Big Trouble in Little Quartzsite

Chief Ponce takes center stage amid a flurry of town history, strange on-the-job challenges and running a campaign for sheriff of La Paz County, Ariz. 

Following up episode 3 with the full conversation that influenced it, this talk between Jennifer Jones and the film's director, Cyle O'Donnell, dives into the questionable nature of  and the not-so-terrible threat posed by, the ill-fated attempts of a few folks in Quartzsite to derail the film before it gathers steam. 

Halting the originally planned episode for this week, this podcast was published as a response to the abrupt backlash to the start of the podcast series, the launch of the media campaign, and a newspaper article and radio interview that broke the story of the film's pre-release plans. This week's talk dives right into the heart of the outright threats that came in upon the town of quartzite finding out about the film. This, of course, prompts the director to start asking some deeper questions about who he is really filming, what story has his interviewees given him, if perhaps he has been used by many of his interviewees as a mouthpiece for propaganda, and even what the viewer response would be if it turns out that the success story being filmed isn't all that successful after all. What happens when, at mid production, you find out that the film you're making might not be a celebration of past trials overcome, but a current and ongoing struggle that still has yet to see that success? This is all in The First 24 Hours.

On the backdrop of the issues hitting our headlines like fake news, fear mongering and corruption, we right into the first candidate if the 2020 sheriff's election in La Paz County, Ariz. Among other things, Mike Roth is campaigning against police targeting and harassment. He says he was targeted by then-Sergeant Will Ponce. The Crux: Will Ponce, who's gone on to become the chief, is Roth's opponent in the race. But he says he was ordered to target residents by then-Chief Jeff Gilbert. So, bot candidates are campaigning against corruption but from very different perspectives. Once from the law enforcement side, and one from the civilian side. Who is telling the truth? Who will win the election? Who's message will be sent out to an embattled community ready for change?

In this pilot episode, we dive right in, discussing the three major pillars that will set the groundwork for the entire series. Murder, corruption, international scandal - it's just another Tuesday afternoon for the tiny, desert town of Quartzsite, Arizona.

 Welcome to the Legally Insane Films podcast, where we discuss the true crime films we are making in real-time! Join the director, Cyle O'Donnell, as he interviews witnesses, talks about the production, records live feeds on radio talk shows and hosts chats with other true crime podcasters and investigative documentary filmmakers. Get the insider scoop on the complex stories that we tell, as we are crafting the upcoming documentaries for release!