.
In February 1951, Charlie and two other inmates escaped from the Plainfield. They were Arrested in Beaver, Utah, Manson was sentenced to federal time for driving stolen cars across state lines. Starting off in a minimum-security , Charlie assaulted another inmate in January 1952, holding a razor blade to the boy's throat. Charlie was then transferred to a tougher lockup, by August 1952. He was moved to the Chilicothe, Ohio, reformatory a month later, and suddenly starting acting good, becoming a "model" prisoner almost overnight. This act was rewarded by parole in May 1954. .
Arrested a second time for driving stolen cars interstate, in September 1955, Charlie got off easy with five year probation. He celebrated by skipping a court date in Florida, on charges of auto theft, and his probation was revoked. Picked up in Indianapolis on March 14, 1956, he was sent to the federal prison at Terminal Island, California, getting parole on September 30, 1958. Seven months later, on May 1, 1959, he was arrested in Los Angeles, on charges of forging and cashing stolen checks. Again he only got probation, which he violated again and was arrest for pimping and transporting whores across the state. Entering the lock-up at McNeil Island. Paroled on March 21, 1967, Charlie was drawn to San Francisco and the crowded Haight-Ashbury district. It was the "Summer of Love," when thousands of young were into drugs and "flower power," " The streets overflowed with teenage runaways and drifters. .
In San Francisco, Charlie showed a lot of charm, attracting young drop outs . Some were college graduates. Others were involved with Satanic cults. Most were confused about their lives, taking Charlie as a mentor and father-figure, lover, and Christ incarnate. They drifted up and down the state in numbers. From Mendocino and the Haight to Hollywood, Los Angeles, Death Valley, Charlie family followed their leader as the Summer of Love became a nightmare.
