Another trip to the police station

So I went on Monday to sign all the documents for the second statement I provided on Saturday. I haven't signed so many papers since we bought our last house. I think I even signed more this time.

The last statement I signed was an acknowledgment that I may be called to court to confirm my testimony. Hesitant to sign this one, I had a lengthy discussion with our security man and the investigator, during which I found I could abstain from that by sending a letter to the chief judge telling him/her that everything in the transcript was accurate and I have nothing further to add, and that I am choosing to opt out of the trial. I also had to write all this out in my own handwriting (in English, thank goodness).

Once everything was signed, I was handed the police investigator's file and asked if I wanted to review it. With the help of my translator, I saw exactly how the investigation was conducted along with hand-written accounts from witnesses. These included the shop-keeper across the street (who saw and heard nothing), two waitresses at the restaurant, the taxi driver, the security guy at the restaurant, two of the suspect's friends, and then finally the hand-written confession of the perpetrator. The confession described in detail how he went about it and also what he did afterwards (threw away the wallet and credit cards, went to a nightclub with his buddies). I was not told before-hand that a suspect was in custody (although I suspected that was the case). It also had a copy of two prior arrests, one for mugging and one for stealing a DVD player. The kid was 22 years old and my description was pretty close, although the jacket color ranged from beige (my re-collection) to blue to grey. It also indicated the suspect was likely to spend two years in prison.

Tuesday morning the police investigator called our chief of security asking if I could come back down again Wednesday. The kid's mother wants to return my money. I have agreed. There may be a lighter sentence involved and she is trying to protect her son. Prison is rough, I understand there's a good chance he would get tuberculosis. I admire her for doing that. Maybe it will help straighten the kid out, knowing that his mother would step in like that. Not sure about that, but I'm going to tell the mom how I feel about her doing this for her son. The amount of the money is in dispute, the kid claiming there was only $50 in American, when in fact it was $300. I don't care about the money, really, but I think it will help the mom's conscience whatever the amount ends up being. I know that's a lot of money for a Russian, and it will surely set her back some. As a parent, I empathize with her.