First I’d like to give a little background
I lived in New Jersey for 35 years and in 1998 the company I worked for (H.W. Exhibits) moved to Pennsylvania and I moved along with them.The company was sold to a conglomerate (MC2), and in 2004 and I was downsized, after that I mostly worked in construction. And include the spring of 2006 I took a job working in a family owned small carnival. Believe it or not but this really wasn’t a bad job. I worked there until about the end of August, at which time I met a woman and ended up moving to Virginia Beach. This was a mistake, obviously a big one. Things did not work out between us and we went our separate ways.
I stayed in VB on the “Ocean Front” until l ran out of money which didn’t take long and, for the first time in my life I had nowhere to live and wound up homeless. Fortunately VB has many places that assist those who need help ( The VOA–Volunteers Of America– and the JCOC–Judeo Christian Outreach Center) who supply food clothing and many many other things that homeless people need.
Now this whole time I was an alcoholic my only care was where my next drink was coming from. I got a tent (which i had pitched in a stand of trees next to the Virginia Beach Convention Center which was pretty much situated right between thevVOA and JCOC )from the VOA and the person who. I was hanging out with (Matthew Allenbaugh) shared the tent with me. This was my second mistake, this person was not a good person, in fact, he was downright evil. In hindsight I do not know what I was thinking but now I’m paying for my imperception.
While I was homeless I was able to find work every day by going to the VOA where contractors would come by every morning looking for workers and since I was never afraid to work (I actually like to work) contractors would always hire me.
There were a bunch of homeless people who frequented the VOA and JCOC not all of them were undesirable some were good people who had fallen on bad times. I’ve always been quick to adapt to different situations so I fit right in with everyone but unfortunately fell in with a bad seed.None liked Matthew Allenbaugh but I nevertheless chose to hang with him (damn fool I was).
There was another person who I hung out with who at the time I know only as Butch, he was a good guy a drinker like me and Allenbaugh but he and Alldnbaugh did not get along for some reasons (some of the homeless said the Butch loved him, I don’t know I was not and am not into that kind of thing).
Anyway on October 30 or 31 Alllenbaugh and myself packed up my tent and moved to Norfolk where I immediately was hired by Labor Ready in downtown Norfolk but after about two weeks Allenbaugh, who had trouble with everyone, had a fight with someone he knew from before and we ended up packing up my tent and moved again to the Norfolk Virginia Beach border and we set up the tent in another stand of trees in a parking lot of a hospital (I forgot the name) that was located on Kempsville Red. behind the Food Lion. I was hired at a different branch of Labor Ready and again went right to work (I did, Allenbaugh did not).
Even though I was a severe alcoholic I went to work everyday regardless of how I felt.I do not know what Allenbaugh was doing while I was at work (panhandling maybe) but he was not working nor did he have much money, at least not that I knew of.
About two weeks before Thanksgiving of 2006 me and Allenbaugh had an argument about him telling me how to spend the money I earned which was absolutely none of his business especially since he didn’t have any and wasn’t working (he would steal alcohol) this heated up and he hit me with a tree branch at which time I punched him in the face and then left. I returned to my tent two days later and him and his things we gone.
At this time I was still working for Labor Ready but was daily employed at “The Room Store” at a mall in Military Circle.
Then on Dec. 8, 2006 I was arrested by Norfolk police on a failure to appear (FTA) for not showing g up for court for misdemeanor charge in Virginia Beach.I was held in the Norfolk jail until Dec. 12 when VB came to transport me to the Virginia Beach jail.
And on December thirteenth two thousand and six the beginning of the end of my life ensues.
Dean Giacomo
DOC #1207157
