Bring John Home
Donation protected
John is a 20 year old resident of Delray Beach, FL. About two weeks ago he was with his 3 brothers and a friend visiting friends and family in the Dominican Republic when they were set up, unjustly arrested, and detained. The five boys have now been in a jail in Santo Domingo for two weeks. This fund has been set up to help John’s father pay for lawyers to clear the boys of all charges. The lawyer fees in the DR are $10,000, so our goal starts there.
John is a Haitian immigrant and legal resident of the U.S. Earlier this summer he graduated from Daytona State with an Associate degree; he attended with a full ride soccer scholarship. John is scheduled to start at a 4 year college in Alabama this fall. He plans on pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree, again, on scholarship. These funds will help bring John home so he can start college on time and be prepared for his soccer season in the spring. While his scholarship covers all tuition and fees, he still needs to pay for room and board, transportation, and school materials. The money his dad had set aside to pay for these essentials are now being redirected towards lawyer fees and other costs of this unjust detention.
All funds raised will go directly to John’s father to cover legal fees. Additional funds will help get the boys plane tickets back to the U.S., and cover other expenses associated with being detained overseas.
I am organizing this fund on behalf of John and his family. My family is very close to John and he’s like a little brother to me. My mom has been working tirelessly contacting the American Embassy in the DR, our senator and congresswoman here, as well as the boys’ lawyers in the DR. She has informed the U.S. Embassy of what jail the boys are being held in and has received a copy of the charges and the appeal from the lawyers so we could get a better understanding of what is going on and how we can help. I started the gofundme to help lessen the financial burden on John’s family, ensure the boys have access to all the resources they may need, and to bring John home as quickly as possible.
The story of what happened in the Dominican Republic is recounted below:
The boys rented a car in the DR; as they were driving, it broke down. They got out to put oil in the car, they video taped this as proof to the rental agency of what happened. The car still was not working so they called the rental agency. The mechanic who came out began threatening the boys, saying they would have to pay for the car and if not he was going to send them to jail. A tow truck, called by the mechanic, towed the car to a nearby toll booth. At the toll booth, the hood of the car was opened up and a brown paper package was inside the hood of the car. The boys began filming to protect themselves, because there is well known anti-Haitianism in the Dominican Republic. The boys called the police once the package appeared because they were being threatened by the mechanic and they had no idea what was in the package or how it got there. When the police came they arrested the five boys on drug charges because marijuana was found in the package.
The video the boys took of them putting the oil in the car shows that there was nothing out of place under the hood of the car. These videos are being used as evidence to clear the boys of charges but, despite the evidence of their innocence, press coverage in the DR is painting the boys as guilty. Historically, there has been anti-Haitianism in the Dominican Republic and that continues today. This prejudice is evident in how the boys are portrayed in the media and their Haitian identity could be the reason they were targeted by the rental agency.
Currently the boys are being detained in a jail in Santo Domingo. They are facing drug charges with a sentence of 5 - 20 years. Their lawyers have filed an appeal using the videos they took as evidence of their innocence and the court has up to two more weeks to make a decision on the appeal. The U.S. Embassy is aware a U.S. citizen is being detained and is working on their end to help. Right now we are just waiting to hear more but are in contact with the boys as well as the lawyers.
John is a Haitian immigrant and legal resident of the U.S. Earlier this summer he graduated from Daytona State with an Associate degree; he attended with a full ride soccer scholarship. John is scheduled to start at a 4 year college in Alabama this fall. He plans on pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree, again, on scholarship. These funds will help bring John home so he can start college on time and be prepared for his soccer season in the spring. While his scholarship covers all tuition and fees, he still needs to pay for room and board, transportation, and school materials. The money his dad had set aside to pay for these essentials are now being redirected towards lawyer fees and other costs of this unjust detention. All funds raised will go directly to John’s father to cover legal fees. Additional funds will help get the boys plane tickets back to the U.S., and cover other expenses associated with being detained overseas.
I am organizing this fund on behalf of John and his family. My family is very close to John and he’s like a little brother to me. My mom has been working tirelessly contacting the American Embassy in the DR, our senator and congresswoman here, as well as the boys’ lawyers in the DR. She has informed the U.S. Embassy of what jail the boys are being held in and has received a copy of the charges and the appeal from the lawyers so we could get a better understanding of what is going on and how we can help. I started the gofundme to help lessen the financial burden on John’s family, ensure the boys have access to all the resources they may need, and to bring John home as quickly as possible. The story of what happened in the Dominican Republic is recounted below:
The boys rented a car in the DR; as they were driving, it broke down. They got out to put oil in the car, they video taped this as proof to the rental agency of what happened. The car still was not working so they called the rental agency. The mechanic who came out began threatening the boys, saying they would have to pay for the car and if not he was going to send them to jail. A tow truck, called by the mechanic, towed the car to a nearby toll booth. At the toll booth, the hood of the car was opened up and a brown paper package was inside the hood of the car. The boys began filming to protect themselves, because there is well known anti-Haitianism in the Dominican Republic. The boys called the police once the package appeared because they were being threatened by the mechanic and they had no idea what was in the package or how it got there. When the police came they arrested the five boys on drug charges because marijuana was found in the package.
The video the boys took of them putting the oil in the car shows that there was nothing out of place under the hood of the car. These videos are being used as evidence to clear the boys of charges but, despite the evidence of their innocence, press coverage in the DR is painting the boys as guilty. Historically, there has been anti-Haitianism in the Dominican Republic and that continues today. This prejudice is evident in how the boys are portrayed in the media and their Haitian identity could be the reason they were targeted by the rental agency.
Currently the boys are being detained in a jail in Santo Domingo. They are facing drug charges with a sentence of 5 - 20 years. Their lawyers have filed an appeal using the videos they took as evidence of their innocence and the court has up to two more weeks to make a decision on the appeal. The U.S. Embassy is aware a U.S. citizen is being detained and is working on their end to help. Right now we are just waiting to hear more but are in contact with the boys as well as the lawyers.
Organizer
Vivy Ray
Organizer
Delray Beach, FL
