My Journey Down the Rabbit Hole

This is my story and the events that led me to collide with this historically huge case. All these events detail are facts in the public domain. The only personal information is my own. And that is in the public domain, by way of my blog on this case, ConjuringJustice.com. I am telling the path that led me to who I am today. I always referred to this part of my life is the "lost time", or "a past life". But when I became aware of what I wanted my life to represent, even at nearly 40, I used my experience in that "past life" to help someone whom I did not care for particularly. He was not a favorite person of mine. He was part of the time I did not wish to ever revisit, but we all have a past. I learned through this portion of my journey, that all these times, events, are just simple stones in the mosaic of life. We may not see what the design will be, but each piece is integral to your life's journey. Even those things, we are ashamed of or regret, can be made into an incredible design that becomes the legacy we have carefully crafted of our life events. It represents growth. It cannot be overlooked that things we have gone through, could help others understand how to navigate these same issues we already conquered. Follow me through the my short-lived walk on the wild side. Maybe you can envision why I am on this path.

In another life, a time I tried so desperately to forget, my path crossed with Patrick Poff (now known as Patrick Gonzalez Jr.). I worked in a restaurant, Village Inn, in Pensacola. It had been almost 2 years since my father died. I was in a very dark place that I could not escape. I ran away from my life and returned back to my hometown of Pensacola. Pat was a frequent customer who sat back in the smoking section of the restaurant. He was always there with various people. He had slept with a couple of waitresses. He was a very cocky son of a bitch. He always tried to be overly friendly to me. I guess he sensed I did not like him. His mockingly, over friendly small talk felt very disingenuous.

After working at the restaurant for a few months, I started hanging out with waitresses. One, in particular, was Joanna (not her true name). She had a bar she liked, and we hung out there regularly. She introduced me to her sister, Kayla (also not her true name). Kayla was intrigued by Pat. Due to this attraction, we started hanging out with Pat, more and more.

Pat always seemed like a con man to me. He talked to Joanna and Kayla about being “hooked up”, connected to some sort of organized crime. He was 5’6” and he dressed like a businessman. He always had money. He was a martial arts guy. I had heard from several people about underground fights he participated in. Because of his height, he was always the underdog and was always pitted against men of much taller stature. He would win, according to the people who placed bets on him. They made a killing on these fights. Pat was also a first-rate narcissist. He fed off that sort of accolade. Physically, he could not be shaken in confrontations.

On the weekends, Joanna claimed they drove from New Orleans to Atlanta with Pat. Initially, she didn't say why. It seemed sort of crazy to me. What could they possibly be taking from point A to point B that was of any interest. Joanna started using cocaine regularly One night while she was high, she said she got the coke through Pat--not from him, but through him. And she finally admitted, the trips were to pick up something, drive it in a rental car from New Orleans to Atlanta. She and others who went with him, his friends, claimed, on one trip, that they dropped of these "packages" in Atlanta to a famous rapper at a pool hall in the early morning hours. If Pat's implications about being "connected" seemed far-fetched, these covert trips seemed fucking impossible to believe. I honestly chalked it up to her being deceived while she was impaired. That seemed more likely than a famous rapper meeting them in the wee hours in Atlanta at a pool hall, he had opened for his own entertainment.

Kayla and Pat got married sort of on the sly. I went to their home and basically started believing this narrative after seeing a close friend of Pat’s, talked about these "trips" and their "connections openly. He, also, had no issue with taking his vial out and snorting cocaine anywhere. He was a big guy, and he was extremely extroverted. But when Pat realized I knew what he was doing, he lost his mind on Joanna. He did not want people to know about the trips, especially someone that did not like him, like me.

It did not take me too long to become weary of this lifestyle. So, I returned to my life and put Pat and all his craziness behind me. Then sitting in my mother-in-law’s home on the outskirts of Detroit many years later, I saw Pat on the national news being accused of capital murder. His name was different. He went by Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr.. I felt as if I fell down a rabbit hole. The news accounts seemed impossible. Here is the narrative:

Pensacola, Florida

July 9, 2009

On an unexceptional summer night, Byrd “Bud” Billings and his wife Melanie were murdered in an extraordinarily organized home invasion. Three armed men exited an old van and kicked in the front door while two other armed men walked from the wood line and entered a side door. The Billings family had taken in nearly a dozen foster children. Most of the kids were taken from abused families or had mental disabilities. To ensure their safety, the Billings had surveillance cameras all through the home.

This crime appeared to be a robbery gone bad. But was it? The men approached the home with deliberate synchronicity. While the family was wealthy, the video showed 5 men enter the home, leaving a driver in the van and possibly another driver who carried the other 2 men. That is 8 people who are involved in this crime. They took a small safe after killing the couple.

This home was way back off the street. No close neighbors. In fact, there were multiple structures on the property. A small camper was where one of the family’s oldest children, Justin, was living. He had been relegated to the camper and not the big house. A big stand-alone garage separated 1 of 2 mobile home from the big house. Robbi Jones and her husband James lived in this mobile home. Another mobile home on the property is where April Spencer lived. She was an employee of the couple. She helped with the kids. Robbi and April were both home the night of the murders. The thought of such a brazen crime while there were so many issues. What if Robbi and April were in the big house, would they have been killed? What if they tried to thwart the effort of the intruder? What if the kids were in the common area or more kids were downstairs with the couple? Plus, the thought of having so many perpetrators involved exponentially elevates the risk of some form of DNA would be left behind. Also, the more people participating in a crime such as this, drives up the risk of someone talking. Ben Franklin said, “Three can keep a secret if two are dead.” Yet we have between 6 and 8 people committing this crime. Were they meant to get caught?

Why would it be necessary to use this much gun power to rob this couple? Surely, they do not have guns laying around. This crime could be accomplished by 1 to 3 people. Why would some one use up to 8? Does not make sense.