Arlington man home after Mexican prison ordeal

Published 10:41 pm Saturday, April 25, 2009

ARLINGTON — Six months ago, Ed Chrisman left his mobile home to spend the winter in sunny Yuma, Ariz.

It’s a trip he’s taken without incident for decades.

Saturday, television cameras, balloons, banners and his elated family greeted him after his plane touched down at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He was finally back after having endured 65 days locked up in a Mexican prison for a crime he did not commit.

The 89-year-old Arlington man is just happy to be free, home — and alive.

“I’m not used to this kind of attention,” he said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d get caught up in anything like this.”

Neither did anybody else.

Chrisman encountered trouble that nearly killed him. It cost his family thousands of dollars and countless hours of worry. His case drew international attention and anger on both sides of the border.

It all started with a trip to the dentist.

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Just across the border from Yuma is Algodones, Mexico. The small, dusty border town is known for catering to Americans who seek cut-rate dental and medical services. Hundreds of tourists walk across the border daily and return to Yuma in the evening.

On Jan. 8, Gary Chrisman Jr., a security guard in Yuma, invited his grandfather along to a dental appointment in Algodones. Everything went fine, until the younger man decided to stop for a Coke.

In hindsight, Ed Chrisman said he wishes they hadn’t driven his grandson’s car over the border, and they especially shouldn’t have headed off a main street. They never, ever should have stopped for a cold drink.

But they did.

Not long after the younger Chrisman pulled away from a convenience store, five police cruisers swarmed the car. Both men were arrested.

“We didn’t know what in the world was going on,” Ed Chrisman said.

The pair were taken to a local police station where they were searched. Their wallets, watches and shoelaces were taken. Officers also took Gary Chrisman Jr.’s camera.

The camera contained photos of street scenes, people eating in an outdoor cantina and smiling dental assistants. Nonetheless, the men knew they somehow were in trouble over the photography.

For three days, they were held in a local jail without a phone call, food, water or a blanket.

Their hell was just beginning.

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After a few days of frantic searching, the Chrisman family learned what happened. They quickly found they could do little to help. The U.S. government largely kept its distance.

The Chrismans hired a Mexican attorney who learned both men were being accused of approaching a 13-year-old girl in her mother’s convenience store and asking to take a sexually explicit photograph.

Gary Chrisman Jr. gave his family a different account. He said he went into the store and took a few photos of fully-clothed girls. The girls’ mother was there and reportedly granted permission. He gave her $25, but she demanded more, he told his family. When Gary Chrisman refused, she called police.

By all reports of those directly involved, Edward Chrisman never went into the store.

The Chrismans were transferred to a larger prison at Mexicali in the state of Baja California Norte. They were told they would be held for a time. How long until freedom? Maybe tomorrow, they were told. Eventually, they understood they’d be there months.

Ed Chrisman first slept on a metal bed frame in a cramped cell with dozens of other men. His grandson slept on a wet, concrete floor.

The unfamiliar food and the conditions quickly weakened Ed Chrisman. He was spry and fit for his age, but the cold and damp of prison seeped into his lungs. He developed pneumonia.

As the days passed, he began to lose hope.

“I didn’t think I’d ever come out, and I was so sick, I didn’t care,” Ed Chrisman said.

Eventually, officials moved him to a ward for the elderly where he received a thin mattress and warm showers. Chrisman befriended another American prisoner who spoke rapid-fire Spanish and helped him navigate the 5,700-inmate facility. Chrisman said his fellow prisoners were generally kind and good-natured. The guards mostly left him alone.

The prison itself was an aging catacomb of crumbling concrete passageways, iron bars and gates with heavy locks. Chrisman remembers cockroaches everywhere and rats. Big rats.

In Mexican prisons, families are expected to provide everything, including toiletries, towels and most clothing. His family brought him salads and candy bars on visiting days but otherwise he had to choke down prison fare that made him ill: beans, sweet rice and a broth made from animal entrails.

“I couldn’t eat their food,” he said.

Edward Chrisman won his freedom after a Mexican federal judge on Feb. 9 examined what happened in the case and ruled the man’s rights had been violated. The judge ruled that he should be set free and not required to stand trial. Although it was an emergency hearing, he remained behind bars until March 14, when the paperwork finally reached the prison in Mexicali.

His release, he said, felt like a resurrection.

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Edward Chrisman has spent the last month and a half recovering from the ordeal. He lost 22 pounds in prison. Once healthy and energetic, he needed support to walk. His family from Arlington flew to his side and spent a few weeks cooking him extravagant meals while he lounged next to the pool.

Ed Chrisman still bolts awake in the dark, convinced he’s in prison, said his son, Don Chrisman of Arlington.

Ed Chrisman said he has no plans to return to Mexico — ever.

Despite the joy over Edward Chrisman’s release, the family continues to worry for Chrisman’s grandson, Gary Chrisman Jr. He remains in prison awaiting a trial next month.

In Arlington, people who have known Edward Chrisman for most of his life were stunned that trouble would find a man who by all accounts has led a blameless life.

Chrisman has attended the Arlington Assembly of God Church for decades. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He worked as a civil service machinist for the Navy before retiring years ago. He plants a huge vegetable garden every spring, and spends much of the summer giving the produce away.

Edward Chrisman was married to his wife, Norma, for 63 years. He cared for her until her death in 2007 from Alzheimer’s disease.

The Chrisman family has been surprised the random acts of generosity. A $5 bill slipped into a hand at the local co-op. A $100 check from a retired woman they didn’t know. A kind word from a complete stranger.

“I just really appreciate the help,” Ed Chrisman said on Saturday. “I’m thankful for everyone. We’re just halfway done. We’ve got to get Gary Jr. out.”

Ed Chrisman arrived home in a Chevy Suburban his granddaughter drove from the airport. He stepped out of the truck and headed toward his back yard.

The garden looked nice, he said, ready for planting, but it needed a load of manure.

“Just don’t ask me to take you tomorrow,” his daughter Marie Saxton said.

The family walked him up the steps.

Home.

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.