http://twitter.com/iecourtsnow
3hLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Sept5 Attorneys in the #oldfire trial are taking today to prep for their closing statements. The trial will continue Thurs
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
No, Patrick said.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
You suffered from addiction, u didn't get caught for killing ppl. U didn't set a wildfire or rob an adult bookstore did you? Bulloch asked.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
To an extent, yes, Patrick replied.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
We can hear all day about how bad conditions were growing up, but it comes down to ppl making choices, doesn't it? Bulloch asked Patrick
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"& that's questionable," he added. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"we were in their home. We woke up & went to sleep, they occasionally fed us & clothed us. But that's it," Patrick said about his parents.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Patrick said values & morals were never instilled in rickie #Fowler & his younger siblings after their parents started taking drugs
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Said he took showers with the neighbor's hose, that they used candles for light & there was no food in the house. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Patrick described the #Fowler household as being in "rancid conditions" quite a bit of the time. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Patrick, who currently lives in Tulsa, OK, said he has never served time in state prison, but he has served time in county jail. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Now Patrick #fowler, rickie's oldest brother, is on the stand. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
...curse @ his teachers & get into a fight with other kids in school. & that all happened b4 the #Fowler family had their drug problem.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
That's an understatement, bulloch said. He talked about how in kindergarten #Fowler would steal lunch $ from his classmates...
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
He's my son & I love him, Terrill said. He's had a few problems, yes. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
The truth of the matter is rickie has been a problem from the very beginning, hasn't he? Bulloch asked Terrill.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Did rickie help find you a new place to live. Bulloch asked Terrill? No, she said. Did rickie help you find food then. No, terrill said.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
When the family was living in low-income housing in colton, #Fowler's behavior got them kicked out, rendering them homeless. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
But bulloch brought up several negative traits about the #OldFire arsonist.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Terrill added that she thought rickie lee #Fowler was a soldier - he would stand up for himself. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
That he tries to comfort his family from jail. "I think his mind is real strong," Terrill said. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
During cross examination, Terrill told bulloch that she was proud of her son for being a strong person. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Terrill testified that she was not able to take care of her children @ that time. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"we were so into drugs, that came first," Terrill testified. She added that she was a drug addict @ the time & she used meth all day long
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
When the couple moved to a house on magnolia in San bernardino, they started doing drugs. Terrill said it was horrible living in that house
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
But Rick fowler sr. wouldn't abuse rickie, she said. "they were real close." #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
She said living with her husband "Tex" for 25 years was hard - he did a lot of mental abuse. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Currently on the stand is kathy Terrill, #Fowler's mother. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"rickie was my should to cry on. I looked to him more as my father figure," Amy #Fowler testified. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
And there were holes in the walls & broken windows in the house bcz of the violence. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Amy #fowler testified that she had to wear her brother's clothes when she was younger bcz they didn't have $ to buy clothes...
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Amy #Fowler testified that rickie would say, "we gotta be strong & we'll make it through this some day." #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Amy #Fowler said rickie would tell her that she had to be strong. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"it was a very abusive household." #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"out of all my 4 brothers, he was the only 1 that never physically or verbally abused me," Amy #Fowler said about rickie. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
She said rickie #Fowler was in & out of jail when they were livng in SB, but she remembers bit & pieces of when he was around
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Amy #Fowler, who is now 22, moved to Utah with her mother when she was 14 yo. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
She has no ear drum in her rig ear & only 10 to 15 percent hearing in her left ear.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Due to her family smoking drugs around her so much as a child, Amy #Fowler has limited hearing, she testified. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
The next witness is Amy #Fowler, rickie's younger sister. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
& some ppl don't realize that @ all, guillen said regarding turning his life around. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
every life is different, guillen said. for other ppl it takes more in life to realize that...
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
How come you didn't end up murdering ppl? How did you end up the way you did instead of being on trial for murder? Bulloch asked. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Guillen said he moved to Utah & eventually cleaned up his life. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Prosecutor Robert Bulloch questioned guillen about his drug addiction & involvement in a tagging crew, which #Fowler was a part of as well
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"...if you give them drugs, that's what they're going to grow up to be, y'know?," guillen said. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"(now, as a parent) I can't believe they would raise their kids that way. It's sad. They're little kids, you can't raise kids like that..."
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
"(at the time) I thought it was a cool place. All you could do is go over there & hang out. Do drugs & party," guillen said. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Def attny michael belter asked guillen to describe the parental supervision @ the #Fowler house.
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Guillen said he saw a young rickie #Fowler, & Fowler's parents, doing drugs in that house. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Guillen described the #Fowler house as a dirty place, a bad place. He would go over there as a preteen & do drugs. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
Jesse Guillen said he was 12 or 13 years old when he hung out @ the #Fowler's house. #OldFire
4 SepLori Fowler‏@IEcourtsNow
The #OldFire trial is back in session after the holiday weekend. The defense is questioning another childhood friend of #Fowler's.