Wife of jailed porn star tells Surewood’s story

Brian Barnes, known to porn fans as Brian Surewood, sits in a jail cell in Tehachapi. Four years ago this week, he was involved in a car accident that claimed the life of a 5-yaer-old boy. Now his wife, Carmen Seguin Barnes, whom he married in prison, has launched a Facebook page to tell the couple’s side of the story.

For clarity, I will refer to Brian Barnes as “Surewood” and Carmen Sequin Barnes as “Seguin.”

“Have you ever been accused of doing something you didn’t do?” Seguin begins the page Brian Surewood aka Brian Barnes is Innocent. The page, which currently has more than 350 “Likes” (including mine), contains a 2500-word essay about Surewood’s days in court following the October 9, 2007 accident.

I was walking to the L.A. subway when I heard the news that Surewood had turned himself in to the police. That news came from David Aaron Clark, Surewood’s great friend and frequent collaborator (Clark died in 2009). In the coming days and months, the story would emerge that Surewood and another man, then 19-year-old Armando Ayon, had had a “vehicular interaction” on busy Sherman Way in Reseda. Ayon lost control of his car and plowed into a parked car, which in a second shot forward and critically or mortally injured three members of the Arif family, immigrants from Pakistan.

My coverage of Surewood’s trials, including visits to the accident scene and the memorial to Ayman Arif:

Surewood pleads Not Guilty as murder case continues; Surewood reckless driving case continues; Surewood to be arraigned for murder; Surewood arraigned on eight charges

Prosecutors tried to paint Surewood as a participant in a dangerous street race, and that his slamming on the brakes had caused Ayon to lose control of his own car.

Seguin’s family were longtime friends of Surewood, and Seguin was present at the hearings I attended through 2008. She was always a strong advocate for Surewood and was critical of media coverage (including my own) of Surewood’s trials. But she reserves her biggest anger for the court system, which she says ignored exculpatory evidence, persecuted Surewood because he was a porn performer and a partner in a marijuana dispensary, and refused to require the recusal of what she saw as a biased judge.

I remember Brian Surewood as a good friend to my friend, Clark, and a straightforward and amicable man. I liked him. Then and now, it is difficult for me to imagine what Surewood should have done, as witnesses seem to confirm that Ayon was the aggressive driver of the pair. Was it simply Surewood’s appearance and the type of car he drove that made him a target?

Prosecutors say Surewood was racing. Seguin says he wasn’t. Prosecutors say he slammed on the brakes. Seguin says he didn’t. I just wish Surewood had taken Victory Blvd. home instead.

I’ll let Seguin take it from here. She is clearly upset, which is understandable. Seguin was vocal (and, in my opinion, unnecessarily adversarial) about her problems with my and AVN’s coverage of Surewood, which I’ll admit made me less inclined to attend further hearings. But I am grateful to her for this update. Read until the end for information on how to communicate with Surewood in prison.

From Brian Surewood aka Brian Barnes is Innocent, by Carmen Seguin Barnes

Have you ever been accused of doing something you didn’t do? It is the most horrible and despairing situation anyone can ever imagine, especially when our corrupt yet very powerful justice system is behind it. This is the nightmare that happened to Brian Barnes also known as Brian Surewood in the Adult Entertainment Industry. Brian was *Falsely Accused and Wrongly Convicted* of a crime he did not commit. This page was specially made to inform the public that there is another side to this story, the side that was not told by the media nor was it allowed to be presented during the court hearings.

My Husband Brian Surewood is a former pornographic actor who is currently incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. On October 9th 2007 he was falsely accused and charged with murder and vehicular manslaughter. Brian has always maintained his innocence and denies all the charges for the crime he was accused of. In fact there is no actual physical evidence linking him to the accident. The case against him was built around circumstantial evidence based on speculation, not facts. All the facts show he did not do it. The perpetrator was an obnoxious, reckless, tailgating teenager that caused the deadly car accident and lied and said that it was my husband who made him crash. His lie didn’t help him get out of doing prison time because he is incarcerated too. His lie just dragged Brian and our family along to the pain and misery this reckless adolescent’s driving caused an innocent family. This horrendous tragedy caused the death of a 5-year-old boy and the mother lost one leg. Brian and I feel very sorry and we are extremely saddened for the innocent family, but Brian did not cause their misery. Our family has suffered extremely and we lost a lot because of these false accusations and lies.

I started this page after reading numerous articles written about Brian’s case both in the Adult Industry and Mainstream Media. From what I read it seems that they pretty much copied material from each other and filled their articles with lies, false accusations and malicious rumors in order to have a great story. The final article I read was written in a Californian publication. I personally gave this writer my time and exchanged numerous emails discussing the documented facts that occurred during the pretrial that obviously proved my husband was falsely accused and prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. This person humored me and at the end he completely dismissed my efforts and exaggerated and fabricated information in order to make Brian the ugly villain of his story just like the rest of his colleagues.

I have the case file records and I have read and studied it numerous times. Everything I’m saying is documented and available for public view. Brian was not street racing, he was not road raging and he did not slam his brakes in front of the other car to cause him to crash. The perpetrator of the accident lost control of his own vehicle after he tried to go around Brian’s right side at an unsafe speed. If Brian would have slammed his brakes in front of his car as he claims, he would have killed Brian instead. Brian is not retarded and he’s not one to quickly lose his temper to the point where he would risk himself getting rammed from behind and killed. The whole accusation was insane. This 19 year old male had only owned his car for exactly one month. His mother had just bought it for him and anyone with 1/2 a brain can see how obvious it was that he lied to take the blame away from himself when he saw the tragedy he caused.

Nowadays if there is no DNA evidence involved in the accusations against you, you’re screwed. Most people reading this cannot comprehend what I’m saying. The majority of citizens actually believe that we have a fair judicial system that works and if someone is prosecuted of a crime they must be guilty. That is not the case and unless you yourself have experienced dealing with our court system or personally know of someone that has then you can fully understand what I’m saying. The unfortunate fact is that the inmate population in the USA is so high that sooner or later most of you will have to deal with our court system and then you will see for yourself.

In my husband’s case, the main reason why we believe he was unfairly convicted is due to the fact that he was a famous Pornstar and he owned a Medical Marijuana clinic. These are two things that a majority group in our society frowns upon. The adolescent that blamed Brian for his own negligence and reckless driving made Brian look like a crazed middle aged man, and that’s far from who Brian Barnes really is, but if you relate the accusations to the Surewood character he plays in movies then you will believe this lying adolescent.

Amongst all the unfairness surrounding my husband’s case was the fact that the judge was married to the head of the prosecution. Any fact or evidence our lawyer tried to bring to her courtroom to prove Brian’s innocence, the prosecution objected and she would accept his objection. This is how an extra 5 years was given to him for a Hit and Run charge even though there was a recorded call on record when Brian called 911 to report the accident he saw occurring behind him. The prosecution objected because he said that Brian identified himself as an observer, not a participant. The reason Brian didn’t identify himself as a participant is because he had nothing to do with the accident, the teenager lost control of his own car when he tried to go around him at a very high speed. Brian had no idea that this adolescent who was unable to leave the scene of the accident because his car was completely destroyed was going around telling the already traumatized crowd that it was Brian who caused him to crash. Besides, what kind of Hit and Run stops to call 911? In all cases I read involving a Hit and Run, the person runs away and some eventually some get caught.

This wasn’t the case with my husband. Brian called 911 to report the accident and left to pick up his son and tend to his store. Later on he was watching the news and saw that they were involving a red car in the accident. He went straight to the police station to let them know he had nothing to do with it. But since our system sees you as “guilty until proven innocent” and only if you are lucky to hire the best attorneys will you have the chance to prove your innocence, they arrested him. The main reason for his arrest was because the investigating officer wrote a report claiming that certain tire marks on the ground belonged to Brian. Eventually the tire marks came up during the preliminary trial, and investigating officer Espino looked like a complete fool on the stand when we found out he had no knowledge of tire marks and he never even bothered to measure and compare Brian’s tires to the marks on the ground. It was a proven fact that the tire prints on the ground did not match Brian’s car. Brian’s car has anti-lock brakes and they do not leave that kind of mark on the ground. This fact didn’t matter to the court. They just dismissed the error and they continued persecuting Brian unfairly.

Brian and our family were all new to the court system and procedures. From what I saw, you can’t just speak to the judge in plain English in order to explain your case. The lawyers speak in “case law” examples and the prosecution yells out “I object” at every moment for the lamest reasons which in our case it withstood since the judge was married to his boss, the head of the D.A. Department. She accepted most of his objections. I never got the feeling that we were trying to get to the truth of the matter and have justice served. It was all about shutting Brian’s lawyer down and not letting him present his case. Not once did I hear our lawyer expose the co-defendant on his lies nor did he flat out tell the witnesses their testimonies were faulty. He would kind of lead around it without saying it while the prosecutor was objecting at every minute.

The prosecution brought forth 4 witnesses. The so-called witnesses that saw everything was a mother and son team by the name of Beck, a middle aged male by the name of Porter and a senior man by the name of Cook. The prosecution interrogated the witnesses first before our lawyer did. For the most part whatever the witnesses said during this interrogation with the prosecutor was completely different than what they told our lawyer during his time of questioning.

Mrs. Beck and her son’s testimony should have been dismissed. When Mrs. Beck spoke to the prosecutor she was very eager to place herself right at the scene of the crime stating that she saw Brian brake in front of the co-defendant. When our lawyer took over, she had three different versions and placed herself in three different positions. There was a moment when she asked our lawyer to repeat a question because as she put it in her own words, she “spaced out”. This is the woman who in the second version of her story put herself in the middle lane going on to the left lane, so according to her she had her left eye looking at the direction she’s going to the left and simultaneously had her right eye on Brian who was on the right lane. As far as I know, humans do not have the ability to do this with their eyes unless they are owls. At the end of her interrogation it was clear that she really wasn’t where she claimed to have been and that she clearly didn’t see anything. Her final words to our defense lawyer were that she saw and heard nothing. Neither the media, nor the court paid attention to her final statement. The only thing that everyone kept fresh in their head was her first testimony to the prosecutor.

Then we have mother Beck’s son. Once again this witness tells the prosecutor that he saw everything. According to him they were racing and going in and out of lanes. Then our defense attorney interrogates him and he admits they weren’t really speeding and he never saw Brian slam his brakes in front of the co-defendant. Once again the court and the media are oblivious to what he’s saying now. They all registered what he said to the prosecution instead.

Then we have the elderly man Cook. This is the witness that helped me piece it all together. He described the co-defendant Ayon doing the same thing to him that he did to Brian. He said that Ayon came behind him like a rocket and he was afraid he was going to get rammed from behind. He mentioned how he froze and then he noticed that Ayon was trying to squeeze between two cars on the right and made it. This is exactly what Brian described the teenager did to him, but instead of making it safely to the right he lost control and crashed on to the parked car that killed the little boy. This witness also mentioned that the co-defendant didn’t even bother to help the victims; all he did was go around explaining to all the bystanders that it was the other car that made him crash. This is when I realized why the Becks imagined seeing something they didn’t. Ayon was going around telling everyone it was the other cars fault, explaining to them in detail how Brian’s car caused him to crash.

The witnesses Beck, Porter, Cook and Brian were all driving at 35 to 40 mph. Ayon smashed in to the parked car at 70 mph.

Finally we have the witness Porter. This guy told the prosecutor that he was driving at a normal speed and was a car length behind Ayon, and Ayon was about a foot away from Brian’s car practically on his bumper. He said he saw Brian’s brake lights a few times and finally he says he saw Brian come to a complete stop in front of Ayon. Our lawyer asked him if he had to brake too, and he said no. He just continued with the normal flow of traffic. Can you see how this is all impossible? First of all, if you’re driving on a regular 35 mile street you can not see the brake lights of the car in front of your car. Especially when they were so close together like Porter described. If the car in front of your car comes to a sudden stop, and the car in front of you loses control and crashes, you’re not going to continue driving normal with the flow of traffic like Porter said he did. When Ayon crashed, Brian was on the other side further ahead of the accident and Porter stopped behind him. It would have been impossible for Brian to be ahead if he came to a complete stop or even slowed down.

These were the faulty eye witnesses the prosecution brought forth and along with Ayon’s statement they backed Brian against the wall threatening to give him 15 years to life or accept the plea bargain of 11 years. In California when the word “Life” is after a sentence, it usually means Life. Brian’s family was so afraid for him after they saw the unfair treatment he received in court, that they begged him to take the plea bargain. The next step would have been a “Jury Trial” but since the victims were a mother and child versus the Pornstar/Medical Marijuana store owner they didn’t have faith that Brian would have a fair trial. They thought that everyone would side with the Mother and Child and not care to see beyond that in order to get to the truth of the matter which is that Brian did not cause the adolescent to crash. Ayon crashed his car on his own because he was driving recklessly.

Due to my experience, I am no longer quick to judge other cases because now I know how corrupt our legal system is. It’s actually a big joke and I have lost all respect for our courts, judges, district attorneys, bailiffs, lawyers and cops. These individuals have too much power on their hands and for the most part they abuse it because they can. The media is another big joke. I no longer believe everything I hear from them either. I have witnessed personally how the media likes to inflate and change the facts around, if they decide they want to make a person look evil and sinister, they can by manipulating the story for their purpose. It’s too bad that most people are sheeple that are not aware of this and they believe everything they hear or see coming from this source.

If you would like to write Brian in prison you can do so at the following address:

Brian Barnes, CDC#G55493
Unit 1 – Davis Hall – 115-L
California Correctional Institution
State Prison
P.O.Box 107
Tehachapi, CA 93581

If you would like to put money towards his “books” so he can purchase what he needs from the Commissary, the information below will tell you how. Brian’s CDC # is G55493 and he is in Level 1.

There are four ways to send money: personal check, cashier’s check, money order, and electronic funds transfer (EFT). Cash, traveler checks, and foreign currency are not accepted. See below for further explanation.

Checks & Money Orders

All checks and money orders should be sent by mail to the institution where the inmate is currently located; refer to the specific institution’s webpage for the mailing address. The inmate’s name and CDCR number, along with the sender’s name and address is required on all checks and money orders.

NOTE: Personal checks are held for 30 days before being deposited into the inmate’s account.

Previously on Porn Valley Observed: Surewood pleads Not Guilty as murder case continues; Surewood reckless driving case continues; Surewood to be arraigned for murder; Surewood arraigned on eight charges

About Gram the Man 4399 Articles
Gram Ponante is America's Beloved Porn Journalist

15 Comments

  1. Try as I might, I have always suggested people take what they read in the media or from “official government sources” with a grain of salt. I can sympathize with Gram’s comments above though because reading this story, and it comes from a party not actually at the scene of the crime either, she makes all the usual accusations rather than stick to the facts on record.

    By the way, selecting a judge trial is always a dangerous thing and presuming the 12 citizens of a jury are automatically going to fuck you over (especially given the facts as stated above where Brian had reason to believe the testimony was more balanced) weakens your later appellate options. I don’t know what happened that day and have defended Brian on more than one occasion but reading the story above brings me no closer to thinking I’ve heard what really happened.

  2. All those years of screwing girls for money and now you want us to help him pay for stuff. Us who slave away at real jobs! And don’t tell me that I could have worked in porn because we all know how the male porn stars make sure next to no new male talent ever gets hires, but that’s besides the point. What do you think porn does to people? Makes them healthy upstanding citizens? Or makes them degenerates through the behavior the acquire by being in the business? Look at Jack Venice. Raping a girl and his defense is that he gets all the girls he wants through porn.
    BTW, has this wife of his seen any of his “movies”? I have seen many while doing my thesis on pornography. I saw behiind the scenes footage where he asks the “director” if he can “f$%& her ass til he pops ” not saying anything to the woman he’s inside at the time that he’s referring to “popping on”. He’s always been a disgusting degenerate who looks like a homeless man mixed w/ a pirate. You do porn and you will suffer one way or another. What don’t you people understand? It’s called Karma!

  3. I totally agree, CT. This guy should have got life. Ayon too. Regardless of what happened, they were both there. Why won’t you realize that Carmen? You think we’re wrong for focusing too much on the family? The family was completely innocent. As for Brian Barnes, who is to say his line of “work” couldn’t have influenced his (and Ayon’s) driving. Marijuana affects the brain, depth perception, etc.

    So now, you’re lashing out against the media and the justice system (which employs many people with real work, by the way), when it does something that your big cocked husband doesn’t like. Cry me a river. How does that make pornography and the medical marijuana business heroes in comparison to people who do work that people need (unless we have a system of guilty until innocent – like Mexico). Our media could be more like propaganda – like your web site. Posting a totally different case that tries to demonize the justice system. “Truth?” Are you making sure that all of the truth is getting across while you are trying to defend your husband? Are you giving full thought to the tragedy of what happened to the family, writing them, talking to them, etc?

    Have you looked at Sherman way? I have, I live just up the street from that area… It appears to me, although I could be wrong, that there are several lanes, which shouldn’t make it too difficult for someone to change lanes and get out of the way of one of those hellbats who occasionally come in from the East (always the East) and speed down Sherman, tailgating people.

    But even if Brian couldn’t change lanes, or if Ayon was tailgating him and following him, and if Brian wasn’t actually braking like his wife says, then could it be said that Ayon didn’t recognize him? Maybe Ayon went nuts, after recognizing Barnes from his videos, suffering from some sort of jealousy. Why did Ayon drive so fast, and blame it on Brian, if this indeed is the truth? Was Brian driving slow (on the way to his medical marijuana business?)? Why? What you do in life has repercussions. You cannot say that your line of “work,” despite the facade you wear while at it, makes you completely different in-person. Additionally, saying that wicked activities are being victimized by essential services such as the press and the justice system, is just hypocrisy.

    It’s like defending evil and attacking good. That’s how I see it. True, even a “monster” has human rights. But if you defend a monster make sure you don’t get into any propaganda (which you might feel the “media” spreads). A facebook page is media… Make sure the message doesn’t get diluted, if it’s really the “truth” you’re after.

  4. First mistake man made is to try barnginiag with Jesus. Second mistake man made he thinks he can be in sin ask Jesus for things. Third mistake man doesnt understand what Jesus told him about walking with Jesus in order to be blessed with the things he desires. Fourth mistake man thinks Jesus is punishing him so he couldnt get a blessing if Jesus had sent it, his thoughts are all wrong so blessing got blocked. Man needs to stop trying to manipulate Jesus his word for mans own benefit do what Jesus said. Maybe blessing of wife will get there. Jesus hasnt given man wife because man aint ready for wife. If man had wife right this minute man would screw up lose wife so Jesus dont give you things to lose them. When he gives he wants man to keep forever. Man has some character that needs building for marriage wife. Man may have many issues that need fixing before husband material so man should concentrate on that first then get on knees pray to Jesus for wife. THE END.

  5. Dude i know carmen sequin barnes shes a nut ball,shes the craziest bitch ive ever met and known,brian deserved what he got

  6. Yea…this guy deserves money from strangers just as much as any other convict! He took part in killing a 5 yr old boy and injuring the boy’s mom and sister then he fled and left the scene without even trying to see if they were alright, he is where he belongs he doesn’t deserve our money..he has his family just like every other convict since when did they start giving money to the convicts support club? PSSSFFFTTTT

  7. This guy needs to be locked away forever. What a disgusting degenerate is right. A filthy filthy pig of a man, who is too dumb and too doped up to realize the consequences of his actions. Fleeing the scene, what a coward and a low life.

    Don’t send him money, send him some rope or maybe a hacksaw, see if he needs any help with either

  8. Can’t believe they let this sack of shit out, he should be in prison for life! The wife is a fucking degenerate too for marrying him while he was imprisoned. The motherfucker caused the accident, fled the scene and then went straight to his dispensary to smoke bud instead of stopping to assure no one was injured. Fuck that bald headed piece of shit. I sincerely hope someone murders him for causing a boy to die and an amputee mother to be left mangled and with a lifetime of grief. Also, it is complete bullshit what the wife said about him not having a bad temper – he’s been quoted himself admitting that he loses his temper easily – “I smoke marijuana to keep me calm and for the sake of everyone around me, it just keeps me from lashing out at everyone”. Motherfucker.

    The wife is a pretty hot Peruvian chick – so, Carmen, if you’re reading this, get a hold of me when your grotesque, bald, miserable cocksucker of a husband gets murdered for his crimes, I’ll fuck you all night, baby ?

    alkimia4 AT gmail DOT com

  9. Wow man wtf that guy is like my twin same age and everthing i love weed and porn i seen him screw lucy thai a few times i fuckin dig her where the fucks is she at but i will say just because hes on the wild side doent mean the guy dont have a heart idont know him but i know i have a heart no one wants to be in a tragedy like this god bless the victims and brian

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