Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

What I Did Last Summer

“I had just seen the Muslims and Wild Weekend at the Belly Up,” says Embalmers singer-guitarist Gordo about a night in late July. “I stopped at a few more bars. I got pulled over on Encinitas Boulevard. I passed the field sobriety test, but then they told me I had to take a breath test. I denied them.

“They put me in handcuffs and put me in the cop car. We verbally abused each other on the way to the sheriff’s substation [in Encinitas]. I was calling them ‘pigs,’ and they were calling me ‘beaner.’ Unknown to them was I had pulled my hands under my legs and used the metal part of my belt buckle to pick the lock on my handcuffs. When we got there, I put my hands back behind my back and pretended I was still in cuffs.…

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I pushed both cops off me.… They all tried to tackle me, and they fell over each other like the Three Stooges. I took off running. I wrapped my hand over a shirt and just climbed over the barbed-wire fence. I was chased by the entire Encinitas sheriff department, their dogs, and a helicopter. I hid in the bushes behind Longs for four hours. I heard sirens and cops’ voices everywhere. Eventually I made my way through the back streets of Encinitas toward the beach. I found a little girl’s pink bike that had a flat back tire. I rode it to the cliffs of Swami’s.

“I was making my way down the cliffs. I thought I was almost at the bottom, so I jumped. I fell about 100 feet and knocked myself out. All I remember is two women joggers waking me up in the morning. One said, ‘Marge, I think he’s dead.’ They insisted they call an ambulance, but I denied it. I walked on the beach to Terramar Point [in Carlsbad]. I saw a friend surfing who gave me a ride home.”

Because the deputies had Gordo’s cell phone, they were able to find out info on his family.

“They looked up my brother’s home address. They had undercover marshals staking out his house. My brother came to pick me up so I could turn myself in. Twelve agents rushed me as I walked outside my house.…

“I was initially charged with escape and making a terrorist threat and causing bodily harm to multiple police officers, which carried 6 to 12 years in prison.”

After pleading guilty to a felony terrorist threat to a police officer and DUI, Gordo got 180 days at three different county jails.

“I passed the time by shadowboxing and composing songs in my head. Not comparing myself to them, but I drew inspiration from other musicians, like Tupac and Merle Haggard, who also did time. No disrespect to Johnny Cash, but he only did two days.…

“I did the crime and I served the time. I will always live my life wild and free. A little county time is not going to break my spirit, and neither is being harassed by the man.”

The Embalmers appear January 24 at the Ken Club.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Next Article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024

“I had just seen the Muslims and Wild Weekend at the Belly Up,” says Embalmers singer-guitarist Gordo about a night in late July. “I stopped at a few more bars. I got pulled over on Encinitas Boulevard. I passed the field sobriety test, but then they told me I had to take a breath test. I denied them.

“They put me in handcuffs and put me in the cop car. We verbally abused each other on the way to the sheriff’s substation [in Encinitas]. I was calling them ‘pigs,’ and they were calling me ‘beaner.’ Unknown to them was I had pulled my hands under my legs and used the metal part of my belt buckle to pick the lock on my handcuffs. When we got there, I put my hands back behind my back and pretended I was still in cuffs.…

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I pushed both cops off me.… They all tried to tackle me, and they fell over each other like the Three Stooges. I took off running. I wrapped my hand over a shirt and just climbed over the barbed-wire fence. I was chased by the entire Encinitas sheriff department, their dogs, and a helicopter. I hid in the bushes behind Longs for four hours. I heard sirens and cops’ voices everywhere. Eventually I made my way through the back streets of Encinitas toward the beach. I found a little girl’s pink bike that had a flat back tire. I rode it to the cliffs of Swami’s.

“I was making my way down the cliffs. I thought I was almost at the bottom, so I jumped. I fell about 100 feet and knocked myself out. All I remember is two women joggers waking me up in the morning. One said, ‘Marge, I think he’s dead.’ They insisted they call an ambulance, but I denied it. I walked on the beach to Terramar Point [in Carlsbad]. I saw a friend surfing who gave me a ride home.”

Because the deputies had Gordo’s cell phone, they were able to find out info on his family.

“They looked up my brother’s home address. They had undercover marshals staking out his house. My brother came to pick me up so I could turn myself in. Twelve agents rushed me as I walked outside my house.…

“I was initially charged with escape and making a terrorist threat and causing bodily harm to multiple police officers, which carried 6 to 12 years in prison.”

After pleading guilty to a felony terrorist threat to a police officer and DUI, Gordo got 180 days at three different county jails.

“I passed the time by shadowboxing and composing songs in my head. Not comparing myself to them, but I drew inspiration from other musicians, like Tupac and Merle Haggard, who also did time. No disrespect to Johnny Cash, but he only did two days.…

“I did the crime and I served the time. I will always live my life wild and free. A little county time is not going to break my spirit, and neither is being harassed by the man.”

The Embalmers appear January 24 at the Ken Club.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader