Jails, Institutions, and Honesty Before the Judge

Hope Sykes got 15 years for drug trafficking. For those readers who were comet farming, mining asteroids, or terraforming Mars, for the past couple of Earth years, she is the cousin of Ron Cummings. Ron, in turn, is (ostensibly) the father of missing five year old Haleigh Cummings. The reason an article about this sordid clan found its way to my pages is the common denominator of hard drugs. Hope's cycle is a microcosm of the addiction lifestyle. Ronald Cummings was arrested along with his teen-age (now ex) wife Misty Croslin, her brother Tommy, alleged thrill-seeker Donna Brock, and Hope Sykes in January. They face multiple charges of trafficking hydrocodone, better known as "oxycontin", "OCs" or "hillbilly heroin". Hope pled "no contest" and was first to be sentenced. Her codefendant's days in court are coming up over the next couple of months. Thanks to Florida's Sunshine Law and the clan's apparent disregard for it, we have a keen insight into a case of hard drugs destructive toll. It demonstrates narcotic use as it convolutes a family, its participant's roles, and their values (or lack of them). Let's do a quick re-cap of the drug bust involving key players of the Haleigh Cummings case, Hope's situation, behavior behind bars, and sentencing. We can close on how her life, so far, is a classic case of letting addiction run its course unchecked.

For anyone who has not read my dozen other stories here at Associated Content, I am NOT Rebecca from Donnybrook wringing my hands over the drug problem. Nor am I a clueless talking head who never lets facts get in the way of a good sound bite. I allowed my penchant for drugs destroy an almost storybook life. I accept full responsibility for both my actions and my need to stay off of drugs and out of trouble. Verifiably heroin free for over a half decade, the goal is to help the addict who still suffers get clean, stay off of drugs and out of jail. With that said, let us frame the bust; Ron Cummings shot to national attention, when his daughter, five year old Haleigh Cummings, was reported missing from her home on February 9th, 2008. For readers outside of the US, when a parent is so negligent as to lose their child here in the states, they inexplicably are accorded celebrity status. That is a different subject for another day.

One cannot help but admire Ron for refusing to share his spotlight with alleged human beings, George and Cindy Anthony. Now if slinging hard drugs is your sideline, assuming the police are stupid is not a very wise stance to take. Only an imbecile or an addict would traffic narcotics with an on-going missing child case. Think about this for a second; one would have to be powerful dopesick or just plain moronic to take such a gamble. Anytime a person is missing, under mysterious circumstances, the police understandably concentrate on the nearest and, presumably, dearest of the missing one's life. Considering Misty's puzzling phone call to 911, one would expect some scrutiny from law enforcement. So the stage is set. Ron Cummings seventeen year old girlfriend, Misty, was Haleigh's only acknowledged adult company, when the child disappeared. Her sire was allegedly at work in the wee hours of the morning of the 9^th. Misty calls 911 and show her priorities, "Hi...umm...I just woke up...and our backdoor was wide open and I think...and I can't find our daughter" The rest, sadly, is a tragic and unfinished saga. Please hit the accompanying resources to come fully up to speed. Sometimes February 10^th, 2009 seems like yesterday.

The beginning of this year finds Haleigh's disappearance, still a hot button issue now that a cavalcade of creepy folks surrounding that poor child was introduced to the viewing/reading/blogging public. At what seemed to be the height of disingenuous grandstanding; a narcotics bust rocked 5 people's world and produced a seismic shift in the community now following the missing little girl's unsolved mystery. Ron Cummings, father of Haleigh and favorite pet of a particularly shrewish talking head was busted slinging hard drugs. He scored 3 counts of trafficking prescription medications landing a staggering bond of a half of a million dollars. His teenage girlfriend, then wife and now ex wife Misty Croslin, apparently the facilitator, got 6 counts of the same. If Ron's bond was staggering, her $950,000 bond was mind numbing. I think the joker who bonded an accused child murderer out sniffed around this case, too. Maybe his spinster fan base reined him in because, blessedly, bond talk disappeared a while ago. Misty's brother Tommy, no Rhodes Scholar either, landed a cool $100,000 bond for 1 count. I think he was on probation and got a retainer tossed on him. Hope, who had ONE count, was held in lieu of her $150,000 bond. She WAS out on bond when she got popped. We will discuss more about that very shortly. Bringing up the rear was Donna Brock with 1 count of trafficking, held on a quarter of a million dollars. Rumored to be a self-serving mole who injected herself into the case for personal gain; Hope's sentence should warn all those other screwball bloggers who want to inject themselves into the cases they read or write about. This is a re-cap, see the accompanying links if you want to learn more about the Haleigh case. Let's move on to how drugs clobbered Hope Sykes in relation to the jails and institutions aspect of addiction.

This story should be a warning to everyone who still dabbles, sitting on the fence about whether it really is an addiction. If you play with fire, you will get burned eventually. The drug itself is almost secondary to the behavior. Left unaddressed the road leads to homelessness, death, jail, or prison. It is only a matter of time and Hope Sykes is a glaring example; being only eighteen years old with a drug bust. For tens of thousands of addicts, this is enough for them to sincerely seek help. Welfare can send you to a rehab. Granted it is not where Eric Clapton went or even Courtney Love, but it gets us into the rooms. If the person is a vet, the VA has some great programs. No matter what, 12 step meetings are free. In a stunning demonstration of addict behavior, being out on bond was apparently shrugged off. To many, a first bust is an attention getter from God and is acted upon. Sadly, for even more it only elicits a halfhearted self promise to 'be more careful'.

In Hope's case, it only entailed making sure she ran with easily the most scrutinized riff raff in that neck of Florida; the nation's parenting showcase state. Busted again, some addicts now give their addiction their undivided attention. Looking at the criminal lifestyle drugs eventually forces on you, some inmates sign up for NA/AA meeting where available. Some sign up for Bible studies or correspondence courses and re-evaluate life in the so-called fast lane. Others simply button up and listen to their legal advice, quietly waiting for that fateful day in court. Then there is Hope Sykes.

As a former addict who spent years behind bars, the last thing I want to convey is making light of a 15 year sentence. Our time together is to go over a demonstrable lesson in why, whatever our bottom may be, addicts need to strap up after that first brush with the law. Our series has already included a quick guide to that inaugural trip to jail. Stay alert, keep your case to yourself, and plan for the future. The phone calls out of the stripy hole start off, when the other party answers, with a recording that goes something like this:

"This is a collect call or free call in Florida from (inmate's name as spoken), an inmate at (name of correction facility). This call is from a correctional institution is subject to monitoring and/or recording. To accept press 1."

Why someone involved in such a high profile would think that did not somehow apply to them is beyond reasoning or belief. Granted, I was 38 when the drug life finally caught up with me in a legal sense but the phone's warning seemed crystal clear. Mundane, ashamed, and apologetic were the normal tones. Also, those calls are not cheap if billed collect. Hope would have done well to discuss the big book or the basic text, even if she had no intentions of truly getting clean. If you show the right demeanor guards will echo what a good attorney tells most jailed folks. "Hope for the best but expect the worst." Another thing one hears from inmates and really good lawyers is NEVER get in trouble on bond especially for the SAME offense.

Hope apparently shared the surrealistic break from reality all her co-defendants have revealed in their visits and calls. Judges hear it all, as does everyone who works in the prison industry. Now Hope knocked herself out of the running for first time offender status with that additional bust. Still, she tried to play to the gallery when judgment day arrived. "I let drugs control my life," Sykes said. "I don't want to live this life no more. I want to go to college and make something of my life." as reported by the Palatka Daily News. Her talks with mom did not go unnoticed by the prosecutors, who shared them with the court. The news item further shared "I'm not going to boot camp. They think I'm bad now, wait until I get out," Sykes said in the recorded phone call. "I'm not doing no six years mandatory nothing - they can kiss my a--." When confronted with the phone call in court, Sykes said she "didn't mean it like that." DOH! My sponsor WAS right when he told me it takes 5 years for your head to really clear from narcotics. I believe I warned about the hardened criminal act several times in a couple articles.

Let's cover a couple points before closing the door, for now, on Hope. Most important is the wakeup call about our addiction. Those lucky enough to get one should heed it. That first arrest, DUI, blackout, or fight with the spouse may be our ONLY chance at minimizing the damage and getting help. Second, youth does not equal invincibility. Finally, pretending never makes a problem go away. Whoever in that cast of unrepentant losers that know what happened to little Haleigh better start talking with a quickness. It is more about justice for a child, something that offsets any problems 'snitching' would cause. I wonder if the thought about getting out, when she is eligible for senior discounts crosses Donna's mind. Hope that little bit of excitement was worth it to her. Maybe it will serve as a warning to folks who want to inject themselves into cases for whatever reasons.