due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ deputies respond to a possible gang beating inside a cell. but outside the view of surveillance cameras. >> it appears that there's a physical altercation that's transpiring at this time. you can see the bodies jerking back and forth. >> the inmates say it was nothing. >> it was just roughhousing, that's all. >> that's for children.

you're in an adult facility. >> but one sergeant isn't so sure. >> we know that these individuals are gang members. this may have been a new recruit to this gang, getting jumped in. >> a wounded warrior now faces a whole new battle. >> they said i stabbed one guy ten times. >> stop at the red line. turn and face the wall. >> arrested with him is his girlfriend. but will jail tear them apart? >> it feels like his lawyers are trying to put it on me. ♪ ♪ just a mile from the state capitol building in sacramento,

california, it could be mistaken for just another office, but instead of open cubicles, you'll only find locked cells inside the main branch of the sacramento county jail system. of the 2,000 men and women incarcerated here, about 60% are only charged with crimes and are awaiting trial at the resolution of their cases. the downtown branch is one of two jails run by the sacramento county sheriff's office. it's also the primary booking facility where officers from 13 different law enforcement agencies bring new arrestees. >> turn to the right, face the wall. >> probably every day we process between 100 to 200 bodies coming through here a day. >> follow your directions. keep your hands by your side. >> i prefer working on the booking area. it's unpredictable. >> face the wall. >> we have every walk of life come through here every day. >> the two newest arrivals, ryan sobel and his girlfriend, ariel potter.

>> miss potter. >> their arrests are the result of a dispute they say was with potter's ex-boyfriend following an exchange of angry text messages. sobel said he and potter arranged to meet the ex-boyfriend in person to work it out but were attacked by him and four of his friends. >> i ended up grabbing a knife that the guy had. and they were all jumping on me and in self-defense you know, start swinging both of my arms and i had a knife in my hand. >> there's so much going on. i don't even know when this knife thing even happened. >> but there's blood all over the place. >> you turn right here. take a seat on the bench. >> they said i stabbed one guy ten times. and it was just such chaos. it was like a four-minute brawl. and then we got out of there. >> he has a big black eye and

i think it was his pinkie is cut down to the bone twice. they called the cops saying my boyfriend was the one that brought the knife when it was actually them that brought the knife. >> sobel and potter admit to fleeing the scene after the fight. but the others immediately called police. none of them was placed under arrest and according to police reports two of them suffered stab wounds and were transported to the hospital. >> did you guys ever call the cops after this incident? >> no. >> why not? >> i don't know. i think he was scared that this was going to happen. i think he was scared that we were going to get arrested, so he didn't call. >> stand right here, face the computer. keep your left hand by your side. and your right hand first. >> police searched the area, arrested the couple a few hours later. they have yet to receive their official charges from the arresting officers. >> sometime when people get booked into the jail, there's an

investigation that goes on beforehand. throughout the investigation if the officers aren't sure exactly what they're going to charge them for, they're not going to tell them that they're going to charge them with one thing because sometimes things change during the course of the investigation. >> can you tell me what my charges are? >> i'm not supposed to tell you about that. >> potter once spent a night in jail on conviction for writing bad checks. but this is sobel's first time in. >> what's wrong there? >> my pinkie. put your hand there. what's wrong with your pinkie? >> it's all wait down to the bone. >> what's that? >> there's two knife cuts all the way to the bone. >> he's been a perfect citizen. this is the first time he's ever been here. >> he's actually a veteran. >> sobel is not only a veteran, he's a purple heart recipient. he was in the army for 2 1/2 years when he was nearly killed by a roadside bomb in afghanistan. >> they rebuilt my entire mouth and everything. it's all fake. and i'm still getting surgeries. i'm 100% disabled with the military. so -- from the roadside bomb. i'm now retired. >> now sobel has a new trauma to

deal with. his charges have just come through, and they're serious. >> so these are your charges. looking at intent to murder. assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy. >> what? >> okay? because of the charges you don't have a bail release. okay? so you're going to stay here for two days. you're going to see the judge for arraignment. he'll tell you if you can bail out or be held over for trial. okay? understand? >> attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy. what snaps what do i do? i don't even know what do i do. i'm not this person. attempted murder? are you [ bleep ] kidding me?

i just don't get it. am i allowed to know what ariel's charges are? i mean, are they going to be the same as mine because she was there? >> she hasn't been fully booked yet. so we'll find that out shortly. >> am i allowed to know that? >> no. >> this is your paperwork. come on over here. first open door on your right. >> attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon or instrument, and conspiracy. >> when you get arrested, the detectives or the investigators, whoever is working that case, determine whether or not there's probable cause that a crime was committed. they've obviously determined that, because that's why you're here. all the information and facts they've collected goes over to the d.a.'s office and now the d.a.'s office decides whether or not they're going to formally press charges against you for these charges. if they do, then you'll be arraigned before a judge. if they decide there's not enough evidence, in this case, then they may drop the charges.

>> what's my next step? >> now that you've been booked, you're going to be dressed in. they're going to take your clothes. they're going to give you the jail clothes. they're going to take you up to the seventh floor, where you'll be classified, and you'll stay up there. they'll give you a cell. they'll give you a bed. you'll see a judge. and you'll be possibly formally arraigned within the next 48 to 72 hours. >> turn right, step through the open door. right here. all the way to the window on the right. you're going to take off all your clothes. put everything in the brown bag. shoes, socks, underwear, everything, please. >> get completely naked, everything in the bag. >> take one hand and -- turn around. put your right foot so i can see the bottom of it. left foot, please. spread your feet wide apart. bend over at the waist, reach back with both hands, pull your butt cheeks apart, cough hard twice.

[ coughing ] turn around. go ahead and get dressed. >> bend forward at your waist, reach behind you, pull your butt cheeks apart, cough hard three times. [ coughing ] >> what's it like wearing this uniform? >> it's horrible. it's the worst thing i've ever worn on my body. everybody staring at me in the [ bleep ] windows like they want to [ bleep ] kick my ass or something. >> what do you mean? >> well, like the mexicans and the [ bleep ] over there. >> like a football. take your hands and put them inside the waistband in the front. >> go down to the end of that yellow line. face the wall for me. >> stop at the red line. turn and face the wall. >> right now you're standing in the position of safety. if a fight were to break out, you need to assume this position. knees and toes on the wall, hands buried in the waistband of your pants. >> if a fight breaks out, we'll assume you're part of the problem unless you stand like this. >> turn to your left. >> if we walk by you and we think you want to fight us we

will deal with you accordingly. go ahead and turn to your left. >> turn to your left. walk down the yellow line, follow the yellow line all the way down. all the way to the back of the elevator, stay facing the back wall. correct. turn back. stay facing the back wall. >> do you want to eat dinner? >> here you go. here's your tray. >> you want me to take it? >> mm-hmm. facing that wall. >> straight down the hallway here. grab two blankets. >> both hands? >> yeah. two blankets. that's fine. >> you're in 12. >> we're in the 12 200 bond. you're in cell 8. ♪

>> just go ahead and step in there. classification will come and talk to you in a few minutes. >> a few minutes? >> yep. >> the inmates are given a temporary housing location until they talk to classification officers. through the classification process is you know how we find out if people need to be separated from the general population, if they have any gang issues, if they have any enemies, or if they have any psychiatric issues. and then they house them appropriately after that. for inmate sobel and inmate potter, since it doesn't seem like they have any housing restrictions, doesn't seem like they have anything that's going to keep them separated from the general population, chances are they'll likely be housed by tomorrow morning. coming up -- >> apparently i wasn't as clean as i thought i was. >> brian sobel is assigned a cell and a cellmate. >> his little cell is his domain. something doesn't go his way, he doesn't appreciate that. >> the possible gang-related

brawl leaves investigators with questions. >> your eye is a little bit red, are you okay? did you get poked in the eye? but uft you've just got one eye that's red. at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like playing the boss equals the boss wins. wow!

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the downtown branch of the sacramento county jail system has its own gang investigation unit. it exists to keep pace with the ever-growing networks of gang-affiliated inmates. deputy gamen is assigned to the unit. >> we do have quite a few of gang members in sacramento county jail. but a lot of it now has to do with the hood you're from or the area that you're from. it's not always as easy to identify who's on the same team or who gets along. obviously we kind of have to try to keep our finger on the pulse as much as we can. >> officers have just responded to a ruckus between four known gang members. since it occurred inside a cell,

the surveillance footage only tells part of the story. >> it appeared that a fight was going on. we don't have cameras in the cells. we have the cameras inside the housing units to ensure what's going on. but inside the cells they have an emergency button that they can press if they're under duress and we'll respond to assist in any capacity needed. but in some cases all you can hear is just the yelling because no one can push that button. so we have to respond as well. >> the four inmates involved are restrained and separated. it's now up to sergeant hufford and other deputies to determine what happened. >> explain what happened, if anybody's hurt. >> wasn't no real fight or none of that. >> that was just roughhousing. that's all it was. >> you look a little red and scuffed up to be horseplaying. so did this turn into more of a wrestling match or -- >> no. >> what was happening that the officer from the tower would have thought that a fight was going on?

would it just have been hugging or just -- >> they see all the young black males dressed all together, so they say it's a fight, a fight broke. >> your eye is a little bit red. did you get poked in the eye. >> i just got out of the shower. you see my hair's still wet. >> but you've just got one eye that's red. >> that's not nothing. >> i want to make sure you're not scratched in the eye. >> you're in a jail, so roughhousing, that's for children. you're in an adult facility. okay? >> i'm sorry about that as a man from another man. >> we'll get back to you in a minute, then, okay? >> all right. >> close up your door. >> it sounds like at least the two from different cells went in to another cell. and you can see why that's a rule. i mean, obviously when you're going into another man's dwelling problems happen. and sometimes it's under the ruse of being a friend that they go into these cells. and obviously that's a bad recipe. bad things can happen.

>> jonathan darling and dejohn houston are the two men that ran into the cell. but they say it wasn't to harm anyone. >> yeah, everything all good. a little police brutality today. >> playing, a little roughhousing, you feel me, a little workout there. you feel me? for real. >> over in another housing unit, ryan sobel is struggling to adjust to his new living situation. it's been 48 hours since he and his girlfriend, ariel potter, were arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy. both have since been arraigned and have pled not guilty to all charges. potter has declined any further interviews. sobel has been assigned to a two-man cell in a general population housing unit. if found guilty the charges carry the possibility of a life sentence. >> i haven't slept for two days. you know, just really difficult for me to understand. i just, you know, broke down

really quickly and, you know, it's a scary -- it's a scary time of my life. >> phone calls are actually $4 a call. it's pretty crazy. >> i've had a very comfortable sealy posturepedic at home waiting for me. and this is by far not even close to it. i think my dog has a better bed than this. >> sobel shares s cell with jerry guillone, who agreed to appear on camera but declined to speak. but sobel said guillone had plenty to say to him off-camera. >> his little cell is his domain and, you know, if something doesn't go his way, you know, he doesn't appreciate that. apparently i wasn't as clean as i thought i was. just the type of ways that he makes you do things.

flushing the toilet every time you go to the bathroom for the smell and then after every time you press for water, wipe it down with a rag. i mean just kind of weird things like that, you know. >> rules of the room. mandatory. >> does that scare you? >> oh, absolutely. absolutely it does. i'm here by myself. and not this type of person. >> coming up -- >> talibans kick ass, it pisses me off. because i have seen the worst by these people. >> ryan sobel finds more to not like about jail. and -- >> three inmates just entered that cell, appeared to shove another one into the cell. here comes another one that's going to go into the cell. >> sergeant hufferd turns to the video in order to find answers. , in reality they're not. if a denture were to be put under a microscope, we can see all the bacteria that still exists on the denture, and that bacteria multiplies very rapidly. that's why dentists recommend cleaning with polident everyday.

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the grounds of the capitol building in sacramento, california is a purple heart memorial honoring members of the military who were killed or wounded in battle. just a mile away another purple heart recipient is attempting to

adjust to life inside the sacramento county jail. ryan sobel has been moved into a new cell because he was having problems with his first cellie. now the wounded afghan war vet finds old graffiti in his new cell adds insult to injury. >> "talibans kick ass." it pisses me off because i have seen the worst and been through the worst, you know, myself. by these people. >> sobel says his unit was attacked by taliban fighters on their way back to base from a nearby village. >> at the time we had three humvees. i happened to be in the lead humvee. for that mission i was driving. and ended up hitting a roadside bomb at the bridge. about half of the vehicle disintegrated. we were pinned down for about 3, 3 1/2 hours i want to say. and then we had a blackhawk helicopter ended up medevacing me out.

i ended up having retinal detachment, my eardrums were completely blown. i ended up having surgery on my head twice. both my clavicles were snapped. i had traumatic brain injury. i was in a hospital bed at that time. and i was heavily scarred and everything. i was given the purple heart. i don't even remember. i've seen the picture of my colonel putting it on my chest. >> sobel was honorably discharged due to his many injuries. but now he faces charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy. according to police, he allegedly stabbed two men in a brawl involving his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend. >> dinner was gross today. you know that, right? >> mm-hmm. >> like lima beans, that pumpkin pudding. >> a bit of good news for sobel is that he's getting along with his new cellmate, spencer asher. >> my cellmate, i've gotten him to want to join the military when he gets out. so he wants to change himself. i told him it's a perfect place

to start, you know. your recruiters will work with you to expunge certain things on your record and get you to be a squared-away citizen of the united states. >> can't wait to get up out of here and join the army. the army will do me good. i'm tired of coming back here. it sucks. >> asher has given sobel advice as well. he's shown him a way to skirt jail rules in order to communicate with his girlfriend and co-defendant ariel potter. >> we came up with kind of like a briefcase type situation here. it's an actual grocery bag cut in half. we filed down a toothpaste tube and tied a piece of string on the other side of it. and then on the other side is the crew which fastens in and tightens down the string. it's basically like your regular manila envelope and i made her a card and drew the cover for me. and i put in her favorite candy

and tomorrow our court date is, i'm going to try to give it to one of the deputies down there, saying that she forgot it in the courtroom and hopefully it gets into her hands. if not, it is what it is. >> coming up -- >> when i first got in here i was having extreme panic attacks and anxiety attacks and i couldn't breathe. >> ariel potter decides to speak again, and jonathan darling sheds light on what really happened in that cell. anything. even a stag pool party. (party music) (splashing/destruction) (splashing/destruction) (burke) and we covered it, october twenty-seventh, 2014. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ i am a lot of things. i am his sunshine.

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of drugs and insulin shots. i'm jerry mathers, and if i can do it, you can do it, too. a gunman opened fire at a popular bar, killing two people and injuring seven. at this time the motive for the attack remains unclear. in his first address of the year president obama said he would meet with attorney general loretta lynch to examine possible executive actions he could take aimed at reducing gun violence. and grammy award-winning singer natalie cole has died. she was 65. back to "lockup." due to mature subject

matter, viewer discretion is advised. sacramento county's downtown jail is also known as the main jail. 20 miles to the south, in the heart of one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world, is another jail. the rio casumas correctional center is considered sacramento county's second, or branch jail. unlike other jails, where the majority of inmates are only charged with crimes and are awaiting trial, the majority of the 1,900 men and women here are already convicted and serving sentences. >> this is not a place to be, children. >> this is what we do here every day. >> this is due in part to a

california law passed in 2011 designed to give relief to the state's once dangerously overcrowded prison system. now thousands of inmates who would normally have gone to prison are diverted to county jails lie rio kasumnas. >> what you got? >> at the center of this 140-acre facility is a 50-foot-tall security and control tower. >> the tower supervises the entire facility. you have a 360-degree view of the entire fence line surrounding our facility. we have one deputy up there at a time. it's staffed 24/7. our job is to sit up here and with the binoculars just check the fences, make sure nobody's trying to escape. or if somebody is near the fence, because we have a lot of programs that they're out there cutting the grass or whatever, make sure that they're within the perimeter. >> we're monitoring the cameras 24/7. at the same time you're hearing the beeps of the gates that need to be open. you need to go to your control board, open the gates and

then throughout the day we have yards that are open. so that's hundreds of inmates out and about. and i'm the only one that can see where they're at. i have to be looking around. and then they'll call me on the radio. the courts come in, buses going. so there's a lot of stuff going on. >> rio casunmas also houses overflow inmates from the main jail downtown and a bus carrying a group of transfers has just entered the gates. >> turn right. go in between the car and the bus. go in between the car and the bus. >> among the new arrivals is ryan sobel. >> everything was going fantastic. i got my first visit from my parents on saturday. got my commissary bag and loving life, as much as i could be. and 3:45 a.m. got called and said to pack my stuff, you know, i'm going to the branch here. and kind of a shock. didn't know what to do. really. >> housing at the main jail, they're usually at capacity. almost all the time. so after arraignments they'll

oftentimes send large busloads of inmates that are still pretrial down here. >> sobel along with his girlfriend and co-defendant ariel potter had recently appeared in court for a bail hearing on their charges, which include attempted murder and carry the possibility of a life sentence if found guilty. bail was denied to both of them. but sobel was able to execute his plan to send an envelope containing a homemade card and candy to potter. >> prior to me going into the room i acted like she dropped it and i gave it to one of the deputies and the next thing i knew the deputy that i gave it to didn't have it anymore. so either he threw it away or he gave it to her. >> he says his attorney will appeal the bail decision. but for now sobel is placed in a maximum-security housing unit due to the violent nature of his charges. back at the main jail downtown

sergeant hufferd has reviewed the surveillance footage of a possibly gang-related brawl. he must determine if this was good-natured roughhousing or something more sinister. >> in the middle of the screen the gentleman in the white t-shirt, you see him looking back and forth. three inmates just entered that cell, appeared to shove another one into the cell. here comes another one that's going to go into the cell. it appears there's a physical altercation that's transpired at this time. you can see the bodies jerking back and forth. obviously there's something going on that brings the attention of everybody in that housing unit. all the parties involved say they're just playing. we didn't have any physical evidence of any injuries. we didn't have anybody willing to complain they were assaulted. so truly we have to have a victim in order to act on their behalf. is in this particular case none of the parties involved were willing to do that. so we do have in-house facility rules.

these inmates were subsequently charged with horseplaying, roughhousing, and entering a cell that they're not assigned to. >> the four inmates involved have received three days of sanctions, including more time in their cells and suspension of visitation and commissary privileges. but sergeant hufferd says deputies will keep a close eye on them. >> we know that these individuals are gang members. part of the problem with being in a correctional facility is it can be a breeding ground for finding new recruits. and in this particular case it appears that this may have been a new recruit to this gang getting jumped in. they're trying to inform us that no, they're just friends, we're just playing, it's all a joke. obviously it's not a joke to us. if somebody gets hurt recruiting other gang members, these are all valid concerns for the safety of everyone in this facility and the integrity of the jail itself. >> are you affiliated with any gangs? >> allegedly i'm affiliated with

the stars, allegedly. >> jonathan darling, one of the inmates who entered the cell, now says there was more to the situation than horseplay. but it wasn't gang-related. >> if you're in your room and someone yell your name out over the tier and talking [ bleep ], you don't want to be your name labeled as no bitch or people talking [ bleep ] over your name. so you got to defend your name. >> what did he say. >> i came out with out my shirt and he said i was [ bleep ] small. and i said i'll show you small. >> that's what made you go in there? >> that's what made me go in there. i had a big -- they were probably joking around, but i don't take that [ bleep ] too kindly. >> darling has been incarcerated for the past 3 1/2 years. at age 15 he was charged with assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm and

discharging a firearm. at an inhabited dwelling. darling pled not guilty and began fighting his case from juvenile hall and was transferred to the adult jail upon turning 18. he said the reason the case is taking so long is because he refuses to accept a plea deal from prosecutors. >> right now the deal that's on the table is 11 years eight months. >> and you're not interested in taking an 11-year deal? >> hell, no. >> darling said he played high school basketball at the time of his arrest and dreamt of going much further. >> what position? >> point guard. >> point guard? >> i got kicked off -- >> yeah? >> they found weed in my locker. >> they found weed in your locker? how did that work out for you? >> it didn't work out pretty good. >> it ended your basketball career quickly. >> i didn't make it to one game. >> stay with it. >> see you later, sergeant. >> while most young men who aspire to be professional athletes lack the talent. darling shows that he may have actually had the skills. >> right here. >> you can't do it.

>> whoo! >> that's luck. >> is there a future possibility for you to play basketball? >> no. no future possibility. i mean, i got a serious felony on my record. you can't be no basketball star and be in the streets at the same time. that's not going to work out. >> okay. >> coming up -- ryan sobel runs into more trouble. >> last night some black guy fr upstairs threatened me and then took my dinner tray right in front of me. rn hits fight back fast tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue and neutralizes stomach acid at the source tum, tum, tum, tum smoothies! only from tums

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at the rio cosumnes branch of the sacramento county jail system it has been less than 48 hours since ryan sobel was transferred to one of the maximum security housing units here. he will soon be on the move again. >> 7:30 in the morning. i walked in there, they started asking questions and i had to show them paperwork, which is your charges and one of the guys came in and threatened me. and last night some black guy from upstairs turned around and threatened me, then took my dinner tray right in front of me. i just don't want any confrontation. >> when we got there this morning, i felt a lot of tension with the individuals that were out and about. i could tell that things obviously weren't right. he will definitely not be returning to that pod. we're going to find a different housing area where he's not going to have the same issues.

>> as sobel waits in a holding area for his new housing assignment, he and deputy decanio discover something in common. combat tours in afghanistan. and the possibility that they could have even crossed paths when sobel was badly injured by a roadside bomb. >> we were going about 35 miles an hour, and the back half of the humvee, we were going right over a bridge. >> i got a platoon that was based out of -- medevacs out of -- >> oh, really? >> and my platoon was based at anbar and we would pick guys up at jabaz if you got blown up or whatever and fly them to badr and get them out. it was in july of 2008. >> yep. >> that was probably my unit. >> that's crazy. >> medevac up there. >> that's so crazy. such a small world. >> it's just always interesting to talk to somebody who was in the same area at the same time. especially someone who suffered injuries.

because that's primarily what i was doing when i was there, was crewing medevac helicopters. definitely for guys like that who've been through a lot i have a soft spot for. try to help him out best as i can. >> a short time later, classification officers have found a new housing alternative for sobel. and deputy decanio will take him there. >> we have a tank that's been designated for individuals that don't necessarily need protective custody but they might not have as much experience with criminals and the criminal lifestyle. so based on what he said and the research we've done i think he'd be a good fit for that spot. >> grab all your stuff. >> okay. >> 17. you've only got two other partners. perfect. thank you. >> i thought it was going to be a little bit wider, but it is

what it is. >> how are you doing? brian. >> nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, man. >> i'm a.j. >> a.j.? >> yeah. >> nice. >> the new cell is designed for 12 men. but for now is only occupied by sobel, a.j. bongiorno, and one other inmate currently outside for rec. >> you need anything just ask. >> appreciate it. thank you, man. >> we're very respectful in here. we just want cool, peaceful camaraderie. if you want the tv off early, you know, we'll come to an agreement and we'll make it so if fits everybody's schedule and criteria. you have to be respectful in here. otherwise we'll get a lot of trouble your way. >> and in case there's any forgetting, sobel's new cellmates have their rules taped to the wall with special emphasis on the last one.

20 miles away at sacramento county's downtown jail inmates make their way to and from the adjoining courthouse. a few days earlier, sobel was here for a bail hearing with his co-defendant and girlfriend, ariel potter. he attempted to get an envelope to her by pretending she dropped it and handing it to a deputy to give to her. >> i'm going to try to give it to one of the deputies down there, saying she forgot it in the courtroom and hopefully it gets into her hands. >> but not only did the deputy apparently leave it behind, it's just been discovered by another. >> i think it's a female's property item. it's a paper bag. she's wrote down her name, her location, report number, the docket number. but it turns out to be some kind of card. i don't know if she was trying to pass it off maybe to her boyfriend or her husband or whatever. this was from last week and she hasn't come down. so i don't know if she's out of custody. there's a very good possibility. if she came down and she wanted

it, we'd give it back to her. but once it stays too long, it's just going in the trash can. >> soon after we met her, potter declined to speak any further on camera as she tried to adjust to her new surroundings. now several weeks later she has changed her mind. >> when i first got in here i was having extreme panic attacks and anxiety attacks and i couldn't breathe. it was scary. i was in shock for a while. i cried all the time. i thought i was going to be out within a couple weeks. i still am kind of confused about a lot of things and it sucks being in the dark and not knowing what's going to happen. waiting for court date to court date. just living on that week to week. it's difficult. it really is. >> what do you think about? >> ryan, honestly. i think about him a lot. and think about what i could have done differently that night. >> what could you have done differently that night? >> we shouldn't have gone.

we should have been the bigger people and just ignored it and just didn't go. >> potter and sobel were arrested several hours following a violent confrontation with her ex-boyfriend and some others, two of the people they fought with suffered stab wounds, allegedly inflicted by sobel. now the couple only sees each other from a distance during court hearings. >> have you tried to pass any messages to him? >> i'm not trying to get in trouble. i mean it's pretty simple. self-explanatory. you do this and you don't do that. all we get to really do is say i love you through the cell holding doors, and that's it. >> i love you, ariel. >> love you. >> coming up -- >> they gave me five days in the hole with everything taken from me. which was a definite experience. >> ryan sobel's week starts badly. then it gets worse. i don't use super poligrip for hold, because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures

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at sacramento's county's rio cosumnes correctional center a new cell with friendlier inmates seemed like a ray of sunshine for purple heart recipient ryan sobel. but it's been all downhill from there. >> they gave me five days in the hole with everything taken from me. which was a definite experience. kind of brought me back to the movie "cool hand luke." >> sobel was given five days in segregation. locked in a single-man cell 23 hours a day with loss of privileges. for attempting to send a letter to his girlfriend, ariel potter. >> the letter was written to her grandparents. i put a note in there saying can you reroute this to ariel's address. i thought that was okay. the letter i had written telling her to stay strong and that i loved her also said that i will see her at the next court date. >> unless an inmate is given

specific authorization, they aren't allowed to write other inmates in this facility. when looking into inmate mail, deputies are looking for anything that may cause safety concerns. other issues may be that they're talking to a co-defendant about their case and trying to come up with an alibi or something that may affect their case. >> the violation also cost sobel his place in the housing unit, where he was assigned for his safety. and he is now back in maximum security. >> i'm back here where i originally was, where i originally had issues. i'm in a different pod, which is right across the way. i can still see the people that i had issues with. but they really can't do anything. i mean, i guess. >> sobel no longer has 24-hour access to the phone or television. he now shares a cramped cell with kevin stern, who has been in and out of both jail and prison for the past nine years. >> how far did you get into your back last night? >> like 40 pages. >> 40? seriously? >> mm-hmm.

>> that's like three weeks for me. >> i know you're a slow reader. >> 40 pages? seriously? >> i mean, from the way he walked to the way he talked to everybody coming in here, you know, people asking him what are you here for, he's telling them -- normally you don't just disclose that to anybody, you don't talk to anybody about what you're here for. you don't talk about your case. he tends to speak without thinking a lot. we go through that every day. i'm like no, don't say that. you know what i mean? >> stern has played the role of mentor to sobel, preparing him for the possibility of spending years in a level 4 maximum security state prison. she be found guilty of his charges. >> i'm not educated. all my concern are going toward what kevin is teaching me. and that's what i'm concentrating on right now. there still is always something new that is going to develop. you know. someone has a different screw loose in their head that has a different opinion. we're dealing with animals.

and they all make the wrong decisions in life and have had for their entire life. and that's why they're in here. and that's why kevin and i are on the same level in terms of politics, that we just don't want to deal with that. he's there to remind me and babysit me and teach me. and me personally, i don't feel confident, you know, yet going to that next level. because with my case if convicted i'm automatically a level 4 inmate. and it scares me. >> sobel can also use a mentor in jail because it is unlikely he will be leaving soon. he has just had another bail hearing. the good news -- bail was finally granted. the bad news was the amount. >> attempted murder i believe was 500,000. and assault with a deadly weapon i think combined with conspiracy is another 500,000. so i was given a $1 million bail. >> sobel had hoped that being a wounded veteran and purple heart recipient would serve in his

favor. >> the d.a. thanked me for my service, and they wanted to use that against me, saying that i'm a menace to society, a threat to society, and a possible flight risk, you know, because of the higher-up training that i have. i just wanted to tell him that it has nothing to do with anything that's going on. i swore an oath to defend this country, to keep him from wearing his nice pretty blue suits five days a week and eating filet mignon and watching david lettermanman at night. he should be thankful for that. and for him to try to incriminate me because of that, i don't know, it was disheartening. >> sobel, who was defended by a private attorney-s at least eligible for bail. ariel potter, who was represented by a public defender-s yet to be granted any bail amount. >> i feel confused about that. it feels like his lawyers are trying to put it on me. so it's scary that it is all going to come on me and i'm

going to -- i don't know. i want ryan out. i do. if me being in here has to happen, i would rather have him out. i don't know. i love him and i don't want to see him in jail. sobel places at least some blame for their troubles on potter. >> i'm 100% disabled with the military. whether we're guilty or not guilty, her and myself put myself in harm's way. and you know, it could have very easily made my health worse. she should have been there as my caregiver, caretaker to help and support me. you know, and make those right decisions that night. >> i still feel as strong towards him as i ever have. i don't feel like this is going to hurt our relationship. and i know that he still loves me just as much as i love him. >> i had a lot of things that i

liked. five-bedroom house to a brand new car to a brand new boat to a loving girlfriend and dogs and -- i mean, i guess you can say that's the american dream. but it got washed away in a matter of a month. i've lost my house, my dog. just everything. >> it's not just being able to look out your window and seeing the train station. i just wish i was getting on that going somewhere else.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ two inmates fight for their lives. >> do i think the three strikes law is fair? no. >> a lot of his charges have to do with theft and violence. that seems to be his claim to fame. >> one contends with the law that could put him away forever. >> the judge, he basically deemed me unfit for society.