, aren't big foots bigger, like seven, eight foot supposedly? he said no, no, no, that's not what i'm looking for. that's the baby squash s sasquatch. >> three weeks of nothing but looking. >> just in the woods squatching. >> he's calling this big foot hot line to find out where the most recent activity is. >> you get on the internet, find out where he's out and stay out of those areas. there is too many people. you got to play the wind, i got my decoy and we'll get him in. yes, you go woop. woop. >> what an idiot. you don't really believe this, do you? >> yes, 100%. >> you got a cage? >> no, i got two guns right there.

>> good god. he's lost his mind. >> two guns. >> while his brother is skeptical, justin made try believers in several inmates like scott. >> i'm going to research where the most squatch sightings are and i'll go where they are not. i learned this from my buddy flynn. >> because you don't want to go where they are over called, that's like turkey hunting. >> no, because they will run away, you got to go where they are not. like a few miles outside of the sightings. now what if i put on a squatch suit and pretend to be a juvenile scuatch? >> that's risky. >> someone might shoot me? >> yeah. >> my best advice is don't listen to what he says. >> i'm a believer. this man is probably an idol of mine. i idolize him. he's my mentor. >> i mentor people. you just come to work and get

your paycheck. i mentor people. >> but charged with breaking and entering into a vehicle, to which he pled not guilty, said he always had a problem with authority. >> i was diagnosed with this thing called odd, oppositional deficiency disorder, which is basically like [ bleep ] the man. i didn't get tested an awful lot because i am small, but i'm no [ bleep ] you know. i'm not a punk. if people want to go there with me, [ bleep ] it, whatever, it is what it is. i'll bite your ear off, i'll grab ahold of your [ bleep ] and twist them. >> 21-year-old dipiazza has had many run-ins with the law. he blames his most recent with a combination of drugs and alcohol. >> i went over to a buddy's of mine and i said, give me some

pills because he has turret's and i was snorting them and eating them and next thing i know, i just -- the next morning everybody is like, hey, you broke into all these cars and we told you not to and you brought back all this stuff. here it is. and i'm like, oh, [ bleep ], you know. >> through dipiazza pleaded not guilty in hopes of reaching a deal, he hasn't denied committing the crime. >> kicking my stuff in the butt because that's stuff i did when i was a kid. kids break into cars. not adults. >> while dipiazza wants to abide by the law, his life revolves around another banned activity. gambling. >> they break the doors for day room and i sit right there at that poker table all day. >> all in? call. that's my whole daily routine, play poker for lunch, eat lunch, lockdown for an hour, get back

out, play poker until dipper. >> dipiazza has a gambling problem, but we're trying to work on that. i true to pull him from the table. no gambling. >> no gambling? >> the deputy says he'll keep an eye on the bean bag toss to make sure it doesn't turn into a game of stakes. >> you guys like to gamble too much. scott said thanks for getting this up. i said no gambling. this pod likes to gamble but we try to cut it down. >> what's the point system? >> the lowest three. >> scott is not a very good gambler, though, so in life he just needs to stop gambling and do something else. >> where scotty at? >> since inmates don't have access to cash, they typically gamble snacks purchased from the jail commissary. dipiazza relies on his mother to purchase those for him.

>> she says you just need to focus your energy into good ways, not bad ways. i just want to do good. i want to make my mom proud. [ bleep ] i'm all in. coming up -- scott dipiazzi's losses. >> you owe me one more. >> last time we talked to you, you got angry. >> and melton explains his anger.

the crimes grabbed headlines and shocked residents of grand rapids. the victims were local college students living in a house together. three male victims were beaten and robbed. and a young woman was raped by the masked intruders. four men were arrested and are now in the kent county jail. three pled guilty, but rederick melton pleaded not guilty. when we asked him about the female's description of one of

her attackers, he shut down. >> somebody dipping into my case, i think we done here. put me in my room. somebody dipping in my case. i'm done. >> two weeks later, melton agreed to talk to us again. >> last time we talked to you, you got angry, what was that about. >> it was about i felt they went to other co-defendants to get questions to ask me like as if i had did the rape, basically, accusing me, you know, i got accused, so, yes, i got upset. >> several weeks earlier, melton was placed in disciplinary segregation for fighting. in his maximum general security population unit. he's now eligible to return to general population, but has requested to remain in segregation. >> classification comes, you do 30 days and they ask you if you want to move. i say no because i'm going to trial. i'd rather have the concentration down here, you know, so i don't move. >> besides working on his case, melton has one other way to pass time. >> usually, like growing up, i

was always at the park playing basketball, so i just feel that's why i made me a rim, so i can always play basketball. it's my strength and power, slap a wall. that's when i score a shot, a point. when you put your mind to it, you got to keep slapping the wall. you're not thinking about nothing but slapping that wall, you know, so i'm using my strength to slap the wall over and over and over again. >> boom, i'm going to show you how to do this [ bleep ]. >> one of melton's co-defendants dorian jones has pled guilty to all of his charges but must wait for melton's trial to end before he can be sentenced. he practices his shot in a maximum security population

unit. >> shut your -- up. >> inside his cell, a third co-defendant james hodges also awaiting sentencing works on other skills. >> what are you doing right now? >> creasing my shirt. the paper keeps the wrinkles out. it's like an iron. got to keep the creases in it, it doesn't look good. i keep them in my shirts, my pants, it sticks out. everybody else got greens, they don't have creases but mine's do. >> how long does it stay for? >> i do it at least two or three days, just so i know it's really in there. >> brandon towns has a prior criminal sexual misconduct conviction which could result in a longer sentence than any of his co-defendants. >> at first i was like, i'll never be able to start life over again, what's the use of trying to live right now? >> wait for me!

>> i have a son out there. i have people that care for me, so i wouldn't want to do something to myself to hurt them. >> today, townson's 3-year-old son and his wife come to visit. >> brandon and i were together for three years and we split up. my son wants to see his dad. >> you have to wait until daddy comes on the screen. >> okay. >> it's just hard hearing my son say, i want my dad. i want to go to my dad's house, and he can't go to his dad's house. >> hey, baby, how are you doing? i miss you. >> no. >> you don't miss me? >> uh-uh. >> you want to fight? >> i strong. >> tell him. >> i strong. >> you strong? >> yeah. >> show him your muscles. you got to come right here so he can see you. show him your muscles.

>> dada. >> look, look at dada. >> say i got bigger muscles. >> i got bigger muscles. >> does little brandon understand where you're at right now? >> he knows i'm not at my house, so he knows i'm somewhere else. >> all right, bye. >> give big hugs? >> you gave me a big hug. >> blow him a kiss. blow him a kiss. >> yes. >> how are you going to explain it to him when he starts asking. >> i'm going to let him know daddy made a mistake and when people be bad this is where you go and you don't ever want to be bad. >> all right, bye. >> bye. >> brandon? brandon? lord. coming up -- >> no one is going to hurt you,

buddy, all right? >> the flynn brothers respond to an emergency before one of them heads to the wild. >> go searching for sasquatch? >> why didn't you put money in my account? >> do what you got to do, stretch it out. >> scott dipiazza gets motherly advice.

i'm milissa rehberger, here's what's happening. 1.3 million americans are now without unemployment benefits. and major legal baseball star was arrested for speeding. and the boy scouts will start accepting openly gay youth starting wednesday. openly gay adults will still be excluded from leadership posts. back to "lockup." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised.

the goal of most kent county jail deputies is to get through the day in an ordinarily and safe manner, but they know to always expect the unexpected. >> what's going on? >> we have problems in here. yes? >> deputy justin flynn just encountered a me call peculiar situation, an inmate is lying beneath his bunk and is unresponsive. >> let's go. >> for security reasons, flynn returns all other inmates to the cells before he investigates further. >> this guy was not acting right, that he was underneath his bunk and obviously when you go in there it looks like it's probably something mental. everything checks out otherwise. >> no one is going to hurt you. >> you get medical up here, mental health, get enough deputies in case he becomes combative. >> nobody is going to hurt you, buddy. >> we got him out there and medical checked him out and he's good to go now. got it under control justin?

>> yeah. >> barns. come on out, barns. everything is status quo,. >> on that note, deputy flynn is off to pursue a dream. he's headed to the pacific northwest on a three-week quest to find big foot. >> how about your brother? i just talked to him two days ago. >> how is he doing? >> he just left washington, was going to oregon. he was squatching. absolutely. >> it's now up to flip's older brother, deputy flynn, to keep staff and sergeants up-to-date on justin's journey. >> i don't know if he saw one. he hasn't caught one. i'm pretty sure he hasn't caught one. >> i check in with usa today every day. >> right? >> another sasquatch believer is scott dipiazza who decided to try out a new hair style for the upcoming visit with his mother.

>> what's your mom going to see when she sees your hair in corn rows? >> i don't know. she'll probably dig it. she supports everything i do, except for breaking the law. >> dipiazza is awaiting charges on breaking and entering into a vehicle. he had a long list of convictions but dipiazza says he's gotten away with far more crimes than he's gotten caught for. >> i've done some pretty dirt ball, [ bleep ]. there is this mexican market i used to go for on the west side. i feel like a real dirt ball for this. there was a shoe box with wrapping paper around it and a picture of a guy in a hospital bed with a bunch of hispanic writing, spanish writing, in american i'm sure it said something like, i'm real messed up, help me, charity box. me being an [ bleep ], i take off my backpack, put it in my backpack and left and there was 150 bucks in it. and then i justified it by

saying those mexicans were probably just ripping us off anyway, like that guy was probably already dead or something and they just kept that there as a tip jar. >> i'm not doing this. uh-uh. i tried but when i start doing the next braid, this braid start coming down even more. look at this. it won't stay. >> lately, dipiazza hasn't had much luck at the poker table. he gamables for commissary snacks. >> all right. here is four now. he will get the honey bun. the black eye with the lotion will give me a honey bun and brown sleeve. >> you owe me one more. you owe me one more. i get one more. >> i was up and went down and so i was just basically giving him the -- what i lost. >> though dipiazza has once again taken a loss, he now has a visit from his primary source of income, his mother, lisa. she's scheduled an appointment at the jail's visitor center for a video visit with her son.

one minute past. mom, can you answer the phone if you're not coming? i'm nervous and people are waiting on me. i'm like real pissed now. i feel like a total [ bleep ] idiot. >> after half an hour, the video monitor finally clicks on signaling lisa's arrival. >> hi, sweetie. i had an appointment. >> hold on, just let me wait half an hour real quick. >> okay. why don't you do that? what did you do to your hair? >> i had an appointment. i had to do what i had to do. grandma, i tracked her down. she had a flower sale at the church. >> and i sat here for a half hour starring at a blue screen, people are laughing at me, i'm ready to freak out. i'm mad at you and i don't want to be mad at you because i haven't seen you. >> i know. i have a good reason.

>> i just don't buy the excuses but whatever. >> look at your hair. really sweetie? i got to take a picture of this crappy hair you got. amanda will crap herself. your hair is hideous, honey? >> i had a real bad day, mom. >> do you have a fever? >> no, i lost some money. >> how? >> playing cards. i have to play cards to eat. i have to win to eat and i lose and it frustrates me. it hurts me right here when i lose. >> really? >> yeah, it's like -- it builds up anger and makes me anxious. why didn't you put money in my account? >> because i'm going to put $10 in your account today and they will suck $3 out. do what you got to do on 7 bucks. >> how much? >> seven because they take out three. >> $7? >> you know what, don't go to jail if you don't want to live on $7 a week. >> buy some crackers. >> i'm going to gamble it away.

i'm going to try to turn that 7 into 14 and that 14 into 30. >> really? do you have shoes like those? >> because it was like -- yeah. i had to sell my crocs. >> what? >> i sold my crocs. >> why? >> because i needed to eat. >> are you kidding me? >> it's cool. is there any way that you can ask grandma for three more dollars so you can put 13 and get 10? >> no, grandma is at the flower store. >> $7 is like -- >> you know what? you know what? do what you got to do, stretch it out. if you need to buy crackers, that's a lesson learned. >> i appreciate everything you give me. >> he is my son. he's my sweet boy. it's just he ended up with the wrong people at the wrong time, so because he made foolish mistakes, he has to pay for those.

you don't shut off your kids because they make mistakes. >> i love you, mom, thank you for coming. >> i love you, too, sweet. >> sorry you didn't have more time to visit. >> i know. >> but thank you for the $7. >> i do what i can for you, sweet. can you please take a bath? >> no, i love you, mom, bye. >> i love you, too, sweet, bye, honey. >> bye. >> he's just done some really foolish things, but i know that as he grows, when he gets married, when he has kids, his greatness is yet to come. i've always told him he's destined for greatness, and he is. he'll show everybody. he'll be fine. coming up -- >> see that piggytail? >> deputy flynn returns.

scott dipiazza hears from the judge and a major development for the four men accused of home invasion and rape. and you weren't covered. oh, and your car is a time machine. [ beeping ] ♪ would you go back to when you got that less-than-amazing policy and go with esurance instead? well, they do have tools like coverage counselor® to help you choose the coverage that fits you. it's like insurance from the future. actually, more like insurance for the modern world. thank you! esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call.

deputy justin flynn is back on the job at the jail after a three-week trip to find sis a sasquatch and he's returned with what he says is irrefutable proof. irrefutable. squatch print. you like that? irrefutable, bro, irrefutable proof. >> see the footprint? see the toes? squatch. irrefutable proof. >> to me, it looks like there's a lot of justin in it. >> no, no, there's not.

>> there's a lot of you in this. >> that's his sanity. >> native american will tell you that this is what it is. come here j.j., look at this. what do you think that is? >> looks like a crack pipe to me. no, it's a pencil. >> no, what's this? >> oh, i don't know, man. >> it's a squatch footprint. >> oh, squatch footprint. >> what do you think? >> perhaps. depends hon you look at it. >> this guy is insanity because you're telling native americans they are wrong to believe in sasquatch. >> you can believe what you want. i don't believe in sasquatch. >> what about you? >> i'm the only squatch on the west side. >> i'm a squatch believer. matter of fact, i get out of here on april 14th. i'm heading out west, and on my way i'm going to look for squatches. >> scott dipiazza knows his release date because his case is

now resolved. in a deal with prosecutors, he pled guilty to breaking and entering into a vehicle. he was sentenced to one year in the kent county jail in addition to the eight months he's already served. >> i knew i was going to get about a year in county jail, but i thought that he was going to take into account my eight months. so i thought he was going to say, okay, you've sat eight months, i'm going to sentence you to four more months in kent county jail, but it didn't happen that way. that's a long sentence, you know. >> sentencing is also finally in sight for four other inmates. nearly a year earlier, towns, hodges, and jones pled guilty to charges relating to a home invasion robbery in which a female college student was raped. they could not be sentenced until the case of the fourth co-defendant was resolved.

rederick melton has proclaimed his innocence. he's voluntary spent the past seven months in a sparse segregation cell preparing for trial, but now, there has been a major development and melton is headed back to general population. after nearly a year of proclaiming his innocence, melton has changed his plea. >> now that i've already pled guilty, i'm going to go to prison, so i don't want to be over there until i raid it out, so i just came over here. >> what made you decide to plead guilty? >> more evidence was at the last minute was brought up against me, so i decided to swallow my pride on some of the charges i didn't do for sure, and take the plea, you know, pled no contest, fight it on appeal. >> what did you plead to exactly? >> i pled guilty to all charges except for csc. i pled no contest to that, those three charges. >> are you saying that you were actually there that night? >> i'm saying, yes, i was

actually there. i'm just not accountable for everything that happened. the worst of the worst i would get like 38 years. best case 11 years. 11 years, that would be great, great. you know, that's why i plead no contest because that's not saying you're guilty, that's just saying i would rather not fight it. >> 12 days later, the four men are in the eve of their sentencing. are you nervous? why not? >> i mean, pretty much, you know, i know around what i'm fixing to get? >> what are you looking at? >> 14 to 23. >> how are you feeling? >> nervous. >> tell me what your guidelines are right now. >> from what i hear, they are 13 to 25 years. >> people think about the best going into the courtroom and faint when they get the worst, you know what i'm saying? you have to think about the worst.

i've been thinking about the worst, i've been thinking about coming home with 40, 50. >> it's been something you've been waiting for to happen and now it's finally here and it's like you got a gut feeling, you're scared about it, nervous. like, the first day of going to school or something like that. you don't know what to expect. coming up -- >> any one of you could have intervened and stopped it short of a really horrific criminal sexual assault. >> four co-defendants learn their fate and hear from their victim. >> i dreaded this whole process, dreaded it for the fact that i have to look in your faces. [ woman 3 ] to come together even when we're apart. [ male announcer ] in stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and more, swanson makes holiday dishes delicious. gravy and more, "stubborn love" by the lumineers did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? did you see the school ratings? oh, you're right. hey babe, i got to go. bye daddy! have a good day at school, ok?

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mr. melton, man. how you doing? come on out.

>> joe, i got one for ya. open the door. go right over here. >> life's like a box of chocolates. you never know what you're going to get. >> ah! >> you got a porn star mustache! >> this is like real -- >> ah! i know. [ laughter ] >> you look like somebody out of the -- >> ah. >> let's walk out this way. >> it's a lot of [ bleep ] getting sentenced today. >> don't know. ready to get it over with. it's been nearly a year since they have seen each other, and now it's time for the four men convicted of several heinous crimes that shocked the city of grand rapids to receive their sentences. the charges are home invasion,

armed robbery and criminal sexual conduct. the victim of the latter crime was a female college student. >> the state versus rederick melton, people versus brandon townes. people versus james hodges. people versus dorian jones. >> the record we have all four defendants with respective counsel, mr. becker. >> your honor, these kids are ready for sentencing at this point in time. i know we have a victim that wishes to speak and address the court all at once. >> i'll hear from the victim first, please. >> you do not need to state your name. go ahead, please. >> this whole crime has honestly been the hardest struggle i've ever been through. i've dreaded this whole process, dreaded it for the fact i have to look into these faces, lost countless hours of sleep trying to avoid the nightmares of that night replaying in my head over and over again.

i dread it so much i thought i couldn't do it anymore, that i couldn't bear to get up out of bed in the morning. but i did, and i will keep doing it. i hope during your sentence you will reflect on your terrible decisions and actions of wrongdoing and in your punishment you can become a better person. >> thank you very much. >> one by one, they stand before the judge. >> i would just like to apologize to the victims for my involvement in this event. >> i just want to take responsibility for my actions. >> what happened was never supposed to happen. >> i would like to apologize to the victims and their families in the community, and my family, and i take full responsibility fortunate what i d. i hope my >> i hope my sins does make me better person. pretty much all i have to say. >> do you know this is a horrible series of crimes that occurred almost a year ago.

26-plus years on the bench, one of the worst cases that i've seen. each one of the four defendants here pled guilty to criminal sexual conduct first degree and whether they participated directly or were aiders and abettors, there's no difference in the law. all four of these defendants were clearly involved. any one of you could have intervened and stopped it short of really horrific criminal sexual assault. >> though each of the four men agreed to a plea that allows for maximum sentences, they have banked on the judge being lenient. the first to be sentenced is rederick melton. >> first of all, on armed robbery, the sentence of this court that you be committed to michigan department of

corrections for a term not less than 18 or more than 40 years. and then consecutive to that, you are to serve on home invasion first degree, sentence of not less than 7, no more than 20 years and then finally consecutive to home invasion first degree criminal sexual conduct first degree, serve, second home invasion not less than 18, no more than 40 years with the michigan department of corrections. >> the judge has sentenced melton to a total of 43 to 100 years in state prison. then, it's on to the others. >> three counts of criminal sexual conduct first degree, a term of not less than 18 no more than 40 years. a term of not less than 20, no more than 40 years. your guidelines are higher, mr. townes, based on your prior

record which includes criminal sexual conduct a sentence of not less than 25, more than 40 years, and then to be served consecutive to that on home invasion first degree, fourth felony offender, a sentence of not less than 12 years, no more than 20 years. sexual conduct, sentence not less than 25, no more than 40 years. you are entitled to file an application to appeal. >> thank you, your honor. >> thanks, your honor. >> screw them. i'm going to die in prison, basically. >> 20 years, 25 years. that's reasonable. you know? 50 years is -- make an example out of me or something.

what did you expect? >> i didn't expect 43. >> what was the worst in your mind? >> worst was like 28. >> no matter what, 23 years? >> yeah. >> unless i put in for an appeal. >> is that your own hope. an appeal? >> right now, breaking out. >> is that what you're thinking about right now? >> yeah. i could do it with you. grab you up. watch out.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. with more than 130 prior stays. >> he's been coming in here a long time. so everybody knows randy hudson. >> a well-known inmate is back in jail. >> the nicest guy in the world when sober. when he's drunk such an a-hole. >> alcohol also drives a former marine to violence. >> hit him once, knocked him to the ground. hop and, started raining them down on him. >> the victim, a father. >> a