Thread: WOW! Family protests Arlington man's jailing in Mexico

Don't go to Mexico for dental work

I think it's very possible that the mother wanted to shake the guy down for more money. When he refused she may have called a cop who could have been her brother, cousin, uncle, etc. and shared in the money. This is NOT unusual in Mexico, trust me. Setups and shake downs occur daily there. I doubt that he was taking headshots for pornographic reasons, it just makes no sense whatsoever. If he wanted porn, it is readily available anywhere.

Originally Posted by redpony353

TWENTY FIVE BUCKS???? That is a hec of a lot of money in Mexico. If he wanted pictures of Mexican culture he could just go to the market place and take pictures and there would automatically be people in that picture. I dont believe this guy....I believe the mother. But the old guy is another story. He was in the car. He may have not realized what the younger guy was up to. He may very well be innocent. If I was the Mexican Police I would keep the young guy and let the old guy go.

CALL NOW AND DEMAND THAT THE BORDERS BE CLOSED!!!!


http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-888912.html#888912

Good post mexigrrrl. Sometimes we forget who REAL Mexicans are. All we have to go by here in the US is our trashed out neighborhoods, forced Spanish, Mexican flags ABOVE American ones, IF there is an American flag at all. All of this leaves a bad impression on us.

I had the pleasure of visiting Mexico City back in the 90's and it gave me a wake up call regarding Mexico and it's people. Like I stated above, all I knew about Mexico is what the illegal immigrants imported here. I was under the impression that the entire country of Mexico was just as trashy and dangerous as our Mexican neighborhoods. I was wrong. The Mexican people were the most friendly and helpful of all the countries in my world travels. The city is beautiful, mixing Aztec and Spanish heritage in some of the greatest architecture I have ever seen. I realized that the "Mexico" that I see here in the US is ENTIRELY different from the real country. After talking to many Mexican citizens, the illegal immigrants here in the US are NOT representative of the attitudes that Mexicans have.

I wish one day that your wonderful country could clean up it's corruption and make it safe for me to go back once again. I would love to be able to drive my car through the interior, stopping at all of the cities and villages, without fear.

please remember that the people in baja california are suffering because factory jobs are laying off by the tens of thousands and tourism has all but dried up.

Mexigrrl- if they are hurting this bad, maybe shakedowns on Americans is not making for such good publicity for thier town. They sure don't need any more bad press between swine flu and cartel violence. Honestly, I dont know of anyone in thier right mind who would even have a desire to go there - especially now.

mexigrrrl: It is wonderful how quick Mexico can catch Americans.

I only wish the catching of illegals in the USA was this simple.

No one, including the Mexican authorities, believes that Edward Chrisman was anything but an innocent bystander. That's why they let him go. It took way too long for him to be released, but that's how the Mexican legal system works, slow and creaky.

But why is everyone so quick to decide that the case against Gary Jr. is just a corrupt attempt to stick it to a rich American? The US news reports have been completely biased - nothing has been published here except what Gary Jr.'s family says, and they only know what he told them. It took some searching but I finally found the case as it is being reported in the Mexican media:

1. On 5 Jan 2009, Gary Jr. stopped at a convenience store, "Novedades Jasmine," and snapped headshots of two fully-clothed girls with their permission. He gave them 200 pesos ($25).

2. On 8 Jan 2009, three days later, Gary Jr. returned to the store and offered the girls money in exchange for taking nude photos of them. The girls refused, but he wrote his name and Yuma phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to them in case they changed their minds. Before leaving, he flashed a knife and told the girls not to say anything to anyone about his offer.

3. The owner of the store (and mother of one of the girls) returned soon afterward and found the girls visibly upset. In spite of Gary Jr.'s warning, the girls told the woman what had just happened.

4. The woman called the local police and reported the incident, and gave them the piece of paper with Gary Jr.'s name and Yuma phone number as proof. The police located Gary Jr. with his grandfather and arrested both men.

Shortly after this story broke, a woman in Yuma reported that Gary Jr. was a known meth addict and had attacked her sister several years earlier. Allegedly complaints were made against Gary Jr. to the sheriff's department during the period 2004-2006, but nothing ever came of them.

Is Gary Jr. innocent? I hope he is, but to decide that there's nothing to the case merely because he is an American and the alleged activity occured in Mexico is both racist and stupid.

Im with you Mexigrrl. There are too many holes in this Gary's story. I believe the girls. There is stuff starting to surface out there online that Gary is not a nice guy, and that he has sexually harassed girls before. And worse. I hope he finds a big lonely boyfriend in that jail if he is guilty of what they are saying. Beating a girl up, drugging her, and raping her is not funny.
SoCalJack, what else have you found out about Gary?

I have noticed if you go to the website of the Washington state newpaper which is www.heraldnet.com, and say anything negative about Gary Chrisman Jr, they send you an email notifying you that your post got pulled for its content violations. Even if you make no threats or foul language. Just if you disagree with the writer Debra Smith who sings praises of the entire Chrisman family.
The Chrisman family is claimed to have tons of money, and I think they paid that newspaper off to make the public think this accused pedophile, kidnapper, dope addict, woman beater, and rapist -is a wonderful Christian man
Keep surfing the web for Photos of Ed and Gary Chrisman Jr. You will find one of them standing near a boat on what appears to be a dock. Look closer..
Edward on the left with a BEER glass (you can see thru the clear cup a yellow liquid) near his hip, and Gary holding one out by his chest.
Nothing wrong with a beer..Unless you are a claimed former Sunday school teacher (the elder Chrisman)
They are tied in with both a Baptist church which is very strict about ANY alcohol comsumption, as well as the Assembly of God churches. They both use grape juice for communion.
So much for the right to free speech with that newspaper. Lets just let the public hear that the Chrismans are both victims, and the girls are "desperate" liars.
Keep surfing and you will see that the 13 year old and the mom are from Yuma, and the mom just owns this novelty store across the border.
I think not only are the girls victims, but also the Grandpa is also a victim. Being from Washington, so far away, I think he didnt know what his Grandson was really like.
This story is so messed up, I hope that Gary's real character comes out on court day.
Just because he's an American doesn't mean he's a nice person. Our American jails are filled with bad American people.
I really wish people would start being supportive of those 2 young girls. Like one post said that I read, things would be different if they were rich blond American girls, and Gary was a dirt poor person.
Think about it people before you think he's the victim, and do a little web-research about him. The stories seem fishy.

Turns out I was wrong - I did find an unbiased account of this incident on the website of the main Arizona newspaper, "The Arizona Republic," published in Phoenix.

The owner of the store and her daughter are American citizens and live in Yuma, Arizona. So to change the picture a little, an American citizen in Mexico called the local police for help when her daughter was approached by another American for immoral purposes. The police responded and arrested the man - rather than looking for a bribe from a "rich American," the police were providing protection to an American and her daughter.

The grandfather should not have been arrested - no one on either side of the border disagrees on this point. However, it appears that the one primarily responsible for his ordeal is Ed Chrisman's own grandson. Much easier for the family to blame the Mexican police and judicial system for the old man's suffering when, if the grandson is guilty, the fault lies mainly with the grandson for callously putting his grandfather in harm's way.

From "The Arizona Republic" ...

<<In an interview with "The Arizona Republic" last week, the 13-year-old girl's mother offered an entirely different account. The mother, who filed the criminal complaint, said she and her daughter are not greedy or corrupt Mexicans, but U.S. citizens who live in Yuma and filed the police report out of fear.

<<"This is the truth," the girl's mother concluded, her eyes welling. "My daughter is afraid. . . . And all the lies keep coming" in news stories.

<<The mother's version of the event: The Chrismans first visited on Jan. 5 while her daughter was tending the shop with two other women. The mother said Gary Chrisman entered the store alone and took some normal pictures with permission, then said, "Without clothes, I'll pay more." When the girls refused, the girl's mother said, the visitor displayed a knife and said things would go bad if the girls told anyone. She added that the man wrote his name and phone number on a sheet of paper, telling the girls to call if they had a change of heart.

<<She said her daughter was shaken that day as she told of the incident.

<<On Jan. 8, she said, Chrisman returned and again offered to pay for photos without clothing. "My daughter told him, 'No, and get out of here.' "

<<The girl's mother said she arrived in her car as the men were driving away. She followed, calling police on her cellphone.

<<As a businesswoman who relies partly on tourism, she said she has no motive to fabricate such a story. She added that her daughter remains fearful and has been traumatized by media coverage.

<<"They say I'm telling lies, but police have a page with his name and number on it," she added.

<<Accounts of what happened in Los Algodones merge on one important point: Edward Chrisman did not enter the store.

<<The girl's mother said she has no idea why the octogenarian was arrested and does not believe he should be in jail.

Ed Chrisman is home now, with memories of a terrible experience. Our hearts go out to him. But it is interesting that there does not seem to be similar outrage that Gary Jr. remains in jail in Mexico. Perhaps that is where he should be.