Dr. Insanity - When The Suspect Is Smarter Than The Detective

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

Interrogations like this don't happen often where the suspect outsmarts the detectives and knows EXACTLY what to do... This is the story of Jeff, who is one of the people who got out of an interrogation better than he went in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is the cold habitual, and it is the cold of the mountains blue. The frost at its summit. Coors Light, in view a fraud, celebrate in a fashion responsible you have to have the age legal for consuming the alcohol.

I'm not sad to nothing. I've been through the system, buddy, I know how much. You're not my friend. All you're trying to get is some stupid-ass confession, and you're not going to get them. On a seemingly regular evening in

2011, alarm bells began to sound itself in a local 7-Eleven. Reports of an armed robbery began flooding into the local police department. But upon arrival at the scene, the suspect was nowhere to be found. After expanding the search, that's when it's assumed police heard commotion in a house nearby. And without any other leads, they stormed in, discovering a known heroin addict sitting inside with a gun. Without any other evidence, they arrested the man and brought him to be interviewed. The so-called addict was Jeff Pearson, the man who committed the robbery. And the following goes down in history as one of the only times a man single-handedly beat

the cops at their own game. All that while experiencing horrific heroin withdrawals. This is what happens when the suspect outsmarts the cop. The next 24 hours were captured on police cameras within the interview room, but conversely to most footage similar to this, it was originally uploaded to the same. suspects own YouTube channel on the 25th of September 2011. This is the first sign of what makes Jeff a cult figure and a legend within the interrogation community. Jeff was held in police custody for almost an entire day, but all of the footage from the three interrogation sessions

held barely 15 minutes. Given that robbery and arrest took place within the state of Georgia, the usual minimum sentence would be around 10 years imprisonment, ranging up to a maximum of life without parole, but it would transpire that Jeff wouldn't end up doing a minute of this time. And instead of serving multiple decades behind bars, he spent a day being served drinks and candy while delivering a masterclass in what to do while in police custody. The following footage shows us in stunning detail what methods the cops will try on you and how to dodge them like an absolute pro. The footage starts with Jeff handcuffed in a small windowless room dressed in prison scrubs.

It's clear he's already been processed and spent some time in a cell, likely while the cops spent some time gathering the evidence, and prepared to question him. Am I under arrest? For now. I'm under arrest? Yeah, I'll explain everything, but before I explain myself to you, before we talk to each other, I need to read your rights, okay? What am I under arrest for?

Well, like to say, need to read your rights first, obviously the charges robbery, okay? Jeff immediately opens by asking if he's under arrest and on what grounds. From the first moment, it's evident that Jeff has done his research, as this is exactly what you should be doing in this situation. From here, there are two options. If you're not being arrested or detained, you can state that you're also not obligated to stay and answer questions. And you should be completely free to leave the interrogation.

If you are being arrested, you can then immediately ask for a lawyer and stay silent until you're provided with one. These options give you the best chance of stopping the police in their tracks and allow you to create the best defense possible. What's amusing is that when you're being arrested at America, the officer is actually legally obligated to remind you of this. Take a listen to the Miranda warning that this detective reads out to Jeff. You have the rights remain silent. Anything you say can will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to talk to the lawyer for advice before you question you. If you

cannot afford to hire a lawyer and you want one, a lawyer will be provided for you. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you'll still have the right to stop hearing some questions at any time. Does that make sense? You've probably heard these before, haven't you? These three points are incredibly important, and are often overlooked by the average citizen due to the panic of being arrested in the first place. Alongside this, because of how much we hear these lines in media such as police shows and movies, most people completely glaze over it when they're being read these rights,

and fail to take into account that they're actually being provided with useful information that allows you to stay safe and protected while in police custody. What this detective didn't mention, though, is that if you ask for a lawyer while under arrest, they are not allowed to continue questioning, and you have a complete, unquestionable right to refuse to answer any questions they may ask until you're provided with an attorney. The detective also ends the rights with a snide remark about Jeff's past, meant to subconsciously remind him that he is a previously convicted criminal. Do you understand your rights?

Do you understand your rights, Jeff? Yes or no? You understand? We're getting paid more than you are, so we can sit here for a long time, man. I just need you to answer me. Yesterday, do you understand your eyes? Let's get through that question. Do you understand when I read you?

Did you comprehend when I read you? Jeff has been explicitly told he has the right to remain silent, so that's exactly what he's deciding to do. Right here, the leading detective leans back in his chair. This was meant to show that he's unconcerned with Jeff's silence and that he can stay there as long as necessary. Body language like this usually indicates some form of unrest. It's clear that the detective knows that this is going to be a tricky few hours for them.

If you got something that says you didn't do this robbery, this is your chance to talk to us. Okay, good cop. No, usually I'm the prick. You look like the prick. I am. If its dominance we're talking about, Jeff just took everything the cops had and dumped it in that garbage can. I'm not asking if you want to talk to me at this point.

I just wanted to do you understand what I read to you? So am I under arrest? Yes, you're under arrest. Get me back to the cell. I don't talk to you, motherfuckers. Okay, fair enough. In this first round of interrogation, Jeff exhibited exactly the correct behavior given his current circumstances.

He knows the cops have nothing on him. They wouldn't be there talking to him in the first place if they did. So he stays silent. And so it's off back to his cell, he goes, but two hours later, he's brought back to the same room for round two. Want to coat? Yeah. Nope.

You're going to be all pop it open or you need me to? Oh, yeah. I need methadone. You need methadone? Yeah, you need that methadone? I don't have any. Do you have a medication for it or, I mean, a prescription for it? Yeah.

What do you need methadone for? Because I'm a fucking junkie and you guys, I can't get no methadone. I'm going to go through withdrawal here a minute. A can of soda is all Jeff requested before he returned to the interrogation room. But he immediately mentions the withdrawals that he's likely already starting to feel. However, methadone, the drug Jeff asked for at the start of this conversation, can be used to significantly reduce the effects of the withdrawal. It can even reduce the cravings he's also probably been experiencing for the entire time he's.

the entire time he's been in police custody. Telling you've been using heroin? Long time, buddy. 10 years? 15 years? I hardly been alive that long. What are you trying to talk to me about here? Talk to you about what happened last night.

Look, here's the deal. Either you're in a bad set of circumstances or you weren't committed an armed robbery last night. I'm in a shitty wrong place and wrong time, obviously. I didn't commit no fucking armed robbery. All right, then let's talk about this. I don't know nothing. I don't talk to the police, man.

Jeff is clearly through with the personal talk and wants to get back to the matter at hand. In his eyes, he's been arrested for something he didn't do and wants to get out of there as quickly as possible. Okay. I've been through the system, buddy. I know you have. I know you have, Jeff.

You're not my friend. I'm not your friend. You're trying to fucking get me. No, I'm not trying to get you. All you're trying to get is some fucking stupid-ass fucking confession and you're not going to get one. Jeff, I'm not going to get a confession out of you for nothing. Exactly, because I didn't do nothing.

And I'm not trying to get a confession out of you. Okay, and I'm going to tell you, I ain't committed no armed robbery, and y'all ain't got no fucking evidence saying I did. Let me go. All you did is find me sitting in my buddy's house because my fucking buddy's dog's going to ape shit. I go outside. There are cops everywhere, and they spot like me.

They say, come here. I said, what's up? They search me? They ain't fine. What's up? Let me read this. No. Yes.

Because I'm not going to sign it. You don't have to sign it. Don't let me read it for you. I'm not signed it. You don't have to sign it. The irony of this cop saying he's not trying to get Jeff while he has him handcuffed in an interrogation room questioning him is very amusing. But even through all this, every part of what Jeff said here is so perfect, it almost sounds rehearsed.

It's an incredible display of personal legal defense. And is even more impressive when you layer it with the fact that Jeff is almost definitely starting to experience withdrawals. I also want to highlight the point Jeff made about how cops are simply trying to force a confession out of him. One of the main techniques used in these interrogations is the Reed technique, developed by a former cop and psychologist in the 1960s after he extracted a confession from a man accused of murdering his own wife. The technique consists of nine steps, beginning with a polite discussion about why the suspect is being accused of the crime, followed by using certain body language and actions within the interrogation as a display of guilt.

The method ends with offering the suspect's two alternative statements they can agree with, one of which is slightly more acceptable than the other. But whichever is chosen, admits guilt, and is counted as a confession. This method forces the suspect into a corner and is exceedingly good at extracting false confessions from innocent suspects. In fact, the original case is, that technique was formed around fell apart after discovering that the man, in fact, did not kill his wife and was tricked into giving a false confession. Absolutely, next level, gaslighting. Tell me what happened last night. Plain and simple. Your side of the story.

I'm not talking to you. I don't know you. All right. This is what I don't understand. I know, but this is what I don't understand, Jeff. You were sitting there talking just like you're ready to sit here and tell me. what happened last night and then all of a sudden i read that to you and you screw it i didn't talk to you i want a lawyer i don't understand that what what changed just in the because i told you what i already told you what happened you didn't i didn't i didn't tell me what happened last how didn't i just tell you what the time but now you've handcuffed me and i can't talk to you because you've asked for an attorney so okay that's fine but i will tell you right now you're still on a hold for a robbery i know i don't know why i need a fucking lawyer because uh obviously

I didn't do nothing. And obviously, you guys know I didn't do nothing because I've been arrested for the same bullshit before and you guys don't interview me this much. So, wham-bam, thank you for the Coke, put me back in a cell. We haven't interviewed you yet. Jeff has now asked for a lawyer

and is once again refusing to answer questions. But we're only halfway through this footage and Jeff's ability to defend himself and completely destroy this cop only gets better from here. Here's what the deal is. I have enough evidence of your armed robbery, okay? But, you know, if you're saying you didn't do it, you need to give me your side of the story.

I didn't do it. Okay, well, give me your side of the story. You got, I mean, convince me, because I got a lot of evidence, I got a lot of physical evidence. Like what? Why should I tell you that? This is where the detective starts to become desperate. He knows he's running out of time. and so has completely abandoned any elaborate techniques or methods to try and get information

out of him. He's now instead moved on to essentially just threatening him with false claims of evidence that he can easily use to convict Jeff. If all of this was true, he'd likely be trying to use it to intimidate Jeff into panicking and giving up more information. But instead, he uses a flimsy rhetoric, claiming that because Jeff hasn't helped him, he won't help Jeff. Name them. What's that? Name them. Why don't you do that?

You haven't helped me out at all. You give me a little bit, I give you a little bit. We go back and forth. I give you one of my piece and then. It's now give me a little something. All right? What time do you get over there in his house? No, I know anything I say here can and will be used against me.

Sure, but anything you say here, I can also tell your parole officer. You help me out. Now the detective is desperately trying to bargain with Jeff. If he helps the cops out, they'll put in a good word with his parole officer. But Jeff immediately realizes that means absolutely nothing. What does a gold star mean if you're stuck in prison for 20 years? This further enforces the idea that cops have absolutely nothing to convict Jeff with, and also shows that they know they're running out of time.

Jeff has asked for a lawyer, yet they're still sitting there questioning him, him, as if that's not a blatant violation of the rights that they have read to Jeff on three separate occasions. They know that if they don't get anything out of him soon, their time will run out, and Jeff is watching the clock closely. For the next four minutes of the interrogation, Jeff continues to deny and combat anything the police say to him. They bring up the gun that he was found with, continue to try and strike a deal, and even

try to scare him by taunting him with what being back in prison would be like, and without any of the drugs he's grown in dependency to. But throughout all of this, Jeff stays totally stone-faced. He knows he's almost won. I'm done, man. Fuck this. I'm not even answering. All this shit that I just said is going to be fucking written in the discovery now, right? What? You haven't said nothing? I mean, every little stupid thing that you've asked me, dude, is going to be in the discovery. I'm not going to do discovery.

The prosecutor is. Okay. I mean, you halfway know the system how things work and you halfway don't. Am I right? I half-ass know that the only reason I came up here is to get a fucking Coke. Okay. And I got it. But now I'm what a butter figure.

But that's not what happened for a while? What, the butter figure? Yeah. Why not? I need to go to hospital. I'm confident of blood. Okay. Let's go to the hospital.

For the last few hours, the police have been questioning a man who is clearly in pain, denying him access to the legal prescription drug that would help him deal with his issues, and questioning him repeatedly on a crime for which they have no evidence for. All the while, Jeff dealt with this as casually as possible, asking for sodas and chocolate bars. Jeff knew miss speaking at any point could lead him down a slippery, slope. So he exerted his rights in the perfect way, and 12 hours later, it's recorded that he was released from custody and sent on his merry way. It's also reported that from

here, Jeff began to turn his life around. He's off heroin, and now spends his time uploading to the same YouTube channel the footage from this video was uploaded, too. He makes music, and even gives extra tips on how to avoid the police's tricks.