And the verdict is...

I went to court today and entered a plea to accept the state’s offer of a 2-year prison sentence. I’ll get credit for the 11 months of time I spent at the Pinellas County jail, so I’ll be in prison for 13 months. I also can get 94 days deducted from that for good behavior.

I asked the judge for a 24-hour furlough before I went to prison, but she said no.

The judge's last words to me were "Mr. Braden, I do hope you've learned from all of this and after you've served your time that you won't be involved with the criminal justice system again."

I found out today that it might take a week or two for me to get to the Central Florida Reception Center. (I won't be leaving right away like I thought I would.) I could spend up to eight weeks at the reception center waiting to get assigned to a prison. They do extensive psychological and physical tests there to see if prisoners have any medical issues or educational needs. That determines what prison inmates go to. Next, they see if those particular prisons have open beds.

I could be sent to any prison from the Florida panhandle down to the southern end of the state.

If I’m at the reception center for longer than eight weeks, I’ll end up staying there to serve my sentence. They have different building there (Main, East and West) that house permanent residents. There’s two types of housing: Open Pop (open population) or CM (Closed Management). Open Pop is made up of a dorms of bunks. CM is made up of 1- or 2-man cells. There are different levels of Closed Management: CM I, CM II, and CM III (Maximum, Medium and Minimum security). All types of inmates wait there for assignments to the different Florida prisons.

My mom read on Prison Talk that they put you through a million and one things during that process. They’ll tell you to roll up your bed and move you to another location or to medical and in the morning will move you right back to where you were – with no explanation. According to the PT forum, there’s a mental process of owing the inmates nothing and making them be grateful for what they do have.

Prison Talk also said that the reception center was disgusting – mildew and rust on everything, so much so that some inmates are afraid to touch anything.

The food is supposed to be better than in county jail. I sure hope it is.

Prison Talk also says that it might take 10 to 20 days for me to get a letter. Other inmates say they received letters right away. Inmates are allowed to receive 10 sheets of paper, 10 envelopes and a book of stamps in the mail. Some parents didn’t receive their kids' letters for weeks and weeks.

After three weeks at the reception center, I’ll be able to make phone calls (to landlines only - no cell phones). I won’t be allowed visitations at the reception center unless I find out I’ll be staying there permanently. If they send me to another prison, I may not be able to get my first visit until four to six months, but it could be sooner. I hope I get sent somewhere close to home.

I can receive money in my commissary account as soon as I get a DC #. It won’t be the same inmate number I had at the Pinellas County jail. The DC # will be posted on the Florida Department of Corrections web site. They use a site called jpay (www.jpay.com), which is similar to PayPal.

There is a library in prison so I can read. There also may be work programs and education opportunities depending on where I’m sent. I can also receive books in the mail either sent from Amazon.com or directly from the publisher, but they must be paperback books with no spiral wires – any metal can be used as a weapon.

It makes it a little easier to know what I’m facing instead of just a big unknown. Once I find out what prison I’ll be sent to, I’ll be able to find out more info on that facility too.

I’m not happy about being sent away, but I won’t be on probation when I get out. I’ll also have to pay $2,034 in restitution for going with some friends to damage another kid’s car. (Told ya the gang got me into a lot of trouble.) I’ll also owe about $500 per charge for court costs and there’s three charges. I’ll be able to set up a payment plan once I get out to pay it back on a monthly basis.

The visitation process has changed again at the Pinellas County jail. The visitation reservation line (727-464-6842) now opens at 8 a.m. and you can make appointments for visitations for a week at a time now. (You need to have your driver’s license number available when you make a reservation.)

Inmates are only allowed one visit per day. My visitation days are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. There were no visits open for Tuesday - so someone is coming to visit me - I just don’t know who. My mom and dad will visit me on Wednesday and Brittany and my mom will come this Friday.

I should still be at the Pinellas County jail for at least another week.