I realize that I will probably get flamed for this since Mercede has a lot of fans but I have to say there are parts of Mercede’s latest post that just do not make sense to me. I have been reading her blog since it began and have found it touching at times, informative, interesting and most importantly, sincere. What I just finished reading causes me to question my previous opinion.
Text in blue italics is taken from Mercede’s blog. My thoughts and questions will follow in bold black.
Really the ONLY reason that Junior was able to manipulate her into selling her pills was because she was having a battle with her insurance company. They wanted her to come up with $800 more each time she got a new prescription filled. There was simply no way she could ever afford that, she could barely even afford to put gas in the car, and without her medications she would become so deathly ill she would have to go to the hospital. My mother’s pain was absolutely unbearable, so she was desperate to come up with the money somehow
My questions:
- How did she get her pills if she didn’t have the $800.00 the insurance company wanted each time she got a new prescription filled? According to Mercede, Sherry could barely afford gas for the car.
- Wouldn’t Sherry have to take all of her pills in order to function or was she prescribed more than she really needed? How did she have pills left to sell since as Mercede states “without her medications she would become so deathly ill she would have to go to the hospital.”?
- If she was prescribed more pills than she needed wouldn’t it have been sensible to tell the doctor to prescribe less as she was having problems paying for her prescription or keep the extra pills so she wouldn’t need refills as often?
It is still a mystery as to how Junior got my mother’s phone number because the phone she was using was originally Bristol’s phone. (My mom bought both Levi and Bristol new phones right after she found out that Bristol was pregnant because Sarah refused to pay for hers anymore. But after one of Levi and Bristol’s many fights she SHIPPED her phone back to my mom in the MAIL. Since my mom had been using an old brick phone she decided to upgrade to Bristol’s Blackberry and got rid of her old one). So I don’t know whether Bristol was in contact with Junior, or if he just did his research to find my mother’s number. We are still confused by the circumstances leading up his initial contact.
My questions:
- How was Sherry able to afford to buy these expensive cell phones if she was having financial problems? I can understand the Johnston’s wanting a pregnant Bristol to be able to contact them but wouldn’t an inexpensive prepaid phone have been a better choice?
- Why would Sherry have been using Bristol’s phone number? Wouldn’t she have transferred the number from her own phone to the Blackberry?
- Wouldn’t Bristol have transferred her number to her replacement phone or at least de-activated it before returning it to Sherry? I can’t believe that Bristol would want Sherry receiving calls meant for her.
- If Junior Latocha wanted to contact Sherry why would he call Bristol’s cell phone number? Mercede refers to him as a friend. Why wouldn’t he call Mercede or just pay a visit to the Johnston home?
He started out texting her everyday at first, often multiple times in the same day, trying to convince her to sell her prescription medication. Then later he started to call and talk to her on the phone.
He worked very hard at convincing my mother to sell her pills and used all of the things he knew about her and our family to wear her down. He said things like “I know you have kids, and I know you need the money. What are you going to let them starve? Your husband is leaving you, he is gone now! What other choices do you have? You’re disabled! This is the only way to feed and put your kids through school!”
After months of this kind of persistence unfortunately she gave in because she was desperate to find a way to pay for her medication and to buy food for the family. She is very ashamed of that decision and I know she regrets it every minute of every day.
My questions:
- Why didn’t Sherry just ignore or block Junior’s messages and phone calls?
- Why didn’t she call the police and report his harassment of her?
- If it took months for her to finally give in how was she able to pay for her medication and feed her family all that time?
What my mother could not have known was that Junior Latocha was working undercover for the police in an agreement that would significantly lessen his own sentence. (Word on the street is that the police wanted someone connected to the Palins in order to get back at Sarah. I don’t know if that is true, but I wouldn’t doubt it.) When my mother’s insurance company finally fixed the glitch in December, and started paying for ALL of her medications, she refused to sell anymore of her pills to Junior. He tried numerous times to convince her to give in and sell him a few, but she stood firm. Interestingly enough it was only after she STOPPED selling her medications that the police came to arrest her.
My questions:
- Which sentence would have been significantly reduced for Latocha? After reviewing Junior Latocha’s court records the only charges he was facing at the time of Sherry’s arrest were Driving While License Revoked and Reckless Driving. Those charges were filed only two days before the charges against Sherry were filed. Why would Latocha have been working undercover for months in exchange for sentence reduction?
- Why would the police want to get back at Sarah?
- Isn’t it more likely that Sarah was behind the charges against Sherry as a way to keep the Johnston’s in line?
The police officer in charge of my mother’s case acknowledged that she believed they had made a mistake in allowing Junior to set my mom up. She said that although what my mom did was wrong she understood the motivation to want to put food on the table, and to keep the heat and electricity turned on.
I heard one police officer say, even while they were going through our house looking for evidence of a drug operation, that “This lady is not a criminal she is just trying to survive, this is down right sad.”
My mom wasn’t a drug dealer like Junior Latocha. She was just trying to do all that she could to get by. I am not saying that what she did was okay, but I too understand why she did it.
My questions:
- Would police officers express regrets about setting someone up in front of the person who was set up or their family?
- Once again, how was Sherry Johnston keeping her bills paid before she started selling her medication?
- Considering the extremely expensive price Mercede states her mother was having to pay for her prescriptions and her inadequate income, wouldn’t she have been eligible for Medicaid and other assistance?
Junior on the other hand is an actual DRUG DEALER who is STILL actively selling drugs to people in not only Wasilla and Palmer, but also Anchorage! I have heard from various people I know that he is the biggest Oxycontin dealer in the Valley who receives packages through the mail with hundreds of Oxycontin pills to sell, and I know for a FACT he is still out there selling because I have seen him!! I have also heard that his relationship with the police has changed and that now he is avoiding them for fear of getting arrested again. Yet I still see him around town sometimes and I just saw him just the other day at the State Fair.
I swear it makes me sick to my stomach every time I see that scum!
My questions:
- If Junior Latocha is the biggest Oxycontin dealer in the Valley with hundreds of pills to sell, why when he was recently arrested was his bond only $5000.00?
- If it is common knowledge that he receives packages of pills in the mail, why wouldn’t he have been charged with trafficking instead of only possession?
I really wanted to put this information out for everybody to see even though this could be dangerous for me. You never know what these people are capable of, and I have seen this group do some pretty awful things to people.
But I will not stop until I see justice done for my family. I do not think the sentence my mother got was fair. How was it that Todd’s sister could rob multiple houses to feed her drug addiction, with her four year old daughter along for the ride, and receive such a light sentence? How did Junior get off just by agreeing to set up a poor lady desperate to reduce her pain and care for her family? How are THEY less deserving of a harsher sentence than my mother?
Today Junior Latocha continues his life of crime, and keeps spreading his poison throughout the Valley with no end in sight, while my mother is a virtual prisoner in her own home.
So you tell me, where is the justice?
My questions:
- Who are these people, this group that Mercede has seen do awful things to people?
- Has Mercede reported the awful things she saw this group do?
- Could these people Mercede is referring to really be the Palins?
- Is Mercede covering for the Palins or worse have we all been taken in by the Johnstons?
- Is the Palin - Johnston feud merely a ruse, a real-life soap opera designed to rake in money?
- Was Mercede asked to post this piece to allay public suspicions that Sarah Palin was responsible for Sherry Johnston’s arrest?
- Finally, as Mercede said, where is the justice? The justice for all who Sarah Palin has used and abused?
Please be honest in your comments about this post. Don’t be afraid to post what you really think. Are my questions about Mercede’s post valid?
bladecatz@mail.com
Blade