on don't know him or don't respect him. >> i don't like him. >> my man right here. >> he's one that thinks he's better than blood.

he's one that wants things his way or no way. >> this is my man right here. >> is he minister. >> minister? >> that's not even a position, minister of defense. the. >> just now we're going to little italy right here. this is little italy right here. >> he was claiming a position that doesn't even exist. instead of being abusive and being touched, we just let him be himself. >> while many of the inmates stay tight-lipped, it's another stoert among the 50 or so women. >> you want your blanket? you got it, you got it. >> they're dramatic all together. >> being locked up, confined to a small area.

females are confrontational by nature. everybody's dealing with different situations, emotions are flying, so they're just -- they're petty. this is how they release their anger. >> you are your own racist. some people -- i had [ bleep ]. >> while officers have grown used to petty conflicts some veterans on staff say lately it's been worse than ever. >> it's never been like that. it's never. in 7 1/2 years we've never had them go through the door, what are you arguing about now? she looked at me. she touched me. >> every one of you are pushing this beyond where it needs to go. i'm not going to deal with it. i'm not. >> recently we've had a number of different permits within the female wing. it's been a lot of type "a"

personalities in the mix. it's causing a lot of problems in the unit. >> one of the most prominent of those personalities is shontera jennings. >> i speak my mind. i'm a little loud at times. they look at me as a trouble maker. another inmate feels i shouldn't be in the unit because they're intimidated. just because they're intimidated, because they're not real, you want to keep me in the unit. >> the ms. jennings and i go back several years. her flamboyant personality draws attention from staff and she and i have had several interactions as a result of her loudness, let's say. >> what did i say was going to cause you to get in trouble? >> my mouth. >> what got you in trouble?

>> my mouth. my outspokenness. >> you call it outspokenness. you come across aggressive because you're loud. >> she was charmed with driving without a license and has pled guilty but she's had private convictions for identity theft and credit card fraud. >> it's like a hobby, credit card fraud. you have to pick a job you like. i can't work minimum wage. >> it seems most who know her have an opinion about jennings. >> some appreciate her big permit. >> she's funny. she's funny as [ bleep ]. >> she makes date go by. she laugh, joke around, she play. she's really aid nice person. >> others could live without her. >> people gravitated to her like she was the next coming of

christ and she's the worst -- you know, she was next to satan's spawn. >> she's just loud and obnoxious. >> your the best inmates. >> she's ugly. >> i'm done. i'm sorry i came here. i mean that. >> she finds herself in the middle of a frickas. >> [ bleep ]. >> had a complaint against this gentleman here, yeah. said that she was not living right. >> he confronts a member of the bloods but has he goj too far.

hackensack, new jersey, is known better for nice homes and

downtown shops than gangs. but gangs do exist here. about 50% of the inmates are gang affiliated. most are dwighted among racial lines but the predominant gang has diversity. >> dominant is blood. they believe in numbers. it's a numbers game for them. could be bloods, black, white, hispanic. when i worked in state prison system, i had a blood member who was a hindu. their willingness to accept anyone into their gang is what makes them the most dangerous. >> why? because we don't know where they're coming from. >> sometimes blood members don't even know each other. but one blood everyone seems to know is michael bates, who has just met with his attorney. and is not pleased with what he has learned.

>> double digit. if i got to do time, they got to give it to me. i ain't pleading guilty. >> he has pled not guilty to weapons charges and aggravated assault. he hoped to reach a plea deal with a sentence of five years but prosecution had a harsher sentence in mind. >> 15, three years running consecutive. meaning i have to do 15, 15. >> so 18 years? >> give or take. >> bates will now take to to trial but he'll stay in bergen county jail. >> i believe michael bates is highest ranking member in the jail. >> michael bates is the real deal. he throws his weight around here. >> i hold a high rank around here, o.g., original gangster. i don't stab people in prison, i don't orchestrate riots i've

been in every prison in the state of new jersey except other than state. everybody knows me. my word is golden. they don't hear my audio. they see my ved video. all i have to do is send an order and it's carried out. or if i want somebody stabbed, it's going to get done. >> recently, the self-proclaimed minister of defense is transferred into the same housing unit as bates. enrique cruz says he came on his own volition. >> i go, come when i want. >> he thinks he can dictate how he moves in this facility. we move him around a lot so he gets the idea he can pick and choose where he gets, which is not the case.

>> cruz says he came on assignment to investigate bates and has no problem saying so right in front of bates. >> one of my punks had a complaint against this gentleman here. yeah. said that he was not living right, so i came here to speak to the o.g. after speaking with him and confirming that the other individual is a liar, now i must go. tonight i will be gone. that's all it is. it's status. >> hopefully i'm going to a minimum tier. stay out of trouble. keep my nose clean. then i'll get out sooner than later. this is a surprise to you. he didn't even know this. not everything is for everybody. i'm sent through high ranks. you know who sent me, right? now that you know, i spoke to his o.g., he was in the clear. i'm hands-on type of individual.

i can point my finger and have somebody murder, i don't. >> never heard of him. never heard of him. i get necessary phone calls, necessary contacts and i'm going to see about the guy. see what's up. to me in high heart and my mind, i feel he's nobody but i can't just go with what i feel. i still have to do my own work. i still have to do proper investigation. if he is who he says he is, he'll be dealt with. >> bates has chosen patience over action, a fight has been reported in another part of the jail. officers rush to the scene. >> lock in! >> i want to hear it. >> i don't know how it started zoom i don't want to hear it. >> the staff quickly learn

jennings is at the center of the disturbance. >> shut up. both hands on the wall. face the wall. >> i personally never had to deal with shontera until her most recent time in. her name would come up as being a problem in the unit, causing problems or whatever. >> officers separate the inmates in order to interview them but they know sorting them out won't be easy. >> the situation with the dryer -- or the washing machine. i let her go first. she was next. >> yo, yo, i'm not yelling at you, right? i asked you -- no. >> say, all going -- >> who's camille. >> id had a problem who was stealing with me addition. >> hold on. >> i got hyped this girl. >> i moved to another table.

>> after much back and forth, officers determined it was started when jennings was gossiping about another girl. >> you stay out of their hair for four hours. you go back, four hours, no issues, doors open up tomorrow morning at 7:00. first issue from anybody, the whole tier will get locked in for a week and then we'll start pressing charges on everybody. >> i did four hours lockup and i didn't even do anything. but have a conversation. like, just because i'm considered the ring leader. >> coming up -- >> i want to get out. with every ounce in my body, i'm done. >> michael bates has second thoughts on gang life. and, a war of words in the women's wing turns violent. >> [ bleep ]

doing time behind the walls of the bergen county jail in hackensack, new jersey, is the last place michael bates wanted

to be today. not only did he recently complete a nine-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter, he's now awaiting trial on two new counts of aggravated assault. if that's 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. they're to make a device known in jail as a fifi. >> you could get a towel or whatever and you roll this up. you roll the towel up real tight and you take the glove and you stuff them inside the towel. then you take vaseline and you throw the vaseline in between the towel, the gloves, and it's called a fifi. and -- >> but bates says he has more concerns on his mind.

he has a 12-year-old son that he has missed out on raising due to the years he spent behind bars. >> i'm supposed to show him exactly what he is supposed to do, ain't supposed to do, right from wrong, all that, to be there as a man, as a father. when i was 12 i was smoking weed and cigarettes and having sex. that was back then. now it's 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 don't even want to think about that. i hope not. absolutely not. 24. >> bates knows that if he wants to be a positive role model to his son, he must reconsider his 13-year membership in the united blood nation. >> i want to get out, with every ounce in my body i'm done. i have nothing left. everything is gone. so what more could they want from me? >> but leaving the bloods is not easy. >> it's real hard. you got to know people who know

people up there high in the rank. where you can go to them and you can plead your story. you may get blessed out and you may not. i'm not going to say tomorrow i'm 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 don't know when it's going to happen. >> and right now bates can't 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 he's just invited himself into bates' cell. >> i've been in this jail here so anybody who's blood is part of my soul, is going to come across my desk if they're doing something wrong. the paperwork is going to come to me. >> he's a minister of new jersey and all this. got to come across his desk. what desk? what's got to come across -- who are you? >> i like this cell, this view.

that's what i like. >> bates says he's playing it cool until he has accurate information on who cruz really is. >> i think he's retarded, kind of slow. i think something is wrong with him. something is wrong with this guy. >> all day, blood like that, five, all day. recognize real when you see real. you know? ain't nothing hidden about this. this is straight blood love. you know what i mean? this is what i do. >> he's going to get dealt with either here or when he goes down to prison. somewhere he's going to get dealt with. >> coming up -- >> i'll break his face plate. i'll stomp a hole in him. >> enrique cruz has a change of heart about michael bates. and the women take it up a notch.

here's what's happening. the united states is condemning what it calls russia's invasion and occupation of ukraine. secretary of state john kerry says russia's decision to send troops to ukraine threatens the peace and security of that

country and the wider region. officials in southern california are keeping a close high on the foot hill. they're still worried about mudslides after heavy days of rain. evacuation orders remain for several communities. more news later. now back to "lockup." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. behind the walls of hackensack's bergen county jail, tensions continue to rise in one of the female housing units. >> we only have about 45 to 50 women in the female wing right now. usually even with more women in there it's a lot quieter than it has been. this particular group just does not mix well. >> officers continue to monitor the group to figure out which inmates fuel the conflicts. >> one of them who is the loudest person in there, she was removed yesterday after an investigation where multiple people have said she was the

common denominator. >> that inmate is shontera jennings. shortly after she was released from a four-hour stay in the neighboring segregation unit, she is back in for disruptive conduct. >> i don't know why they target me because i'm the loudest. i talk back to the staff. they look for a way to keep me locked in here. >> back on her former housing unit the conflict rages on two new fronts. martina bush files complaints for stealing hair gel that led to jennings' exkulgs. dudley denied the allegations. >> she stole the gel! she stole it! >> [ bleep ]! [ bleep ]! >> step outside for a minute so i can talk to you. >> shontera's nice. she is funny as hell. even though she be wrong sometimes that was wrong what you all did. >> take a breath now. relax. >> back up. back up.

>> now bush directs her rage at harley rooney, accusing her of snitching on jennings as well. >> that was wrong because nobody ever said they was going to do nothing to either one of you all. you want to go home. >> you don't know what the [ bleep ] that was said out there. >> you don't know what the [ bleep ] was said, martina. >> [ bleep ]! >> you get all offensive about it. >> i'll sit down. >> bush is moved to the segregation unit just a few doors down from jennings until she calms down. >> did i start that too? >> yeah, you did. >> but now rooney is in an argument with another inmate. chelsea carpontier. >> what do you say [ bleep ]? >> i didn't. >> [ bleep ]. >> [ bleep ]! >> you want me to [ bleep ] -- >> oh, no.

[ bleep ]. >> this one. >> i didn't even [ bleep ] do anything. >> you did. >> i didn't! >> you [ bleep ] your cell right now! >> the officers order all inmates back into their cells. carpontier and rooney are removed from the unit and taken to segregation. >> i had a broken nail. >> that's it? >> yeah. >> what are you guys talking fighting about? >> a new girl was saying a few of us wrote a statement on another female to get her removed. and it's false. they asked her questions. we answered the questions. she was the source of all the problems so they removed her. chelsea came out of her room from upstairs and started talking, so i told her to come 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. >> [ bleep ]! >> the whole unit got in everybody's business. just stupid, petty drama. >> both women will receive several days in segregation for fighting. tensions continue to rise in another unit as well. until 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. after speaking with him and confirming that that other individual is a liar, now i must go. tonight i will be gone. >> and a couple of days later -- >> you only have seven. >> yeah. >> -- though cruz often boasts that he controls his housing assignments, his transfer has actually been prompted by a plea agreement on his drug charges.

>> he came back from court. 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. >> cruz's 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. >> how you doing? >> how you been? >> yeah, yeah. >> what's up there, old timer? i'm good. what's up with you? >> three days later, things seem anything but good between him and michael bates, who has just heard from other blood members that cruz has issued a threat against him. >> he's saying, yeah, he's going to find -- if you felt this way prior to coming up here with me. he was up here with me for days but he never showed no type of aggression toward me. now when he move off the tier he's saying going to do this, do

that. a kite was sent to me that he's a snitch out of new york. he's got a couple guys who are on a trial and he's turned state and is snitching on them guys. if this was true you think i'd be sitting here today with 12, 13 bloods around me? two crips? not at all. i don't care how big you are, how tough you are or not. you get dealt with. everybody is expendable. and i don't sleep on nobody. i could be walking and get stabbed today. i don't sleep on nobody. i take nothing for granted. my right hand on a stack of bibles to my kid that's false. >> hopefully i'll pass him in the hallway. if i have to sacrifice myself, i will. but he won't make it to that trial. and if he do, his mouth will be wired shut where he can't say nothing. they probably have to put wires on the inside and outside of his mouth. i'll break his face plate and i'll stomp a hole in him. i'm going to try to hurt him. it's hard for me to kill him so

i'm just going to try to hurt him to the best of my ability. >> coming up enrique cruz lets his fists do his talking. >> boom, boom, just one hit. he was all over the place. he couldn't stand up. >> but the results may not be what he claims they were. >> there's been enough [ bleep ] going on in this unit for the past week or so. i am tired of it. >> lieutenant acakios lays down the law.

staff at the bergen county jail have grown used to the bickering among female inmates. it's less common for shouting to turn violent. according to some the cause of this recent fight had to do with differing opinions of another

inmate, shontera jennings, who is currently in segregation for disruptive conduct on the unit. the jail's disciplinary committee has met to determine the length of jennings' stay in segregation. lieutenant acakios will now deliver the news. >> i think she kind of knows she is going to get sanctioned. i think the length of the sanction is what will maybe throw her off a little bit. the panel found you guilty of all charges. with a 30-day sanction. okay? so you're going to be in lock for 30 days. i bought your appeal form with me. you can file that and send to captain davies. >> i can have my legal form, my legal paperwork? >> yeah, absolutely. >> they took that. they said i couldn't have that as long as i'm here >> legal paperwork? >> yes. >> i'll review it. actually i will have the sergeant review it with the staff and make sure you get everything you're supposed to have. >> okay. thank you. >> okay. i anticipated her to react a little differently. however, she took it rather

well. any and all privileges are suspended for the length of the stay. she'll be locked in 23 hours a day. she'll come out for one. for, you know, basic needs, necessities, shower, stuff like that. all right, ladies. my next step is to enter the housing unit which all the nonsense took place in and i'm going to address them as a group. now i'm only going to talk about this once. i'm not going to keep talking about this. some of you don't even know who i am and that's fine but there's been enough horse [ bleep ] going on in this unit for the past week or so, i am tired of it. this is not to be tolerated onmy level. stealing, fighting, arguing, name calling. this is not high school or junior high school, ladies. okay? this kind of [ bleep ] keeps going on, you guys will all be placed in lockup. i don't care who did what who didn't do what. i'm not going to listen to any stories. i'm not going to deal with anything that says who did what and people pointing fingers at each other. am i clear? all right, ladies. thank you for your attention. >> thank you.

>> i hate you. >> just when all appears quiet and under control -- >> come down now -- >> -- an outburst is heard from the neighboring segregation unit. >> she's screaming. >> oh, my. >> 3 years old. >> i wouldn't care if i did something [ bleep ] but they're lying on me. they're lying! >> bring it -- bring it -- bring it down. you've got to bring it down. you have to bring it down. the only way i'm going to stay here and talk to you is you bring it down. i'm not going to let you yell at me. ultimately the reaction i was expecting when we gave her the results of her hearing is what we got. you know, i expected her to start ranting and raving. what's the issue? >> i want to be able to call my lawyer. why can't i use the phone? >> you will have the opportunity to contact your lawyer. okay? >> it's not fair.

>> but you need -- what you needs -- >> i'm an animal. >> shontera. shontera, look -- look at me. look. okay? when you look at me i know you're listening. if you're not looking at me i'm not sure you're listening to me. okay? you and i know each other a long time, right? right? yes or no? >> yes. >> okay. all right. have i always treated you fairly? >> yes. >> all right. >> i don't think it's fair, though. i really don't think it's fair. they was just arguing. i don't understand it. >> their situation is a little different. >> how is that though? >> i -- listen. i don't have to explain that to you. >> but it's not fair, though. it's not fair!

>> there are a lot of things in this world that aren't fair. okay? fill out your grievance paperwork. get it to the staff by the end of the day. i'll make sure it winds up on captain davie's desk. all right? >> all right. >> i think she'll settle down. she'll get everything she is supposed to have. she has rights to legal phone calls. those will be given to her. she can submit a grievance or appeal of her sanction to captain davies, which is what i instructed her to do. explain to him why she felt the sanctions were unfair. she'll be given her due process in that way. i'm telling you, shontera, no sitting here screaming and yelling at the door because that's all you're doing. you're screaming and yelling at the door. you're wasting a lot of energy for nothing and you're only going to get yourself in more trouble. >> in the men's medium security

unit, it's chow time and one of the new inmates enrique cruz says he has informed the inmate food service that he is now in charge of distribution. >> basically they got three guys who runs the wagon but they won't move nothing unless i let them move something. like they want to pass out the extra tray, i tell them who to pass the extra trays to. now everybody understands it's my way or no way. >> enrique cruz claims he has this clout that he runs the jail. he doesn't run the jail. i'm the man. i own this place. no. there is only one person that runs this place and that's the warden. >> one of the inmate food servers also took issue with cruz trying to lay down the law. a fight ensued and cruz is now on his way to segregation. >> mr. cruz is a bit of a cave man. all he knows is food and fight. so he like to come up to me and push up to me for extra trays and whatnot. >> i told the individual, stop handing out the trays the way he was handing them out, giving them to all his friends instead

of giving them to the workers and people who deserve the trays. >> being very aggressive toward me in front of the whole tier. and i -- you know, in here you can't really appear weak in front of everybody. i didn't want him to push up on me in front of everybody and think i was just going to hand them over. >> let's talk about this in your cell. i said, you don't want to go in my cell. well let's go in your cell. so i walked in behind him. he walked in my cell. he shut the door. so i went to shut the door. when i turned back around from my peripherals he's taking a swing. he missed and lost bad. real bad. >> but the 27-year-old, 5'8", 160-pound bevelac tells a different story than the 44-year-old, 6'1", 220-pound cruz. >> as soon as i walked in the cell, i turned around and he decided to punch me in the face. cruz has this idea he is still 25 and he can hurt people and stuff but his punches were bouncing right off my head.

>> just one hit. he was all over the place. he couldn't stand up. >> he hit me first and then, yes, after about three, four times of him punching me in the face and i realized i wasn't going to be able to calm him down, i hit him with the uppercut. brought him to the ground and that's when we both got maced. >> were you injured? >> no, not at all. >> not injured. >> no, not at all. >> but cruz says he had a secret motive for the fight, one that has nothing to do with food trays and everything to do with returning to the maximum security unit to confront michael bates. >> he ran his mouth. now he has to stand before me and be judged. so, i want to see him. i can't get moved unless i move myself. >> meaning? >> meaning i have to [ bleep ] somebody in order for me to get moved. i'm praying that goes my way. but if it don't, just a matter of time before somebody else gets knocked out.

but you better not tell my super. >> coming up, enrique cruz takes a battering, but it's a verbal one dished out by the prosecutor in this case. >> he had no problem whatsoever hitting on the undercover officer on the audiotape. @ñ

it's a new day and according to staff, a calmer one in the women's wing of the bergen county jail. in a plea deal with prosecutors shontera jennings pled guilty to unlawful use of a credit card in excess of $75,000. and will receive between two and six years in prison. >> now that she's gone we do have a certain measure of peace down at the m-3 unit. she can definitely stir the pot. now the pot's kind of peaceful now that she's not here. so it's not such a bad thing. >> enrique cruz has also had a change of scenery.

he was deemed the instigator but 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 don't have no problems with this guy. i never knew him. i don't know who he is. he's putting on a big act from back when he used to do. he got it in his mind that he's the person he was 15 years ago and it's not like that. you can't be. you got health, i got health issues too. i got high blood pressure and all that. right now he's gone so there ain't really too much i can say. he's not here to defend himself so i'll leave it at that. he knows when he sees me when we cross paths we got to be known. >> put me in that cage.

>> the only person cruz might square off with today is his judge. he's now in a holding cell waiting for transportation to court. where he will be sentenced for drug possession with intent to distribute in a school zone. >> i'm staying close by the door in case there is a way out of this [ bleep ]. i'm the first one. >> as the men wait, the group of female inmates also headed to court, enters the holding area, and cruz has something to say. >> [ bleep ] thicker than a bowl of oatmeal. and i ain't scared. i'm going to tell you. >> but about an hour later in the courtroom, cruz takes a more somber tone as he addresses the judge. >> in 16 years i ain't done anything but stay home with my girlfriend, took care of the family, took care of the kids. >> cruz's plea deal makes him eligible for up to four years in prison, but he hopes to convince the judge that all he really needs is a drug rehab program.

>> in 16 years i haven't been in no trouble. you can see yourself to help me instead of sending me to -- i done research on what rehabilitation, that meant and it says to make better. i don't want to be a better drug user. i want to be a better person. >> now it's the prosecutor's turn to give her account of cruz's past 16 years. >> in 1997 burglary and defiant. 2000, possession with intent to distribute a dangerous possession in a school zone. pled guilty. unlawful possession of firearms. possession of a defaced fireman. he pled guilty. 2004. threats to kill. threats of violence. possession with a weapon with purpose to use it toward another. attempt to cause bodily injury in 2012. possession with intent to distribute. the instant offense. the state had defendant selling marijuana to a female undercover

police officer on several different occasions. he had no problem whatsoever hitting on the undercover officer on the audiotape trying to pick her up and saying, girl, you're thicker than a bowl of oatmeal. >> after four minutes, of hearing the dozens of charges and convictions cruz has accrued during the past 16 years, the judge renders her decision. >> i am going to honor the plea agreement. i will sentence you to four years in jersey state prison with a two-year period of parole eligibility. >> can i say something, your honor? >> no the sentencing is -- >> i know it ain't going to help me but i'd like to just put this on record. i did sell drugs. i did. i'm being honest. i sold drugs to a friend that i knew, a so-called friend for 35 years. >> mr. cruz, you -- >> i understand. if you would have heard the tape -- okay. kicking me out now, huh? i understand. don't worry about it. >> it's over.

you got a chance to talk. >> but i wasn't lying. >> it's over? >> well, you've had your chance. >> i wasn't lying. i do have a drug problem. but it's over now. you know? >> soon cruz is out of court and back in the holding cell. >> thicker than a bowl of oatmeal? >> hey, hey. she had a fat ass you know what i mean? it is what it is. you know what i mean? but everything else, i don't give a [ bleep ] about what they say. people know me. loved on the street. loved by few, hated by many, but respected by all. know that. always know that. you know what i mean? they don't got to like me. they ain't got to love me. but they will respect me.

♪ finding out you're pregnant is a life-changing moment for anyone, especially if you're a man. >> i am about to try to take a pregnancy test. we'll see what happens. you need to leave now. >> what's going on there? >> the baby is going on in there. >> this is the story of an extraordinary couple -- >> i love you. >> -- pushing themselves to extraordinary limits. >> there's that belly. you're having a contraction right now. >> and the ordinary endeavor to raise a family. >> who is this little one?