Pete Van Winkle Murdering Inmate Robert Cotton – CCTV Video
October 17th, 2008Video above contains CCTV recording of a murder of inmate Robert Cotton by another inmate, Pete Van Winkle – a member of Aryan Brotherhood. Quite an entertainment for Friday night.
Sheriff’s Office of the Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona issued a statement following the murder of Robert Cotton that entirely contradicts the CCTV video. The press release states that nothing out of the ordinary happened in the cell on May 1, 2008 (the day of murder) and that the detention officers rushed to the murder scene after Robert Cotton’s dead body was dragged out of the cell and dropped on the floor one level below.
CCTV video however shows that the attack lasted for 15 minutes, during which Robert Cotton was strangled, punched and head stomped by Pete Van Winkle even after his body was bloodied and motionless for minutes. Detention officers got on the murder scene 5 minutes after Robert Cotton’s dead body was dragged out of the cell.
Investigation into the case suggests that Robert Cotton may have been murdered because he wouldn’t beat up another inmate after asked to do it by the Aryan Brotherhood.
Jess Torres, former police officer and security consultant interviewed in the video says that a security guard who was supposed to be monitoring the camera obviously wasn’t doing his/her job. According to Jess Torres; “They’re trained to notice and they’re paid to notice”.
Robert Cotton was serving time for car theft. Pete Van Winkle is now charged with first degree murder, reporters from the video say. The family of Robert Cotton filed a $2 Million claim against the sheriff’s office.
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Hey.
It’s hard for me to follow the previous entry, and this isn’t me taking away anything of what they said because it actually meant a lot to me, but I feel I have to say something on my uncle’s behalf, because no one else is.
Pete Van Winkle had a very hard life, but so do a lot of people. His dad was a drunk, and married to my grandmother. His mom was very, very young. His whole upbringing was just really messed up and left him with trust issues, sex issues, drugs and alcohol issues, etc. So, no, he wasn’t perfect. The people around him were selling drugs and stolen cars, so he did too. He got caught and didn’t rat his friends out, so the state decided to keep him in jail until he did. Not such a good idea.
He was very, very young in mind and body when he went to jail. He was susceptible to every influence. I remember him telling me through letters that in jail, you join a gang to stay alive. You join a gang because once you step foot in that hell, everyone is your enemy. A gang offers protection. He told me that before jail, he didn’t know the difference between races. He grew up and was friends will all different races and it never bothered him. With the protection of a gang came the beliefs they held. Honestly, for a while, he scared me with his Aryan Brotherhood crap. His greetings in letters were just downright weird and the words he used… I don’t exactly remember everything, but I do remember being barely a teenager and my mom telling me to be careful. I knew better than to fall for some stupid Aryan crap, but he wasn’t. Ha, he’s freaking Native American for Christ’s sake… he’s no pure-bread white!
Right before he was let out, he started talking about how he didn’t want to do this anymore. He didn’t want to be part of the Aryan Brotherhood, he didn’t believe what they believed, but we all knew he was scared. There was no way for him to leave the brotherhood while he was still in there. We told him just to wait until he got out.
He was released in late 2007, I believe, and was at our house for Christmas. I remember him being very well dressed. I asked my mom how he got that kind of money straight out of prison, and she didn’t know. Later, we found out that he was paid by the Aryan Brotherhood right before he left prison and was asked to kill someone… we don’t know who, but is was someone specific. To my understanding, there was no way to say no. It was either take this money to buy weapons and kill this man or as soon as you leave, the brotherhood out there would find you and kill you. He took the money, but he didn’t kill the man.
I found out a couple months after Christmas that Pete was back in jail. I was told that he went to a party and got completely drunk, and high, and shot someone of a different race, but not the man he was supposed to kill. The man didn’t die, but I’m not sure if he is awake or not. Apparently, Pete didn’t want to kill the man he was paid to kill, but had the money and couldn’t just give it back. He bought a crazy amount of guns and weapons and hid them away, afraid that the Brotherhood would come looking for him. He also found out that he was much like his father when it came to drinking. He called his dad, who he was never on good terms with, and told him that he was scared. When he drank, he completely lost control of himself. He hadn’t done anything bad, but it scared him. Well, people drink when they are scared, and Pete was scared of the brotherhood. He was paranoid that they were coming after him, and he didn’t think any amount of ammo would stop them, so he lost it. He went to a part someone had invited him to, got totally wasted on alcohol and nefarious drugs, and got in a fight. I’m not sure if it was over a girl, the drugs, or race, whatever… Pete pulled out a gun and shot the man in the eye.
He was pulled back into jail that night for attempted murder and put in solitary confinement. After a very long while it seemed, he was taken out and put in an actual cell.
From what I know of the day Pete killed Robert Cotton, I think it was a total set up by the Aryan Brotherhood. From Pete’s side, Cotton was sent in Pete’s room to kill Pete. He didn’t do what he was supposed to do, so Cotton was there to send him a message, and kill him or injure him badly. Pete freaked. He was still nervous about the Brotherhood, and completely flipped his lid. Crazed mania trying to protect himself, thus why he just kept going.
I think, personally, that the Aryan Brotherhood wanted them both dead for not listening, and figured one would kill the other, and the survivor would be put to death by the system, their hands left clean.
Am I saying Pete’s innocent? No. But I don’t think he should be put to death. Am I biased? Yes. Of course. This man is like my brother. What he did hurts me, maybe just as much as the family, though I’m not comparing hurts. I feel betrayed. He left me here.
I want the family to win the money against Sheriff Joe. This shouldn’t have happened. There was no reason for either of us to lose a life over this. It’s ridiculous, jail-house crap! I am extremely sorry this happened at all. I don’t expect you to ever even consider forgiving Pete, and I don’t think he has forgiven himself yet. I, personally, have been praying for the family and friends, for what it’s worth, even though I know how it sounds.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Hope it clears some things up.