My Statement

I would like to start by saying the last three weeks have been a living hell for me, my friends and my entire family. My prayers go out to the Franklin family, and I pray that God keeps Nailah close to him and allows her soul to rest. I have not had the time nor space to truly deal with how Nailah’s disappearance and death has affected me. I have had to endure from day one the false belief by many, including members of her own family, that I somehow played a role in her disappearance. I am saddened by this horrible belief some may have, and am deeply pained by the words that have been used to describe me. I have been label everything from a “murderer, stalker, killer, con-man, drug dealer, womanizer, evil man, and countless other insulting names. My name has been smeared all across the television, radio, internet, and print media. Everywhere I turn someone else is convicting me, and saying how I should rot in prison or hell for the rest of my life. This conviction is based solely on HEARSAY and GOSSIP!! There has not been one shred of information or evidence released by the authorities that indicates I was involved in the disappearance or death of Nailah Franklin. Additionally, I have never even been labeled as a suspect in her disappearance! Yet and still, the Media has associated my character and finally my name with this story to the point where any person who can read, listen to the radio, or watch a news cast, would believe I was involved. Because of these reports, my life has been threatened; my addresses have been circulated around the internet, along with pictures of myself and one of my daughters. There have been numerous threatening emails, voicemails, and text messages. There is also a reported contract on my life, which allegedly originated with members of Nailah’s family. I am well aware of how my character was first introduced to the authorities and media. During one of the first interviews after the missing person report was filed on behalf of Nailah, one of Nailah’s friends Dana McClellan stated to the media on camera that she had heard a threatening voicemail from one of Nailah’s former acquaintances. From that point forward my character, and then my name began to be smeared through the media. I have heard the authorities speak on the report of a threat, however I have NEVER heard if the police have independently verified that a threatening voicemail exist or existed. Yet that report from Ms. McClellan has been reported over and over as if it is a fact. Aside from Ms. McClellan’s statement, NOTHING else directly indicates my involvement in this situation.

By roc77 on Oct 16, 2007

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH NAILAH FRANKLIN

I met Nailah in the spring of 2006, we began having very random telephone conversations, and tried a few times to hang out, however we never connected in person partly due to her schedule, and my own obligations. When we did finally start seeing each other, I really enjoyed the time we spent together. She reminded me of a female version of myself, very tough, opinionated, outgoing, determined to succeed, funny and very passionate. We are both Aries, and share the same birthday. With both of us always feeling the need to have the last word, we always engaged in very interesting conversations. I remember her sister, Marina, telling me at a lunch she attended with Nailah and I, that Nailah’s nickname was “little moot”. She went on to say that the nickname came from their grandmother, who being the original “moot”, made it impossible for you to win an argument with her. So from that point forward, Nailah became “little moot” to me. At some point we became intimately involved. After a while things began to change. I had always stated that I was just dating and not looking for a serious relationship and she agreed at first. However, her feelings on us casually dating began to change after a while. There was also an issue that occurred when one of Nailah friends Alyssia Bailey, had her sister, who is a lawyer do a background check on me. This background check revealed that I had been arrested before. Nailah was hurt and angered by this because she felt she should have heard that from me, not another person. That caused a bit of tension, however after we talked about everything, and I gave her all the information about the past arrest, things were alright again. We continued to see each other on a causal level with no commitment. She told me she was dating other people, and she was well aware that I was dating a few other women also. Our only rule was, not to put each other at risk for anything, if we where indeed intimate with someone else. At some point Nailah started questioning why we didn’t hang out or go out to the movies or dinner. She felt that I saw our interaction on only one level, and she implied she needed and wanted more out of our interactions. I continued to state my position of not wanting a girlfriend, and that all the things she was trying to interest me in doing were gearing toward boyfriend/girlfriend interactions, which I was not ready for, nor interested in having. After each of these conversations, Nailah would say, “o.k. you need not be in my life anymore, I won’t call you, you don’t call me, and we’re done” And I would always say alright. However within a couple days or the most a couple weeks we would find ourselves back involved in an intimate situation. This type of back and forth, on again, off again interaction went on at least ten times before our last contact in mid August. She sent me a very heartfelt email on July 16th 2007, expressing her need to walk away from our situation. I didn’t respond to the email and I did as I had always done with her; give her, her space. If that was to truly be our “adios…” then that was fine with me, however I knew it would be a matter of time before she called or text me and our situation would resume again. And she did. She text me about a week later saying she missed me, and wanted to see me. Shortly after that I received an email, inviting me to attend her art show. We met for the last time in late August and had breakfast at Yolk on South Michigan Ave. We left that breakfast saying we would be friends. She informed me that she had met a new gentleman named Andre, and that she liked him a lot and that she expressed excitement about their possible future. She said they were not intimate yet, and that he lived kind of far. I gave her some advice on things she shouldn’t do in her new relationship, which always caused a problem for me, like pushing the boyfriend thing as hard as she did with me. Nailah, as most single women of her age do, had been dating several people while we were involved, there was a Northwestern Plastic surgeon, a young man who was in the music industry, and an old boyfriend she would still see. And she had no problem telling me of their existence. Our pattern showed that, every time one of those relationships heated up, she would give me her “adios” speech or email. I think this was done more so to get a reaction out of me, and to see if I would step up to the plate and enter into a committed relationship with her.
Around the 27th of August, I was on a boat with several women I know, and one of Nailah’s co-workers, Tiffany. Tiffany would later speak to Nailah about seeing me on the boat with another young lady. Tiffany informed me that once she told Nailah about seeing me on the boat, that Nailah began to ask who I was with and if I was dating the person I was on the boat with. Tiffany stated to me that she told Nailah,” you’re dating a new guy, Reginald is dating; don’t worry about what he’s doing”. However, I received a telephone call early on the morning of August 29th. It was from Nailah and she wanted to know how long I had been in this “serious” relationship with Tiffany’s friend. I didn’t like the way she was questioning me, so I hung up the phone. She called back and left a nasty voicemail (which I turned over to the police when I went to speak with them) calling me out of my name and stating I was wrong for not talking to her about “my new situation”. I did not return her call, or contact her by any means. However, approximately one week later on the 6th of September, I received an email from Nailah where I had been b.c.c’d. The email subject line “Your boy”, was sent to Dana McClellan, and Tiffany (Nailah’s co-worker, and the young lady from the boat) it read “This is so funny…” and it contained a link to the 2001 escape from the federal building which I was involved in. A few moments later I received another email from Nailah with the same information, but this one read, “So scary….such a loser”. I immediately called Tiffany, who said she had not received the email yet. I knew exactly what Nailah was doing. I figured she was upset when she heard that I was in a “serious” relationship that quickly, and she got more upset when I wouldn’t take her calls that morning. So she sent the federal escape article to Tiffany, whom she figured would tell the “new girl I was serious with” and I would be embarrassed. The article was not something she had just found out about, we had discussed it previously. I even sent the article to her last year when she first learned of my past arrest. Thinking her motivation was to embarrass me, I sat down with one of my friends and composed, what is now an email I truly regret sending. I sent her that very mean email dated September 6th where I state amongst other mean things,

“….you MADD that I won’t accept you calls or
Come f**k you when you call me at night, but talking shit and sending
around articles about shit I did years ago does not embarrass me, it only
makes you look bitter and desperate. As I told you before stop calling,
me testing me, stop trying figure out my moves or who I’m f***king,
just know that I don’t wanna f**k with you! However if you want to keep up
this kiddie shit and keep my name in your mouth, I’ll join you, and
start passing around copy’s of the tape that show my d*** in your mouth.
Up to you, cause as I’ve said before there is
nothing you can say!
Or do that will hurt, embarrass, or stop me from doing me. Just get over
it, I don’t want your goofy ass! Have good day young lady.”

After sending Nailah this email she replied with the following…..

Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:14:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: “Nailah Franklin”
Subject: FYI
To: “Reginald”
HTML Attachment [ Scan and Save to Computer ]

I have filed a police report, I will be gettina an order of protection tomorrow. You will not threaten me with those videos, I will have you locked up for taking them from my house. If you come anywhere near me you will be back in jail, I promise. You are crazy, you disrespect women, you are a bully, you are a extremely hateful, but you are not going to bully me. You are messing with the wrong chick this time. I will have you locked up where you belong for good!

Nailah
Nailah Franklin

By roc77 on Oct 16, 2007

The only issue of a threat came up in the emails dated (9/6) & (9/10), about me releasing a video of us together; I have never threatened the life of Nailah.
This was one of last exchanges that I had with Nailah Franklin. Of course in hind sight I truly regret that those last interactions were like that. I had no Idea Nailah would later come up missing and ultimately become a victim of a violent crime. My email was a harsh way of saying, move on with your life, and stop worrying about me. We all have had difficult “break-up’s (if that’s the right word to use) I am sure that the reaction that people have when they read the email, is due to the fact that she is no longer with us. And no one should talk bad about a deceased person, especially when that person was a victim of crime. The email was a mean thing to send, and I know I could have found a better way to relay my feelings instead of being mean-spirited. However, being mean-spirited in that email does not make me a murderer, nor does it mean that I am talking about Nailah now in a negative way or trying to dirty up her image in order to remove the spotlight of all the public’s gossip off of me. I believe the truth and the facts of the situation will do that, not me talking about Nailah. Because, no matter what issues caused our interaction to cease, this was still a young lady who made me smile and with whom I had a wonderful time, when we were in agreement about our interaction and the direction of our relationship. I have had the difficult time of grieving for her, feeling sorrow for the fact that, the last interactions we had were nasty emails, and also trying to protect myself and family from the hateful gossip that is being spread about me. Lastly, I will take a few moments to address some of the misconceptions that have circulated about me.

1. Nailah never did any Real Estate transactions for me or through my company, and I did not owe her any money from a deal gone bad.
2. We were NOT boyfriend & girlfriend
3. She was not about to expose me for some illegal activity. I don’t engage in any illegal practices.
4. She did not ruin a relationship with the mother of my Daughter, by telling her we had been involved, that relationship was already over.
5. I am not a DRUG DEALER! I have never been arrested on any illicit drug charges.
6. I have an order of protection from May 2007 for grabbing a cell phone out of my daughter’s mother hand. No physical abuse occurred only the grabbing of the phone. (read the reports from Dupage County)
7. The second order of protection came from September 2007, when I kicked on the front door of the house my daughter lives in and demanded to see my daughter, again no physical abuse was involved.
Trust me when I say, I am not making excuses for my actions
I just want people to be informed that the orders of protections
Did not come from violence toward any women
8. I am not sure why Nailah’s sisters refused to acknowledge the fact that they know of me. I had lunch with Marina & Nailah over the summer, and Leiha called me the day after Nailah’s disappearance.
9. The emails that were released over the internet were not done at my request, and I did not have any prior knowledge about them being leaked. I sent those emails along with several voice messages that were left by Nailah, to a handful of my friends, to explain the situation to them, and most importantly to safeguard them from possible deletion; due to my previous contact with law enforcement. As it has already been reported, I had an encounter with the Chicago F.B.I. in the summer of 2001, where I escaped their custody after being arrested on a warrant. Once I learned of their involvement in this investigation, my thoughts immediately centered on the anger they had toward me from that escape, which caused them a great deal of embarrassment, and I believe resulted in several agents being disciplined.

10. As for my arrest this past Friday on charges of verbal assault of a gas station security guard, that incident happened as follows; While sitting in the BP food mart with a female friend of mine I noticed the security guard motioning and pointing in my direction to several gas station attendants’ and customers. My friend then over heard him state to one of them that I was the person in the news who was responsible for the murder of Nailah Franklin. Two Chicago Police officers walked into the BP, and the security guard repeated this same statement to them. When I left the BP’s food mart and returned to my car the officers circled around my car twice, and as I pulled out I was followed, then pulled over. The reason I was given for the stop was due to them not being able to see my license plate sticker. I called 911 and ask that a supervisor be sent to the scene, because I felt like I was being hararassed. When the supervisor arrived and I explain the issue, I was told “you know we have our eye on you, you got to expect this to happen”. I was placed in handcuffs and driven to the station, were I was given a traffic ticket and released. While there in the station, the officer responded to my complaints about being harassed by saying the security guard told them about me, and that they were not harassing me. When I later went into the gas station for gas, (which is a block away from my house) I recorded my entrance on my cell phone video recorder, I saw the security guard and asked why he would continue to spread such rumors about me. I told him if he did not witness anything first hand, then he should shut his mouth. I left, and two days later I was arrested by my home while talking on the phone. I tried to show the police the video I have of the entire situation, but they refused to look at it or listen to what really happened. (I still have that recording in my possession) I was charged with verbal assault, a misdemeanor. I was told it normally takes 1-4 hours to be processed out of the police station for a misdemeanor offense; I was placed in a cold room with no food for more then 26 hours, before I was released. My lawyer was even made to wait almost three hours to see me.

In closing, this horrible tragedy has been extremely trying on my spirit and emotional strength. I have lost several business related deals, had casual acquaintances’ look at me with an eye of suspicion, and even experienced the complete break down of interaction with the mothers’ of my daughters. I humbly ask that the hateful energy that has been expressed toward me cease! I was not involved in this senseless crime, and continue to be affected by the gossip based convictions I am receiving. I pray the Media’s momentum in my direction; will not stop the law enforcement agencies’ investigating this crime from effectively looking at all possible leads and persons of interest. I ask all those who have rushed to judge me on gossip, to take moment and remember the gentleman from Atlanta, Richard Jewel. Mr. Jewel was thought to be the 1996 Olympic bomber, his life was destroyed by the Medias rush to judge and all the frenzy that comes with the power of reporting on emotionally charged stories. Later it was learned that he in fact had nothing to do with the bombing, (another man was charged and confessed to the bombing) and ironic as it may have sounded to those who reported his involvement in that crime; he(Mr. Jewel) was actually assisting people and trying to get them away from the blast site. Never the less, when the truth did finally surface, Mr. Jewels life had be turned upside down and inside out, and he stated years later that he had never recovered from that awful period in his life.

My sincere prayers will continue to go out to the family, and friends of Nailah. I know this must be a difficult period for them. As a young man who was raised in a home with five sister’s and a single mother, I do not even wish to imagine how my life would have been affected if something like this had happened to one of them. As the father of three beautiful daughters, this situation makes me want to hug them a little tighter, and protect them even more, from the world in which we live. May God bless and comfort all who have been affected by this terrible loss of a woman whose life was just beginning.

Reginald Potts, Jr.
October 10, 2007

By roc77 on Oct 16, 2007

This is extremely sad. Hopefully all this explaining he’s tryna do doesn’t lead up to a guilty conviction in the death of this woman. (I won’t say murder since it hasn’t been said if she was actually killed)

No matter what a person says about you or to you, or does to you, they don’t deserve to have their life taken.

Nobody deserves this. When will people ever sit back & think “what if this was my family member” I’m about to kill. When someone is murdered a lot of people suffer.

P.S it says on her myspace that her last login was 9/23/07. Weird, seeing as how she went missing on the 18th or 19 right? If she was “kidnapped” would they let her check her myspace on the 23? Unless someone else has her password which doubt since it hasn’t been logged ont since then. Perhaps they woulda let her make a phone call to her family as well. Somethings will just remain unanswered I suppose.

By smh at this guy on Oct 19, 2007

Prayerfully, the truth will soon come to the light…it may not seem like it right now, but whoever is responsible will have to lay in the bed they have made for themselves. Whoever holds this young woman’s blood on their hands will have to eventually answer to a higher power and that no one can hide from.

Peace and Blessings…

By JJones on Oct 22, 2007

Reginald Potts reminds me of Kevin Williams, who killed Traci Todd.
Their personalities seem to be strikingly similar.

By Chinawhite on Oct 24, 2007

Because I wasn’t there and I have no concrete proof, I cannot say who killed her. But I will say to Reginald Potts that your statement shows your age and immaturity. The emails regarding you and Nailah’s sexual history should not have been included in your statement. Even if you are telling the truth, those emails/text messages left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, mind and heart. You have no idea how inappropriate that was. In addition, you obviously do not have an attorney or someone handling this situation, because under no circumstances should you have released a statement and especially a statement such as this. Also, I have heard hundreds of comments and stories, but I still had never heard your actual name, until you sent out this message. You also sent the message that I received, using your exact name, business name, phone number, fax number, etc. etc. That was extremely foolish because there are people out here that are truly crazy enough to visit you. The best thing for you to do now is to mature up, man up and be quiet and let an attorney handle everything for you in the future. God bless to everyone here and please realize that vengence is handled by God. Let Him handle his job while we use the power of prayer. Take care everyone!

By Chinawhite on Oct 25, 2007

Lmao he sent out his phone numbers to?

By Gina F on Oct 26, 2007

Wait a minute, something in his STATEMENT caught my eye.

“6. I have an order of protection from May 2007 for grabbing a cell phone out of my daughter’s mother hand. No physical abuse occurred only the grabbing of the phone. (read the reports from Dupage County)
7. The second order of protection came from September 2007, when I kicked on the front door of the house my daughter lives in and demanded to see my daughter, again no physical abuse was involved.”

It was stated that this guy shot up and threw a brick at his babymothers house..
He lied.

By Gina on Oct 26, 2007

They should have a special jail for jackasses. I don’t care whether or not he killed her, you reap what you sow, and if this is the way he’s been acting his entire life, he’ll be reaping for a long, long, long time. My granny used to punish all of us a group, and if one of us didn’t do anything wrong, and we told her, she used to say “I’m sure you’ve done something in the past that you need to be punished for”. If he can’t rot in jail, let’s hope he rots in hell.

By Big T on Oct 27, 2007

Does anyone have any idea what happen today in court with him and his baby mama?

By soon on Oct 29, 2007

Ill say it’s a shame what happen to Nailah my heart goes out to the family. I feel this young man needs to confess up to his sin, if he didn’t actually kill her he knows who did. mr potts will have to answer to the ALMIGHTY GOD!!!!

By diva allen on Oct 31, 2007

Reginal Potts, Shame ony ou for all you did and said. You deserve to burn in hell. You are indeed a liar, cheater, abuser and maybe evern a killer.

I hope you rot.

By Lisa on Oct 31, 2007

this guy Reginald is a loose cannon….click link and read on….the truth will come to light after all his actions…smh

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=6CE6BC2890383A38FBDF03497BA6F70D?contentId=4794931&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

By your Time is Clicking on Oct 31, 2007

He has major issues. He always states “no physical abuse” because he is probably mentally and emotionally abusing women. He knows a little bit about the law, that’s why he is clear about the abuse not being “physical.”

By he knows what he is doing on Nov 5, 2007

It is clear that this guy is mentally disturbed in his head. Straight Jacket, would suit him better then the jail suit.

By Gina F. on Nov 6, 2007

He’s BEEN CHARGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.bnd.com/326/story/198214.html

By Gina F. on Dec 8, 2007

I CANNOT believe, he just posted that long message, OMG. Whether he is guilty or not he showed a side of himself here that is not only ignorant, and immature, but that he’s not too bright. Not to mention he’s made himself look extremely guilty. It reminds me of a child that just got caught stealing, that starts explaining why he was stealing, as if to show justification for the action. How distasteful was it for him to attempt to trash her the way he has done here. He repeatedly stated he is not trying to make excuses for his actions, but that is exactly what he was/is doing…why else post such a long, detailed message, and when I say detail I mean DETAIL, way to much info, more than the world needed to know. I dare he disrespect her memory, her legacy, her family, her friends and loved ones with all of his stupid disrespectful, childish messages. Between here, and the newspaper articles he’s done…IDK he’s trying awfully hard to convince the world of his innocence, a little too hard if you ask me. Does this guy have a lawyer or what, if so he needs to fire them because he’s incriminating himself past ignorance.
Here’s what I believe:

I believe he very well knowingly leaked those email messages. If not personally he had someone do it, to try to take some of the heat off himself, by attempting to make Nailah look like the love bent X, that couldn’t let go, therefore making himself look like he was ready and willing to walk away and would have no reason to want to harm her, because he had washed his hands of her.

I believe that he had such a criminal past and obviously extensive run ins with the law, that the last message she sent to him about…him messing with the wrong girl and if he comes anywhere near her he will go BACK to jail etc. scared him a bit, and maybe he realized indeed he had crossed the wrong girl.

I believe all of his talk about how him and his family being effected by this is a bunch of bologna.

I believe he’s made a million and one excuses for his run-ins with the law and from what I’ve read has NEVER ONCE taken responsibility for his own actions. Instead there’s some distorted reason he’s come up with as to why (having nothing to do with him) he has…. what 3 restraining orders against him, been arrested however many times, was in FBI Custody, and had to kick the door down to see his own child.

I believe he’s guilty, and if he had of kept his mouth closed and not been posting messages everywhere including on her loved ones tribute page to her, and doing press, he might of looked a little more innocent. Anyone who tries to deflect attention from themselves by reflecting attention on past encounters of a life that no longer exsists is not only a cowardly, sociopathic liar, but should also ROT in jail and hopefully be haunted everyday for the rest of their life for the crime they committed.

I just heard on the news that the police (through GPS tracking) were able to prove through both his and Nailah cell phones, that they were in the same area at the time of her murder, and NONE of his alibi’s checked out.

God Bless your family and friends and I pray Justice is served and WHOEVER is responsible for your death pay for the hurt and pain they’ve caused so many.

RIP Nailah

By Linette on Dec 10, 2007

I CANNOT believe, he just posted that long message, OMG. Whether he is guilty or not he showed a side of himself here that is not only ignorant, and immature, but that he’s not too bright. Not to mention he’s made himself look extremely guilty. It reminds me of a child that just got caught stealing, that starts explaining why he was stealing, as if to show justification for the action. How distasteful was it for him to attempt to trash her the way he has done here. He repeatedly stated he is not trying to make excuses for his actions, but that is exactly what he was/is doing…why else post such a long, detailed message, and when I say detail I mean DETAIL, way to much info, more than the world needed to know. I dare he disrespect her memory, her legacy, her family, her friends and loved ones with all of his stupid disrespectful, childish messages. Between here, and the newspaper articles he’s done…IDK he’s trying awfully hard to convince the world of his innocence, a little too hard if you ask me. Does this guy have a lawyer or what, if so he needs to fire them because he’s incriminating himself past ignorance.
Here’s what I believe:

I believe he very well knowingly leaked those email messages. If not personally he had someone do it, to try to take some of the heat off himself, by attempting to make Nailah look like the love bent X, that couldn’t let go, therefore making himself look like he was ready and willing to walk away and would have no reason to want to harm her, because he had washed his hands of her.

I believe that he had such a criminal past and obviously extensive run ins with the law, that the last message she sent to him about…him messing with the wrong girl and if he comes anywhere near her he will go BACK to jail etc. scared him a bit, and maybe he realized indeed he had crossed the wrong girl.

I believe all of his talk about how him and his family being effected by this is a bunch of bologna.

I believe he’s made a million and one excuses for his run-ins with the law and from what I’ve read has NEVER ONCE taken responsibility for his own actions. Instead there’s a reason (having nothing to do with him) that he has…. what 3 restraining orders against him, been arrested however many times, was in FBI Custody, and had to kick the door down to see his child.

I believe he’s guilty, and if he had of kept his mouth closed and not been posting messages, and doing press, and posting long messages on her family’s tribute page to her etc. he might of looked a little more innocent. Anyone who tries to deflect attention from themselves by reflecting attention on past encounters of a life that no longer exsists is not only a cowardly, sociopathic liar, but should also ROT in jail and hopefully be haunted everyday for the rest of their life for the crime they committed.

I just heard on the news that the police (through GPS tracking) were able to prove through both his and Nailah cell phones, that they were in the same area at the time of her murder, and NONE of his alibi’s checked out.

God Bless your family and friends and I pray Justice is served and WHOEVER is responsible for your death pay for the hurt and pain they’ve caused so many.

RIP Nailah

By Linette on Dec 10, 2007

SHAME ON YOU PRINCESS DOMINIQUE!!!!!!
THe way you portrayed Nailah you should be ashamed of yourself! You should appologize for putting him on your blog and giving this murderer a voice!!!!!!!!
You are part of the problem…. what if you were killed and a platform was given to your killer…. and it made you look desperate like you made Nailah look??? You believe his side of the story based on the emails that were not accurate……
You are pathetic and so is you blog!
Wonder if you’ll post this since your into one sided stories anyway!:!:

By Janine Martin on Dec 11, 2007

kNailah was such an angel god bless her soul- and for this damn fool damn his soul to hell…tiime to pay Potts.
Also god bless the families of ms.Franklin.

By irma on Dec 12, 2007

How the FBI tracked and allegedly trapped Reginald Potts using his cell phone
According to authorities, Reginald Potts Jr. left trail of electronic breadcrumbs on Sept. 18 as he drove Nailah Franklin down to Calumet City, where her hidden, naked and decomposed body was found more than a week later.

“Cell phone tower site records show (Potts) heading south on the Dan Ryan shortly after 7 p.m.,” says a summary of evidence against Potts read in court to a judge this week by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. “Cell tower site records place (Potts) and (Franklin) within the same vicinity of 159th Street in Calumet City… at the same time in the same area where the victim’s pharmaceuticals and jewelry were found.”

Potts, 31, had dated Franklin, and prior to her disappearance she complained to police that he’d been threatening her. The prosecution document goes on to allege that, “Cell tower site records show the (Franklin) and (Potts) then traveling east in Calumet City at the same time in the same vicinity. These records show them together at the same time in the area where (her) body was found.”

Further, “cell-tower site records place (Potts) and (Franklin’s) cell phone in the same area of Hammond where (her) car was found,” according to the summary of the state’s case.

Later, “in an attempt to make it look as though (Franklin) was still alive and in the South Loop area, (Potts) made three 911 calls from (Franklin’s) cell phone while (he) was traveling north on the Dan Ryan near I-55 with his friends….Cell tower site records show (Potts) and his friend parting ways a short time later in the South Loop.”

Prosecutors say this record obliterated Potts’ alibi for the night Franklin disappeared and led to the first-degree murder charges filed against him Monday.

“It’s very appropriate to refer to it as our new DNA,” said First Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Milan, referring to cell phone records when speaking to reporters after Potts’ bond hearing. “We may not have solved this case without that kind of technology.”

Exactly what kind of technology was he talking about?

A TV news report referred to it as GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) technology, but it wasn’t GPS.

According to the Chicago office of the FBI, which helped analyze the data, all the phone information on Potts was collected from ground-to-ground transmissions.

The prosecutors’ narrative made it sound as though police had been able to re-create the path that Franklin’s and Potts’ cell phones had taken through that night simply by looking at the historical record of “pings” that mobile handsets frequently transmit to the nearest cell tower when they are turned on.

That was the initial impression given me by Chicago Police and prosecution spokesmen when I pressed them for clarification.

My particular interest was that, a week ago I’d written a column related to the Drew Peterson case on this very topic. And in that column I’d relayed word from the wireless industry that companies do not archive such information, and it’s therefore impossible to go back in time and track the movements of a cell phone that was on but otherwise inactive.

Had they misled me?

No, said Chicago FBI spokesman Ross Rice. Companies don’t preserve “ping” histories.

But in this case, both cell phones were making or receiving calls often enough or long enough on the evening Franklin disappeared that the record of calls – which is saved by the phone companies and can be traced back to the closest cell transmission tower – created a set of dots on the map that, when connected, allegedly point to Potts’ involvement in Franklin’s disappearance.

“I wouldn’t call it the new DNA,” said Rice. “We can tell approximately where a phone is when it’s on a call, but we can’t tell you who’s using it. All those records can do is corroborate other evidence.”

The technology is smart, in other words, but not that smart.

Yet still, thank goodness, a lot smarter than the dopes who try to fool it.

Full summary of the state’s case against Reginald Potts Jr. is below

Proffer of evidence against Reginald Potts Jr. by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office:

Defendant: Reginald Potts, 31

Victim: Nailah Franklin, 28 Pharmaceutical representative for Eli Lilly

The V and D had an on and off dating relationship for several months prior to her death on September 18, 2007. By early September, they were no longer on good terms. In early September, the victim sent an e-mail to several friends which discussed the defendant’s criminal history, including his escape from federal custody in 2001.

Defendant learned of this e-mail, and began making threatening phone calls to the victim. Two of victim’s girlfriends, both of whom knew defendant, heard a message left by defendant in which he threatened the victim’s life.

On September 10, 2007, the victim made a police report in which she stated that the defendant had threatened her life. During the days before her death, the victim told her friends she was afraid of the defendant.

The victim told one of these friends that if anything happened to her, he would know why, referring to the defendant. Victim also gave a friend her passwords for her e-mails in case anything happened to her. The victim was last seen alive during the afternoon of September 18th.

A few days after the victim went missing, the defendant was interviewed by police. The defendant told police that he had not had seen the victim since August, and that he told her that he no longer wanted her to contact him.

Several residents of the victim’s condominium building at 1525 S. Sangamon positively identified the defendant as the person they saw lurking in the victim’s hallway and in the parking garage on the evenings of September 16th and 17th.

Surveillance cameras at the victim’s building show the defendant in the hallway inside the parking garage on the evening of September 17th. Security called police after they encountered the defendant in a hallway and he claimed he lived in the building, giving them a false name and unit number.

When Police arrived, the defendant was gone, but they found tape over the locking mechanism on the interior garage door which allowed access to the building without a key.

The defendant further told police that on September 18, 2007 he was at a restaurant in the Loop area during the late morning and downtown during the early afternoon.

Cell phone tower site records revealed that during this time period, the defendant was not at these locations, but was within a radius of approximately one half mile of the victim’s residence during this entire time.

The defendant denied seeing the victim at all on September 18th, Video surveillance cameras from the victim’s building show the victim and defendant together inside a hallway of the victim’s building on September 18th.

The defendant stated that during the early evening hours of September 18th, he was with 2 friends at a Target store in the south Loop. Video surveillance cameras from that Target store show the 2 friends together in the parking garage of the store and inside the store at that time.

The defendant is not on the videotape. The defendant stated that he remained in the Loop area the remainder of the evening.

In fact, cell phone tower site records show the defendant heading south on the Dan Ryan shortly after 7:00 p.m., while his friends were in the Target store. Cell tower site records place the defendant and victim within the same vicinity of 159th Street in Calumet City during the evening of September 18th.

They were together at the same time in the same area where the victim’s pharmaceuticals and jewelry were found. Cell tower site records show the victim and defendant then traveling east in Calumet City at the same time in the same vicinity.

These records show them together at the same time in the area where the Victim’s body was found. After disposing of the body, the defendant kept the victim’s cell phone and drove her car farther east to Hammond, Indiana. There, he parked the victim’s car on a residential street.

Cell tower site records place the defendant and victim’s cell phone in the same area of Hammond where the victim’s car was found. A witness who was on that street positively identified the defendant as the person he saw peering into the windows of the victim’s parked car after the car was parked there.

Defendant called one of the friends who had been in the Target store and told the friend that he was stranded and needed a ride. The two friends then traveled down the Dan Ryan, east on 159th in Calumet City to Hammond, Indiana. The friends picked the defendant up one block from where the victim’s car was recovered.

These friends then drove defendant back west on 159th Street through Calumet City and north on the Dan Ryan, dropping him off in the South Loop at approximately 10:00 p.m. Cell tower site records corroborate the routes taken by the defendant and his friends throughout the evening of September 18th.

In an attempt to make it look as though the victim was still alive and in the South Loop area, the defendant made three 911 calls from the victim’s cell phone while defendant was traveling north on the Dan Ryan near I-55 with his friends.

The 911 calls lasted a second or two and nothing was said. Upon reaching the South Loop, there was no further activity on the victim’s cell phone. Cell tower site records show the defendant and his friend parting ways a short time later in the South Loop.

The victim’s pharmaceuticals and jewelry were found the day after she went missing, on September 19th , at 1 Park Avenue in Calumet City. Her car was recovered 3 days after she went missing approximately 2 miles east, in Hammond, Indiana. The victim’s body was found September 27th near 260 River Oaks Drive in Calumet City. She was naked, in a forest preserve, covered with leaves and debris and badly decomposed. The computer she had been using into the morning of September 18th was taken and not recovered.

By LC on Dec 14, 2007

He’s a dummy!

My first thoughts was that he went too far and accidently killed the girl. Now I see that this asshole actually planned the whole thing. He thought that by making calls from her phone, he would out wit the police and it backfired. He deserves every second he gets in the joint!

By ADC on Dec 20, 2007

I think that you all are wrong, everyone is stupid and sends a e-mail or makes an ignorant comment now and then. Yes, he is crazy but this has been a true lesson to me as a woman and many women about dating and sexual relations. My poor sista didn’t have a right to threaten a crazy ex-con. When she figured out his past, she should have left his ass alone. Let’s not help the media or the crooked assed police department put another black man in jail until they have all of the evidence. DNA from what we know doesn’t lie! A PHONE CALL sends a man to jail for life??? This is all the ammo that the crooked-assed Chicago Police Department needs to close their cases and incarcerate black men without any evidence. NO he didn’t have a right to do what he ALLEGEDLY did, but we as women have to be more accountable. If she was going to meet him, she should have told somebody if he was so “DANGEROUS”. Why didn’t her family know that she went out to dinner with him? She was embarrassed! I would have been. A lot of us do some things in the bedroom we don’t want exposed. Being cheated on or rejected feels like death, but we have to let go. That brotha will surely suffer if he did wrong cause the Cook County Correctional system will tear him a new rectum after the exposure of this case. But let’s see the FACTS. She was beautiful, bless her heart, but to constantly consider her an “angel” is unfair. She was human, he’s crazy, but BLACK PEOPLE WAKE UP TO THE TRICKS of the media and police departments.

By Chitwn on Dec 20, 2007

I am one that truly believes in innocent until proven guilty. By reading the articles, it does put things into perspective 4 me. I am a black, sucessful, 29-yr-old female so I really took this personal. I feel oh so sry 4 her family. I think we all should stop pre-judging and wait for the facts 2 come out. As you can see in this case, looks can be deceiving (as to the both parties.) Seems 2 b skeletons in everyone’s closet.

By Ms. Reporter on Dec 31, 2007

I don’t understand… Why is he being hit with 16 counts of first degree murder???:shock:

By Twinkle312 on Jan 5, 2008

Reginald Potts is a BITCH!!!! I’m a friend of the Franklin family, and His monkey ass has been getting WHOOPED in the joint. Now this weak bastard wants to rep himself in court? Be my guest. Every decade needs a dumbass, foolish, dillusional Colin Ferguson. PLEASE rep yourself so your rotting can start sooner. Better yet, just off yourself. Save time, money, and your family the embarassment of watching you get ass fucked in court, only to have it done for the rest of your life in the joint once found guilty, although you”d probably like that. You’re as good as gone, punk.

By JURY FURY on Jan 10, 2008

Why is there 16 counts??!! Did he kill 16 people??????

By Me on Jan 14, 2008

well folks, looks as if brotha man will have to work it out!!!!!
he lived by the ______ he will _______by the __________.

By teach2u on Jan 19, 2008