Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Corrupt Cops Set Up Innocent Kid (Wrongful Arrest)
Mon, 23 Dec 2024
Jacob Smith shares his story about being set up by the DEA. Get 50% sitewide for a limited time. Just visit https://GhostBed.com/cox and use code COX at checkout. Do you want to be a guest? Fill out the form https://forms.gle/5H7FnhvMHKtUnq7k7 Send me an email here: [email protected] Do you extra clips and behind the scenes content? Subscribe to my Patreon: https://patreon.com/InsideTrueCrime 📧Sign up to my newsletter to learn about Real Estate, Credit, and Growing a Youtube Channel: https://mattcoxcourses.com/news 🏦Raising & Building Credit Course: https://mattcoxcourses.com/credit 📸Growing a YouTube Channel Course: https://mattcoxcourses.com/yt 🏠Make money with Real Estate Course: https://mattcoxcourses.com/re Follow me on all socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidetruecrime/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matthewcoxtruecrime Do you want a custom painting done by me? Check out my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/coxpopart Listen to my True Crime Podcasts anywhere: https://anchor.fm/mattcox Check out my true crime books! Shark in the Housing Pool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0851KBYCF Bent: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV4GC7TM It's Insanity: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KFYXKK8 Devil Exposed: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TH1WT5G Devil Exposed (The Abridgment): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1070682438 The Program: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0858W4G3K Bailout: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bailout-matthew-cox/1142275402 Dude, Where's My Hand-Grenade?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXNFHBDF/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1678623676&sr=1-1 Checkout my disturbingly twisted satiric novel! Stranger Danger: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSWQP3WX If you would like to support me directly, I accept donations here: Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/MattCox69 Cashapp: $coxcon69
Chapter 1: What happened during Jacob's train trip?
The train stops in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They open the bag, and there's these two big bundles of grass. Turn around, you're under arrest. We're DEA. The bag wasn't yours. No. I'm not guilty, and I'm going to fight this till the end. Growing up, I was a straight-A student. I only ever missed two weeks of school, and that's because I got in a horrible accident.
Went to college, mother youngest of nine, dad had two brothers. I was the first one to get a college degree in the family. Not only that, I set the bar even higher and got a master's degree. And my girlfriend and I, we were just taking a trip on a train going on vacation. The train takes off, and it stops in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They're like, all right, we're taking the 30 minute pit stop.
They had like a bunch of little shops right there. People selling artifacts, necklaces, bracelets, you know, and I was looking around our cart. There's a bunch of carts and in our car, they're all old people. Like, except for the staff, the staff was young, but we were old. I mean, everyone else was old. My girl and I were like combined age, the youngest by 10 years for the next person.
You know, like everyone was old. I just remember that. All right, babe, let's go. So we get off the train and we're looking around and I'll never forget. I look and I see these two bald Caucasian dudes walk up and they're wearing flannel shirts and they're wearing jeans and tennis shoes. And they're in civilian clothes. And I'm like, interesting. So I just look at them.
And, you know, the military always got attention to detail. And I noticed they go to the bags. I don't know if you've been on a Greyhound bus or whatever.
They have them underneath, right?
Exactly. Same thing with the trains. All the bags are together. Makes sense, right? And they're checking through all the bags. They're checking through all the bags. They're checking through all the bags. And everyone starts to get back on the train. And they pulled out a black bag. I'll never forget. And they're like, whose bag is this? Whose bag is this? And no one's saying anything.
They're like, well, there's no tag on it, so we can open it. And I was walking by. They opened the bag, and there's these two – I just see these two big bundles of grass. And I walked by, and I was like, dang. My girl and I walked to our cabin, and I heard an old lady say, that's not mine, and everyone laughed or whatever. And I look over, and I see the two guys. They beeline it to us.
and they pull out their, they had their chain, like, and they pull it out, and they had badges, and they're like, turn around, you're under arrest, we're DEA, and I was like, what the fuck, and I look at the badge, and I was like, oh shit, that's a cool badge, you know, and he's like, turn around, and I was like, dude, I'm on your side, I'm a veteran, and he's like, no, you're not, you're a piece of shit, I was like, and he just cuffs me, they cuff my girl, and, uh,
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Chapter 2: How did the DEA agents approach Jacob?
Right.
So I get put in a black Escalade, she gets put in a black Escalade, and we drive. And we didn't drive that far. And mind you, this was 14 years ago, so it steals my memory. But we didn't drive that far, and I remember going in a tunnel and And they parked the vehicles. And there was like 10 spots. I don't know. But we were underground. Yeah. And then we go in through this door.
And it was like a big square. And there was like two cells, two cells, two cells, two cells. Their little interrogation area. And then we go in there. They take our pictures, like their mugshot version, I guess. It was just a little camera. And they put me in a room. They put her in a room. But they interrogated her first. And they weren't cells with like the bar.
It was like a door, but it wasn't like the heavy door. I can't really explain it. And then there was just a cot and like a rug for a blanket. That's all. You know what I mean? No windows. Yeah. It was like a little cell. And they were so nice to her. They were like...
do you want water do you want soda and i was like i'll take something like shut the fuck up like like they were just so yeah well there's they're hoping she's gonna say oh my god he had it but he it was the the dope was his and you know like that's what they're hoping is that she'll do that and then you have to buckle because i got this shit to tell on me yeah yeah but so a couple questions real quick one the bag wasn't yours no you hadn't even seen the bag you didn't know okay did you guys have bags
Yes, I'm going to get to that in a second. Yeah, yeah. Because they actually, I'll get to that in a second.
I'm curious, what, like, what are you thinking during this, what is it, 30 minutes, hour, whatever this, from them pulling you for the bag to where you are now? Like, what are you, are you freaking out? Like, dude, like what, like, why are you pulling me? Or like, what's, what's your mindset?
Yeah, I, they, so again, they're two DEA agents and they literally did the whole good cop, bad cop thing, right? And I picked up on that pretty fast. And again, I'm 21. I think my girl was like 19, 18. Yeah. And so, yeah, I was freaking out because like one minute I'm on a train, the next minute I'm underground somewhere just like that.
So they put me they put and I'll get to those questions in a minute. They put me in the cell and then they go both go in my cell and they're like, get naked right now. And I was scared. I've never done this before. And I'm like, are you guys going to me? And they're like, no, what? They're like, no, what the fuck's wrong with you? They're like, we want to make sure you got nothing up there.
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Chapter 3: What was Jacob's experience during the interrogation?
so it's fast so i get dressed and like cut to it it's like the singing in the movies you know like after something happens everyone's sitting at the table awkwardly quiet right they're both looking at me and i'm looking at them and we're looking and i'm like i understand the cavity search right but did you both have to be in there and they look at each other like he's got a point why were you fucking both in there looking at this naked guy and uh then they start grilling me and i'm like
It's not mine. You got the wrong guy. I think it's – I'm brown. Everyone else in there was – I think it was racial injustice, racial unprofile. I don't like to play that guy. Why? I was like the only brown person on that damn train. You're not brown.
You're a white guy.
I appreciate that, by the way. I think it's supposed to be the lighted. No, I'm just kidding. Your name is – Jacob Smith. I hear it all the time.
You can't go with that. Like, you need to alter that part of your story. It's not... Like, if you were Manuel, you know, something, you know, whatever.
Yeah, but they don't know your name when they see you. I get it all the time. People think I speak Spanish. No, I am using the whole duolingo thing, but I barely know Spanish.
Are you Spanish at all?
I'm Hispanic. Really? My dad's as white as him. And my mom... Your last name's Smith. Exactly. Exactly. Okay, anyway, I'm just not... You don't look Spanish to me at all. I've never heard that before, by the way. Really? Yeah. People say I act white, and I'm like, no, I'm Hispanic, you know? I'm both. I'm both amazing. I got everything in me, you know? But...
Anyways, and then compared to like all the old people on the train.
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Chapter 4: What were the charges against Jacob?
The bad guy playing bad cop, it's yours, it's yours, it's yours. But I want to say this real quick. When people watch crime shows, they're like, oh, I do this, I do that. When you're actually there in a fucking basement with guys that just pulled you off a train and you can't do nothing, all you want to do is do what? You want to...
get home you want to go home right so they're there i'll watch enough crime shows i'm 21 at the time i've listened to enough podcasts sitting in this chair okay first of all podcasts didn't exist at the time but yeah so i'm 21 and i was barely so i was scared am i gonna lie But when I got on – he heard it himself when I told him. He's like, so you did this, this, this. That sounds ridiculous.
I'm like, exactly. So he heard it himself, right? And then that's when he's like, well, the feds don't want you, blah, blah, blah. Because they knew it was bullshit. So fast forward, but yes, in hindsight, yes, I would never. But after just interrogation, interrogation, it's yours. It's yours. Just say it. Just say it. Come on. And they were – they fucking lied.
The bad guy – the guy playing bad cop was trying to say that your girl was saying that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I later find out she didn't say that.
No, no.
And I was like, no, that's a lie. She wouldn't do that because it's not true.
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Chapter 5: What led to the dismissal of Jacob's case?
And then they offered me 12 months supervised probation. And I'm like, what's going on, Amanda?
Yeah, you're not understanding that this is not my dope.
Yeah.
I'm not going to plead guilty. I'd rather go to fucking trial. There's no way you can connect me to that bag. My girl's going to say it wasn't my bag. She hasn't been charged. You just don't want to spend a day convincing 12 people that this wasn't me. They have nothing that ties me to this.
I'll get to that in a sec. You're 100% right. But you never know what happens. And so... She's like, well, an interesting chain of events has been happening. All the prosecutors have been passing on your case. No one wanted to take it. And I was like, well, what's going on? She's like, well, the camera that took your guys' picture malfunctioned, so they don't have your pictures anymore.
The tickets that placed you on the train that they confiscated have gone missing, so they can't legally place us on the train. And she said, and my favorite one is, half of the 45 pounds of marijuana has gone missing from the evidence room. And you can't make this up. I'm like, what?
I was like... I'm more ready to go to trial now than I've ever was ever.
Yeah. So I was like, oh, my God, Amanda. I was like, we got to put an emotions for dismissal, you know? And she's like, yeah, 100%. And I had a date coming up and everything. And... I have to go back to New Mexico. Finally, I get a date. And we showed up, and I was feeling confident. And she was like, oh, we got this. We had put in four motions for a dismissal.
One was for the tickets, because they can't place us on the train. Half of the weed is missing, so there's no way they can even... I guess they would have to bring new charges, right?
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Chapter 6: What is the aftermath of the wrongful arrest?
If you lose, you're going to get, you know, more time, you know, like, you're probably going to look at you're probably looking at four or five years in jail, possibly.
Yeah. So I thought about that. I looked at Amanda and I was like, what have I been saying since day one, Amanda? Like, I'm not guilty and I'm going to fight this till the end. And I was like, you go tell her. No, no deal. She looked at me and she's like, all right. You know, I wanted to tell her, you're the best lawyer ever. We got this, you know, but no.
So she she goes in there and tells them whatever. And my girl and I leave, we go back. I'll never forget. I saw the prosecutor's story about she looked kind of bad. So that kind of made me happy. And, um, my girl and I drive back home and I'm like contemplating the whole time. Like, should I call, change my mind? I'm thinking about my future. I'm thinking of my son. Like why, why risk it? Is it?
And I'm like, you know, stand your ground, you know, you know, it's true. And, you know, stand your ground. And, um, we get home. And a week passes by, and I'll never forget, I was loading up the car, you know, cliche, putting stuff in the trunk, and my girl's walking out, and I get a call, my phone's going off, and I look, it's Amanda. And she's like, Jacob? And I'm like, yeah?
And she sounded like, and I was like, kind of startled me, you know? And she's like, did you leave yet? And I'm like, no. And she's like, don't come. She's like, Judge Whitaker just dismissed her case without prejudice. I think I dropped on my knees. I was like, oh, thank you, God. I was like, well, what does that mean, actually?
And she's like, well, they legally have five years to bring back charges or put a case together if they wanted to. And she's like, but the prosecutor already assured me that they have enough on their plate. Yeah. To me, it sounds like they had nothing, but... I was like, oh, all right.
Thank you, man. Well, they probably were doing that because they're thinking if they catch somebody else in six months and he says, yeah, you matter of fact, I had a mule that was working for me. You even you even arrested him. His name was Jacob Smith. And you you dropped the charges against that. They'd be like, boom, charge Jacob Smith again. Bring him back. We got a witness.
This guy's going to tie him in with his whole... Do you see what I'm saying?
I never even thought of that.
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