Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast - HOW I SURVIVED A LIFE SENTENCE Under California's 3 Strike Law

Episode Date: July 22, 2024

HOW I SURVIVED A LIFE SENTENCE Under California's 3 Strike Law

So here I am in a high-speed chase, doing 110 through Anaheim during lunchtime. Unmarked cars. I got down and it put me in the car. And it's a weird feeling getting a life sentence. Just remember this, I'm telling you right now. What the door sounds like when it shuts in your cell? That's what you're going to be hearing for the rest of your life. I grew up in the city of Orange in Orange County, California.

I had a really good life. In the beginning of my life, it was great. My dad was a baseball coach. He was a bricklayer. he had his business and he was doing really well as a kid we had everything a kid could want we had good Christmases we had a nice house we lived in a great community and then around the age of 12 years old my parents sold the house and at the time I didn't understand what was going on because I was a young kid but they sold the house we moved into another we rented a house

down the street so I stayed and I had to change schools it was far enough to change schools but not really far at all, but I had to change schools. And I met some new kids there. I still didn't understand what was going on. I was still racing bikes and I was still just being a kid. And I met some kids in the neighborhood and I started hanging out, became good friends with these kids. And this was like the first experience that really, as I look back, that really made me kind of understand what was going on. So I would spend the night at this kid's house and we just being kids. and then one day after school they stopped me

they were but usually they wait for me after school they didn't they were around the corner waiting for me and when I get around the corner they're all telling me I'm a drug addict hey you're a cocaine sniff or you're a drug addict and I'm like what and then come to find out

their parents knew my parents new friends of my parents and they were telling their kids hey his dad lost his house because of and at the time again I didn't know what was going

I didn't believe it but now these kids weren't allowed to hang out with me anymore right at the school I was just known as a drug addict nobody wanted to hang out with me well it was kind of being a young kid that's kind of tough

because you don't know what's going on so then that was like the beginning of kind of everything going bad a few months later my dad and my mom split up and did you have any knowledge that they were having problems at all Like, was it obvious, like, arguments?

Not at all. I remember that I'd wait a lot for my dad to come home on Friday to take me to race bikes. And there was always coming up. I can't go or just whatever. I can't make it or I'm busy or things like that. But then my parents got divorced. My mom moved in with my aunt. And then we moved in with my dad.

And the house was a little bit more run down. It was in the same neighborhood. Stayed in the same school. But it was a little bit more. run down of a house in the area. And it was right behind the 55 freeway and Orange off of Sacramento Street. And there was another guy

living in the back room. Me and my brother were there. And then my dad and his new girlfriend, he got a new girlfriend right away. So it was different. I still didn't know what was going on. But my friend would come over, we'd hang out. And then one night on Christmas, I mean on New Year's Eve, my

dad comes out. Me and my friend are listening to records on the record player that's how long ago this was and he's got a white bile in his hand and he pours them out on the table and chops up some lines and on a mirror he does a line then he gives it to me he goes go ahead try this me being a kid I'm like the first thing I thought though the first thing I thought of when he was doing that was what those kids were saying I was like wait right but I did it and right away I was high I loved it and then my friend too from that point on, we just started doing a lot of drugs. Along the way, I learned that my dad's roommate was

selling a lot of people out of the house. It was a lot. It was all over the place. People were coming and going. And as the weeks went by, it got worse and worse because this is a new house. But as the weeks gone by, it was more and more traffic, more and more people. Sometimes, he was Italian, so sometimes these people would come over to the house and we'd have to leave. These guys would come in with suits. I don't know. Like, not too suited up, but they would come in, like these guys would come in, and they would have a little meeting or whatever, and then they would leave, and then we'd go back in the house. But we'd have to take up. But that was a crazy environment for a kid being young like that. So I'd get lines for doing the dishes. I'd get lines,

I'd get for Christmas, a cart and cigarettes for Christmas. To wash the car, I'd get, I did good in school, which was not often. That was going south fast. We just started doing a lot of drugs The house My dad's girlfriend Was always drinking and always drunk One time She stabbed my dad in the leg

And then there was a big old fight I ended up hitting her with a two by four Because she threw a two by four at the truck wind It was out of control I was just a kid But I really didn't like her anyways That's the first time I ever heard a girl And the only time I hit a girl

But I was just a kid And then not long after that we got kicked out of a Saturday work study. So if you get in trouble in school, I went to Sarah Biller Junior High School. If you get in trouble at school, you have to go to a Saturday work program and we spend eight hours all day in like detention.

Well, we got kicked out. Me and my friends got kicked out of there. And what we did was we broke into the cafeteria because we were mad. And we just destroyed the place. Why did you get kicked out of their detention? I can't remember. I think it was because

for one, the teachers didn't like us. We were the only kids in the school that had long hair. At that time, we were like, we were outcast. We were always getting in trouble. That school, Saraville, is predominantly a wealthy area because all the kids from Villa Park go to that school. You got Villa Park, and then you got the city of Barnes, which is just across from San Diego area.

And we didn't have any money for clothes like these other kids did for one. So we were dressed differently, and we were going down the wrong path now. We were on drugs. It happened. We got in trouble for talking. I think I was arguing with one of the rich kids or something like that. I can't exactly remember.

But we got kicked out, and they kicked us all out because we were all friends. And we broke in the cafeteria and destroyed the place. I broke all the trophies, me and my buddy threw piano off the stage. And we were there all week and long just going back and forth, party in there and just destroyed the place. Well, that Monday morning we went to school, the police were there, obviously, and they arrested us. They called us all there, and they knew it was us. And we went to juvenile hall. That was that, like, I think I was almost 14 by the time.

And that was my first time being in trouble with the law. And we just spent the night there, and we were out the next day, but we were on probation. This is back in the 80s. And when I get home, after getting out of juvenile hall, my dad and his roommate, they're pissed. they're pissed at you yeah and what surprised me the more i look back at it the really the real reason they were really upset about it was because i could have brought the cops to the house and got everybody right you're bringing you're bringing heat on a spot bringing heat to the pad it's funny how these things that you think about going through the years it's just one of the

as i was writing my book i just you remember a lot of things and that was that was the beginning of my being a criminal I adopted all these character defects from that house criminality jugged dig shit it's funny when you write a book because it's probably the first time someone really has to sit down

and chronologically go through the the parts of their life and it's like prior to like prior to writing my book like I'd never done that and like you just said it was probably the first time you ever sat there and kind of went like wow that I never put that together like you start putting things together that you're like

like you're a grown man never thought about it again never put it together but then you start write you write it out and you're like fuck like that that like that's like why did he do that you know what I'm saying you start thinking that why would someone say that and and yet as it just as a regular adult you probably most people just never review their life the way you do when you write a book and then since you did that you'll understand what I'm going to say right here so And then you start remembering all these things that you never remembered before. You start remembering all these scenarios, all these events that happened that you totally forgot about because after you ride all day or if you sit there at night and you're thinking and then pops in your head. And you start remembering all these different events that happened in your life.

And yeah, I remember, I remember that house. I'm not going to say it was all bad times because I grew up there. we had a lot of fun but eventually that drug addiction just took over my life and I never

ever thought it would end up like it did but when you're on drugs you really don't think and you don't grow up as a kid you don't grow up if you're using drugs you never become responsible

if you don't have the right guidance you just go down a dark path I remember a few times going to the probation department because I'd have to go every month to see the probation officer or my dad would be driving down the street and he'd have us a little mile on him

and he was like tap it on the steering wheel and give me a little bit before he called a probation officer and I think back on that now like and it's crazy how old were you at that point? 18 of time 14

14 that went on for about a couple a year and a half two years living in that house I just remember just all the drugs. And I didn't really understand what it would do to me,

but it definitely changed me. And not only that, I could say that for my friends too, right, they had good families. But them hanging around with me, it kind of destroyed them too. Right. One of my friends ended up committing suicide later in life. Another one died of an overdose. A couple of them, they're still, they're doing good.

But, and then not too long after, a while later, my dad's house got raided. My mom got me out of the house like a week before it happened. Because I guess my mom was hearing rumors about whatever was going on. And a week after I moved out of the house, the house got raided and they took everybody to jail, of course. So then I lived with my mom for a while. and then once again she lost the place so we went back and forth but my mom couldn't keep a place

because my dad didn't pay child support or whatever was going on and my dad ended up getting an apartment off LaSalle Street in Orange by Shaver Park and I ended up moving back in with him and his girlfriend and now

he didn't know where to kick like I did because me and my friends not only where we were getting from the house but when we couldn't Or when they wouldn't give it to us, we'd go to Santa Ana to score from San Anna. It's a, Santa Ana is like, oh, it's a gang-infested area in Orange County. It's like L.A. So now my dad would have me go score on Fridays or during the week or whenever he'd wanted it.

And there was times when, like, it'd be Friday night. My friends would be here to pick me up. I'd just waiting for my allowance so I can go out and have fun and party or whatever. And he'd be like, hey, can you go to San Antonio and get some. I'm like, hey, I can. My friends are here. So I would take off, and then he would yell out. I didn't realize this once again until later in life.

He's like, yell, hey, you're all restriction. Get back in the house. So I go back in the house, and you didn't take the trash out. Go to your room. So I go to my room, and I'd be like, mad, of course. And then he'd come in a few minutes later. Can you go say that? I give me some cold now.

Of course I'm going to say, yeah. So I'd go down there. I'd call the guy. He'd come pick me up. We drove down there, come back, and my dad would give me a little, my allowance, and then I'd say, okay, yeah, you can go out now. Right. Years, I didn't really figure it out because the trash can was only a quarter of a way full. I mean, why would you waste a bag and take it out?

But I didn't even realize it until later in life that he actually put no restriction for not getting him. And it's crazy. So I stayed there for a little while, but then after a while, I just ran away and went and lived with my brother. And we just did, I stopped going to school. And I ended up getting... What are you doing to make money at this point? At this time, I wasn't really selling it. I was just doing it.

We were just whatever we could to get... I ended up back in juvenile hall for cash and stolen checks to get... I ended up going to YGC for 90 days after that. And then when I got out, my mom had a place in Anaheim, and then that's when I moved to Anaheim. Okay. This was a little... This was, I don't know, probably...

all that time this was probably like 89 now and Anaheim's a little bit different at this time around 89, 1990 a lot of them was going around that's when the speed started coming into

into play and so I started doing that and that's a whole different high when you do I don't know if you've done it before you kind of just stay in the side you don't really do anything I mean some people do

but we didn't now I'm out on the streets running around the streets running around with different types of people and we're doing whatever we can to get that we're stealing cans off the side of people's houses like we would in the daytime we would like go around

and look at people's like drive around look at people's houses you can see big bags of cans on the side of the houses we'd write down the addresses and then that night we'd come and just pick up all these cans sometimes you made like 300 bucks a night two 300 bucks a night doing that for like what

Recycling? Yeah. We'd have like bags and bags of cans. And from there, my mom, after a while, my mom just ended up kicking me out. I went to jail a few times. I turned 18. I went to jail for not like for driving around without a license and not going to court. And then once he kicked me out on the streets, that was pretty much it.

What about high school? What's up? Were you still going to high school? No, I dropped out of high. school when I went and lived with my brother. Oh, okay. Seventh, eighth, like eighth grade, I stopped going to school. All right.

And, uh, so now I'm at like 18 and I'm out running the streets of Anaheim. I start meeting different people on the streets. I'm doing, now I'm selling, selling, doing whatever I have to do, trying to sell them. But it's pretty tough out there. When I first started running the streets, I wasn't really a tough kid. I was a drug addict. And being new to an area and not growing up. up with these people, I could say that in the beginning, I was kind of bullied, I was taking

advantage of, because I wasn't really tough. There was a few times when I was hanging out with these gang members, and they kind of took me under their wing. And what happened was, there was a few times this guy disrespected me. And after this guy left, they beat me up. And they're like, Hey, you ever let somebody disrespect you like that again? And we're going to beat you up again. And this happened a couple times. And during that time, we're running around the streets. We're still in car stereos.

We start getting shot at. And it starts getting pretty serious. And I learned that if I'm ever going to want to have anything on the streets or if I'm ever going to make it, I'm going to have to toughen up. Are you a big kid? Are you a big kid? Are you a big guy now? No, right now I'm like six feet tall.

But I was a... I'm five foot six. Yeah. What are you talking about? You weren't a tough kid. But all the way tall I was 17 years old, I was like 4.11. Like, I was a small kid. Like, and I've always been skinny.

I mean, the only reason right now is because I work out. Like, right. I just bench 310 pounds last week. I'm in the gym every day. 51. At 50, I'll be 53 November. Oh, 53. Oh.

Yeah. But, and I still. can't gain weight. I'm like 190 pounds I've stuck there. I'm strong. I can't run to save my lives because my knees are so messed up, but I could bench 300 pounds. If you can bench 310 pounds, you don't have to run. But the thing is, is that for me, the gym is my, holds my sanity. That I go to church. But anyways, we're getting shot at here and there. And then what happened next is what I never thought would happen. I started carrying a gun. Right. I've seen a lot of the crazy things start happening.

This guy, I know, ended up getting murdered. He was friends and some other people that I knew. And in the back of my mind, if he can get killed, I can too. And it just changed everything. And then one day just snapped in me.

And I was just like the rest of them. I was shooting at people. And I was just out of control. I lost my way. pretty much so when you say shooting at people like i mean you well what do you mean an argument with someone yeah like for i'll give me an example this is before i ended up going to prison for i got shot i got caught shot shooting two people in 95 but right this is before like a year

before that we were having problems me and my buddy were selling drugs a lot of drugs but we were running around the streets and we were we had some problems with these guys i ended up shooting out one of their friends. So what happened was we rented a room at this house and we were selling drugs to sell drugs out of it. The first night we're there this happened. So this guy shows up and he wants to buy an ounce of him. And I'm like, all right. Well, hey, tell him to come in. He's like, no, he don't want to. I'm like, all right. So I got my gun. I go out there with the ounce and I tell him, hey, give me the money. He's like, no, give me the dope first. And I show him my gun. I go, if I wanted your money, I'd just take it right now. So he throws the money on the seat. It's a big

water cash. I like to pick the money up, throw the on the passenger seat, and he just takes off. And in my mind, I'm like, what's going on here? So I started shooting at him. This is right at Disneyland, like in the middle of the daytime, right by Disneyland, right by the Jack and Jill Hotel. It's not there anymore, but. And then I go in the house and I tell the girl, hey, why is your friend shooting at me? And then I go, in the room, shut the door and clips like, dude, what are you doing? I go, dude, count the money. Or the money's fake. I don't know what's going on. So he counted the money and it's $5 short. Right.

But in the back of my mind, I'm like, why is this dude taking off like that? And that's how it's become. Hey, real quick, just wanted to let you guys know that we're looking for guests for the podcast. If you think you'd be a good guest, you know somebody, do me a favor. You can fill out the form. The link is in our description box. Or you can just email me directly. Email is in the description box.

So back to the video. When you were interviewed by Johnny Mitchell, he was talking about. He's like at that point, like you've got like that addict brain. Everything is just reactive or you're not really thinking. You don't have the ability to think problem solved. Yeah. I'm saying? You're reactionary to everything.

You thought I just got ripped off. Yeah. Just like what's going on here. $5. Yeah. Or the money's fake. I didn't know. And then my buddy was like, dude, because there's all stuff like that was always happening.

And I was always like doing stuff like that. And that's how I just got out of control. And we ended up getting kicked out of that house that night. They're like, yeah, you guys can't be here. But that started a little bit of problems. That was a whole, because you got different cliques running around in Anaheim and Orange County. So, and then a while later, I'm on the phone with my buddy that was at the house. He was now back in prison.

And I was talking to him on the phone at this house. And this girl was there. And one of their friends got a high-speed chase and got killed in the, you know, crash and got killed and was getting chased by the police. and I was telling Cliff about him and we kind of laughed because we didn't know that we didn't care about the guy but we just kind of laughed about it

so the girl was friends with all these guys she went she went back and told all her friends told all her friends were your guys so they're calling my friends they're calling my friends and telling them

telling them hey we're going to get Chris and one of my friends is funny because one of my friends told him like if you go after him he's way too smart he's going to shoot you and sure enough a couple months later I'm with this girl and I pull up to this apartment complex and there's a bunch of guys out

there I don't I don't recognize them I don't know who they are I don't recognize them but I got my gun she goes up there to take care of and then these guys leave and then she calls me up there so I go up there and I'm sitting on the couch and then these guys those same guys come in the apartment and they're looking at me and I realized who they were it's all these guys's friends who say they're going to get me there's like seven of them and then they just look at me like all right and then they take off. So I tell the girl that I'm there with him. I'm like, hey, we're leaving right now. And she's like, what's wrong? We got to get out of her. And then the guy in the back room, he's an older guy, old tatted up. You could tell he's been to prison. He goes, hey, those

guys, they're going to get you if you leave here. Just stay here. I'm like, look, man, you got kids here. I go, I don't want to cause any problems here, but I'm telling you right now, I'll shoot these guys. I wanted to get out of there. For me, my best survival for me at that time is to get out of there as quick as possible. I don't know if they're going to get guns, they got guns or whatever, but I'm not waiting around for, but I'm not calling the cops. So we're leaving. So we start leaving, and there's like seven guys at the bottom of the stairs.

And I tell the girl that I'm with, and go, just go get in the car. They're not going to mess with you. So she goes, she goes in front of me, she gets in the car, and I'm at the bottom of the stairs. I got my hands in my hand in my pocket. And I'm like, hey, what's up? And they're just looking at me.

They don't say nothing. and I'm sitting there for awkward for a few seconds I just walk off so once I get in the car I shut the door they rush the car and they're like hitting me through the window trying to hit me through the window and I'm just like what the hell well then they start opening the door so I just pull up my gun and I start shooting and that was it and then she's freaking out she thinks they're shooting at us she stalls the cars so I get out of the car

and everybody's gone but one guy he's kind of like crawling away on the on the concrete and I just turned them over. I'm like, you stupid, like, you stupid fuck her? Like, here are you gun? I'm like, because everybody's out. It's on Friday night. There's people everywhere. And I knew at that point it was over.

There's no way to getting away with this. So she's all still freaking out. So I go back, get in the car, tell her to get in the passenger seat and we take off. Not even five minutes later, the police page me on my pageer telling me I should come turn myself in it all this. And I'm like, it's over. So I tell her, hey, we're going to go. my friend's house will paint your car they're going to be looking they're going to be looking for this car so we went painted the car and that was it i was on the run from that for the next two months

i was just running the streets they were raiding houses looking for me every place that i'd been they were raiding that house looking for me and then eventually uh i was at my buddy's buddy's house because my motorcycle the chain had broke and i was changing the chain on my gs xxr 75 i was driving around his car and I had a terrible feeling like I'm like man something's wrong you get intuition so I didn't even like bleed the clutch

because on a GSXR back then I didn't really I took the chain all the way off and happened with the clutch and it needed to be bled and I just didn't do it I didn't even know how to do it all I knew was that I was having a bad feeling

so I had the chain on and I just used the starter and pushed it out in the driveway hit the starter and it got me going And as soon as I get to the end of the driveway, there's unmarked cars coming from both directions. You could see him coming. And that was it.

It was high-speed chase. Well, how long did that go on? I mean, when you're on a, but you're on a motorcycle. Yeah, yeah. But the problem with it is, is that I don't know if you ride a motorcycle, but your clutch is your best friend. That's what you used to. Right.

Downshifting and front brakes. But if you're going too fast and you hit those brakes too hard, you're done. If you use your back, if you use your back break, that's going to be a problem, too. So here I am in a high-speed chase doing 110, 100 miles an hour through Anaheim during lunchtime. And I ended up coming around a corner. And now I'm doing about 80, 90 miles an hour, and a crossing guard comes out. Sign. And I kind of clipped him.

And I crashed. And I slid far on my elbows. I mean, it messed me up. But I ended up running a little bit and, like, ran up some stairs and some office building and kicked the door down. It was a janitor's closet. I just kicked the door down, shut the door, and lit a cigarette. The helicopter was already above me because I remember during the high-speed chase, the gear shifter fell off. I didn't even have time to tighten it.

I just knew I had to get out of there. I had a crazy feeling there. Something was going to happen. So the gear shifter fell off as I'm flying down the street. So I had to pull over. And when I pulled over there, I ditched the cops. That was not a problem. But then I heard the helicopter.

above me. And I, yeah, so they were, it was over. And then they came and kicked down the door, like seven guns in my face. And that was it. They took me into jail. And the funny thing is, is that, because I thought, because you, you shoot somebody, attempted murder, that's a life sentence. So I'm thinking I'm getting a life sentence here. It's over. But the, you're saying in California, that's a life sentence? I don't, in California, yeah, you get, for attempted murder like that, it's a life sentence. You get 25 to life for that. And I shot two people at the time. But they were two people that were attacking you. Yeah, I get that.

See, this is the, this is where, this is where, this is what I'm going to talk about right now. So the investigators are like, dude, you should just turned yourself in. Thinking to myself, he goes, they said they started the whole thing. And I'm thinking to myself, what are you talking about? But when I get to court, they offered me six years, 85% with two strikes. For aggravated assault at the firearm, I'm like, right. I signed. Like, yeah, I'm out of here.

I'm going to prison. And you hadn't, you, I've been just jailed several times, but no, I haven't been to prison. Okay. But I signed for that two strikes. So now I got two strikes. I'm going to prison with two strikes, one of the dangerous prison systems in America. And I'm off. 24 years old, going to prison.

And it didn't even take long for me to end up on a level four prison. I think within six months, I was on the craziest yards in California. but I was able to make it through it without getting struck out because and then you get caught with a little bit of med or knives or stabbing to strike you out. It's a violent strike.

You're done. It's $25. They charge you again in prison? No, no. I was able to... I almost got in trouble. I almost got caught a few times. No, I'm saying the question is if you had been caught in prison with a little bit of drugs

or they would charge you with a felony in prison and you'd never get out. It happens all the time. seem to do's all the time going with two strikes and not come out. By the grace of God, I left out. During that time in prison, there's some strange things that happened. I've seen some crazy, my first time walking onto the level four yard there at Old Corcoran. There's two northerners stabbing another northerner.

Right before, we're just getting off the bus. That was my first experience on a level four yard. That was on B yard. And I went through some, I went through. some crazy situations. I almost got caught with knives several times. I almost got caught with a bunch of times. But I was able to make it through that. And by the time of my six years was up, I had a pretty good head on my shoulders. I was clean. I was pretty healthy. And I knew that if I did make it out and I did get in trouble, I'd get a life sentence. Because back then in

2002, if you get caught with a little bit of or any felony, that's a third strike. They're going to give you life of Grisand. And when I got out, I thought that I would never use drugs again because I knew that it would be over. Well, that didn't happen. I did good for a couple months. I started hanging around with my old friends,

and not long after that, I was selling drugs again. And this time, I was selling a lot of them. I was a little bit wiser, I was smarter now, and I had a better head on my shoulders. And I was selling a lot of drugs. I was going from state to state selling drugs. I wouldn't. It doesn't sound like you had a better head on your shoulder selling drugs. But back in the 90s. In a state that will give you. Yeah. Let me finish what I'm saying.

So back in the 90s, I was just crazy. I was just, I was just didn't. I was just crazy. I was working for people. Pretty much running around with people that were selling drugs. And I was doing all the crazy stuff along with that. And now I was more, I could say that I was just a little bit more reserved. How old were you? Now I was 30 years old. I wasn't out there looking for trouble like I was. I was selling a lot of drugs and I started shooting up when I got out. And I was shooting it up.

And the crazy thing is that what I would do in the morning when I got up is I would get up in the morning. I'd make a list of everything I have to do to make sure. that I did it. And then I would shoot up and then I would go do all that stuff and then whatever else happened after that, but didn't matter. But I would, it was crazy. I would take off to Idaho and I would bring a bunch of drugs out there. First I'd stop in Lake Havasu, but I'd get like six or seven outfits and load them up with speed and I would just drive all the way there. I'd have an SKS on the back seat with a towel over it, fully automatic, and I would just have a bunch of

and I would just go. And I did that for months back and forth. And luckily I didn't get caught out of state. But what eventually ended up happened was, because I would only stay in California for like 24 hours, do what I had to do and then get out because I knew that the cops would be looking for me or they would hear or whatever.

You just don't know. We had cell phones now. They could track that stuff. And one time I stayed too long. I stayed. I couldn't get out of there because I had to meet my connection and I couldn't get out of there

so now I'm here now I'm going on two days and sure enough I leave in the hotel room I got a Glock 45 several ounces of and then here we go again cops unmarked cars

you know how are they getting how do they get on to you was it controlled by or no no I think that I don't really know but previous to this

my buddy got pulled over in one of my rented cars and there was a tech nine in the back and a bunch of stuff and he got pulled over in the car and had my name in it well the cops called me these are South County sheriffs

they called me and said hey we got your car over here you want to come get it they know how parole I'm prolly at large I'm like nah I'm cool man but I told him I go yeah all that stuff's mine

whatever I yeah I was just spun out and because my buddy I didn't want my buddy to get charged which he did anyways But I told him before he left, I go, dude, there's tech nine in the back. You get in trouble because he's already out on bail. I go, dude, you get pulled over with this.

You're done it. And I think this house was being watched where I was at. And they were expecting me to leave in that car. Well, I left on my motorcycle because my motorcycle was in the garage. So I jumped on my motorcycle because I always have motorcycles. And I jumped on my motorcycle and took off. They didn't know it was me. So when he got in the car and left, they pulled him over and he got busted with that stuff.

but those same cops are the ones that busted me so they were out looking for me or whatever and they ended up surrounding me and they already know since I ran last time I'm going to run this time too so the helicopter was already there

I was in a rent-a-car again and I take off I got a clock 45 and several ounces in another high-speed chase I was careful not to hit nobody because I didn't want a violent strike but last time I didn't care but this time I didn't hit nobody

but I ended up you know dumping the car jumping some fences it was pouring in pools to get rid of it and then I balanced I jumped on a block wall walked along the wall because the helicopter was on me with the light as soon as the light went off me

I balanced a gun on a tree branch jumped off the wall jumped over another fence and there were some cops there there were like seven guns on my face again I got down and he put me in the car that was it the police investigators came

and see me the next day and said, hey, we found your gun. I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about and I just walked out. I was done. I knew I was still kind of high and still coming off the streets so I didn't realize the magnitude

of what was going on. But it was funny because the police report said that the girl was picking lemons out of her tree the next day and the gun got out of the tree. Yeah, that house. And the gun fell out of the tree and landed in their bucket.

Whether that's true or not, I don't know. but that's how they're going to say that obviously the gun didn't touch the ground it was obviously his but since so now I'm fighting a three they're trying to give me 107 years of life now

so I've spent I don't know six eight months in the county jail and at the end I was trying to get the Romero Act and the Romero Act

is where they strike a strike and they give you like 10 years and they give you another chance that's if you plead guilty So I tried to do that. I was going to plead guilty to 107 years to life. Because 28 to life and 107 years to life at that point, you're never getting out anyways at that time.

So you might as well try it. So I pled guilty. And I didn't get the Romero Act. But instead of 107 years, they gave me 28 to life. And I was off to prison again. So what is 28? I mean, I've only done federal time. So 28 years to life means you have to do 28?

Yeah, before you're eligible for parole. So it's a lot. But at that time, at that time when you went to parole, I don't care if you have seven to life. You could do 40 years on a seven to life, which there's people that are in there for, was there on a seven to life and been in there 40 years because they just deny you every time you go

to the board of prison terms. So I'm never, what doesn't matter, once you get life, you're never getting out. I don't care who or how much money you have. You're not getting out. So that's it. I'm done. I'm off to prison.

Um, it's a weird feeling. And you, you, you, okay, so I'm, and you're thinking, what, in 28 years, I'm going to go in front of the parole board and maybe? No. Or you're just thinking, I'm done. You're done. That's it. Okay. Yeah.

That's why people sometimes, the Johnny Mitchell show, a couple of people said, oh, life sentence, how's he out or whatever? You got a life sentence. How's he out? Well, they change laws for one. Right. But 28 to life means you do 28 years. But that's if you get no trouble It depends on what happens during all that time too

You can get more life sentences for stabbing You can get whatever happens in prison When you're on these crazy yards You don't know what's going to happen But definitely me at that time They were not letting anybody out So yeah, that was it And it's a weird feeling getting a life sentence

You see like I've been to prison Where people have life sentences And you see them in there And they're going through the days They're never getting out and I've had Selly's how we're lifeers. And I remember one guy telling me, an older homeboy telling me an old Corkman before I paroled,

he goes, just remember this, I'm telling you right now. If you ever use it again, what the door sounds like when it shuts in your cell, that's what you're going to be hearing for the rest of your life. I'm like, yeah, I'm never going to use drugs again. But I never forgot that, especially if I got in trouble again. I'm like, dude, that's it.

Yeah, so I was, I went through. I'd just get up in the morning. I'd work out. I'd go to the days and just kind of just do my thing. People say, I don't know how you do a life sentence. Well, you have to. Once you get a life sentence or once you get, you got to deal with it, you got adapt. Yeah, I was, I had a guy when this was when I just got locked up. And I was, this is when I thought I was going to get like 10 years. And I was sitting there thinking, and I go, man, I don't think I can. I don't think I can locked up a few months. And I go, I think I can, I don't think I can do this. And I just been locked. And I just been locked. I was in the U.S. Marshal's holdover. I hadn't been sentenced, nothing. I just got locked up. Yeah. And I'm like, I don't think I can do this. I remember the guy goes, he goes, well, me, the good thing is like, you don't have to.

And I went, well, I go, I'm immediately, what do you mean? And he goes, they're going to make you do it. Because all you have to do is keep yourself entertained. You know what I'm saying? He's like, he's like, you don't just, you don't have to, don't worry about, don't worry about whether you can. They'll make you do it. I was like, you're going to, I remember thinking it was a dick thing to say, but the truth is, He didn't mean it like that.

I'm saying? He was just like, look, like stop focusing on that. Like, you hear these little bits of things that happen when you're locked up. People say stuff. They say it harshly, but they don't mean it that way. Yeah. And you realize there are little bits of wisdom that you get. And he was right.

Like, I'm going to stop focusing on it. Like, I had a buddy who said, listen, he said, 80% of my time is just keeping myself entertained. Yeah, that's it. He said the 20% is just the stuff you have to do. Go to chow, take a shower, walk the wreck yard. He's like the rest of it's reading, watching movies, playing cards or whatever these guys. Like, you adapt. So you adapt. Yeah. Or you're miserable. You got guys that are just miserable. Or then you got guys that just killed themselves. Yeah. I've seen that happen. Seeing guys shoot up a bunch of heroin and just get it over with. Yeah, I'm too much of a narcissist to do that. Like I'm. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get through this just out of spite. Yeah, well, the thing is, is after a while, you just, you get used to it. You get used to the violence, you just get used to it, you become numb to it, and you just go through the days and maneuver through all the bull crap. I started doing, started doing school a little bit, about 10 years in, even though I was getting out.

Stop. Do you know how fast you were going? I'm gonna have to write you a ticket to my new movie. The naked gun. Liam Nissan. Buy your tickets now. And get a free Tilly Dog. Chili Dog, not included.

The naked gun. Tickets on sale now. August 1st. I started doing these classes, self-help, because they started doing all that stuff in, like, 2012. And I remember my cellie telling me, I don't know why you're doing that stuff. You're never getting out. We're never getting out. We're never getting out.

We're just doing a bunch of morphine and snorting. Because they're giving it to us at the time, through medical. They're just giving everybody morphine for knee pain or whatever kind of pain there is. The epidemic was just like it was on the streets. It was in there. The doctors were just giving that stuff out. But I told him, I go, I don't want to just sit in here. Like, I'm going to do.

And I think I did it a lot too for my daughter so she could see that I was trying to be a better person. But in the back of my mind, I was still using. I remember that. And then I just thought to myself one day, I'm going to write a book. I was going to write a book. I started writing a book. And I did with a pencil, piece of paper, and a typewriter.

Didn't have word or nothing like that. I did it with a pencil, a piece of paper, typed it out. It would have been a lot better if I had word. I'll say that. Because I had to rewrite everything. Every time I'd like I said in my cell, I'd think of someone at night,

I'd have to go through and just rewrite that whole chapter just to put one thing in there that I thought. And I wrote it. I tried to get it published, but they weren't doing that. I finished around 2013 or 14. Was this your book about you? Yeah, about my life.

Orange County, the, I didn't know the, if, I didn't know if that was the first one you wrote. Yeah, this is the only one I wrote. Okay. But I'm planning on writing another one. I just haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do yet. But it's, it's a, it's a challenge writing. Because we had in, at Coleman, the, in the federal facility, I was in a, at the medium and at the low. But they had like Corlinks is.

It's like the email system. They probably have it in state, in California, right? Like you can email. They do now. They got all that. As soon as I paroled, they got all this texting,

some free phone calls. But that literally happened right after I paroled. Where they got tablets and all that. I did the same thing you did. I wrote everything out. And then I would type it into the Coralink system like I was going to send an email. But you could save your emails as. for a few for a few weeks yeah i think like 30 days and that would allow me to then i could print it

so i'd print out the chapters and i'd go give it to people and have them read it and then they would come back and say you misspelled this this is this is a run-on sentence yeah they would correct it and then i'd go back and i could make the changes and then i would email it to somebody on the street and they would cut and paste it into word but i mean it's it was such a so so such a pay in the ass. But the same thing. I wrote on the legal pads. You had to buy them from commissary or steal them out of unicorn.

Yeah. Or the, you have just something. It's a horrible, horrible way to go about doing it. And the thing, too, that all my life, I told myself, I can't do this. I'm a drug addict. I got ADHD. I can't do the school. I can.

I can't. I can. That was my big thing. And then here I go. I start going to college, start passing all these classes, wrote a book. and I didn't even know how like my spelling wasn't even good like I didn't use like there over there and then over I didn't even understand all that but I learned a lot I learned dialogue how to write dialogue

I learned all that stuff all this stuff I said I could never do I did I ended up getting an AA degree later on did did you ever did you ever get to that point where you thought prison was like a gift um in the end yeah you know because like I mean some guys like

you let's face it you might have had another six months on the street and been dead you see what I'm saying it saved my life it saved my life there's no doubt about it

I would have saved some or save somebody else's life let's just put it that way because either I was going to end up shooting somebody again or I was going to end up getting shot but one thing I could say

is that I was pretty I never went into the situation where I knew I couldn't win. I just, I didn't trust nobody. It lets it really close to me. But I never put myself in a situation where there was a thought that I could lose. And if there was, I would leave and come back later

and then deal with it. I was just like that. I developed running around early on on the streets. I learned quickly, of what not to do who not to trust which is nobody that you don't know and to always be ready

I always had my gun loaded I always had the safety on to where I could just turn it off and that's it and I went with that thing everywhere and I lived like that I lived like that for years in prison you can't really hide or nothing in prison

but I always I just always looked out for myself and my friends for that matter But, yeah, writing that book, I learned a lot about myself during that time. I started remembering a lot of things growing up on what triggered me and all these events that happened in my life that eventually changed me. And then I went to a level two because they changed the point system in California. I ended up on a level two prison. And they took me off the prison because I was on for like three or four years.

They took me up the mess. And that just crashed me. And I started using math and selling in prison. I was running around like I was on the streets and ended up in the hole. And I woke up in Ad Seg, it was like 2015. During that time, though, at that prison, I did do my electrical vocation. So that was good. Even though I was high, I still did my vocation, and I still was doing all these things.

But the mess up ended up taking over and I ended up in Ad Seg. And I woke up in Ad Seg, just like 2015. And I woke up, it was my daughter's birthday. and I was like, I don't want to do this one more. Like, I just, I don't want to be on the, because coming off, I don't know if you've ever done it or heard about it, but it's terrible. And I've been, at this time, I've been using the opiates for like four or five years, and I just didn't want to do any of that no more.

I didn't want to die in prison being a scumbag. At this time, I'm still like never getting out. In the back of my mind, they're talking about letting people out. It's happening, but I don't go to board until 2013. So by then, I just didn't want to die in prison being a scumbagmack. I wanted to be somebody my daughter could be proud of, my family, my mom, and I'd made a decision. I'd just beg God, like, hey, the next place I go to,

I'm going to get myself involved in all these groups and hang out with these people because a lot of people started doing groups at the time. So when I went to High Desert State Prison, I started going to these groups and hanging around with these people in learning all sorts of stuff about myself, about victims' impact, CGA, and it changed me. What's CGA? Criminals, Gangs Anonymous. Okay.

It's like N.A, but it's for gang members. Okay. There's a lot of different sections in there, but the one that really helped me understand about myself, what's a lifestyle of addiction. So what the lifestyle addiction is, is that you get addicted to being a person. criminal to commit crime starts off low and it just escalates it becomes easier and easier then you start carrying a gun and then you start shooting people and then that because it just becomes like nothing it's the escalation of violence escalation of criminality all that and you become addicted to

that more than you do drugs running around the streets and I didn't realize that I didn't so like when I first got out in 2000 in 2002 like before I started using drugs I was selling them I was selling drugs before I started using them. It's that lifestyle of addiction comes into play. Selling drugs and running around, doing all. That's just as addicting as a drug. You get the excitement. It's fun.

Not all the time, but it's fun. And then I learned that. Not only was I a drug addict, but I was addicted to that lifestyle. And you take a lot out of these. You don't take a lot out of these groups, but you're able to pull out of each, group that helps you change and that was one of the things that I learned that the lifestyle addiction is is pretty serious anybody that is listening right now that has been through that they understand that I don't think I don't think it's just because I mean for me like I like I've

never been an addict I mean so I don't know but I mean as far as like the the addiction to so I don't know about addiction to drugs but but that makes sense to me I had taken a program called ARDAP in federal prison. It's for a residential drug treatment program, right? Yeah. But listen, but they don't know, they, they almost never talk about drugs at all. It's really a behavior modification program. And, and they focus on that kind of antisocial disorder and, and which is really just being a criminal. And it is, it's all about addiction to criminality, to committing crimes, to the feeling, that feeling of entitlement, that feeling of beating the system of and and people ask me every once while i'll i do a podcast and people

will ask me like oh so do you ever think about it anymore i'm like all the time like i'm telling right now like i think about it dude yeah like i'll see an abandoned house because a lot of my stuff was real estate fraud and my first thought is like where are the owners like would they notice it like if i is anybody monitoring the title like and i think about it all the time you find you you come across somebody's information I think man would they know what like could you could I have a credit card because you fill out a credit application and have their credit card mail to their house if you could they're right down the street you could just wait down the street when the you could have them credit cards like overnight and stuff like it immediately goes through my

mind before I could even stop myself and go what are you doing like your life is it's so good out here yeah why would you even entertain that but it happens So it happens so quickly. Yeah. But by the time I've cycled through the whole thing, it's already cycled through. And then I say, what are you doing? But it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a, it's a bad situation. Yeah.

Yeah. So I've seen this thing on Instagram or TikTok where it has this dog with a sad face. And it says the dog's watching essentially what it's saying is me watching somebody do crime and make money while if i do it i know god will make an example out of me have you seen that i think i yeah yeah they're they're doing it and getting away with it but i know if i do it i'll go to chill yeah yeah i just yeah uh one more thing i want to tell you if this do you ever think about this it's the idea of for me committing fraud is so comforting that if i'm laying in bed and i can't and this happened more when I was in prison because I sleep now I go right to bed I'm

because I'm now I'm old yeah when I was in prison and I would be laying in bed and couldn't quite go to sleep and so I would lay there and I would start in my mind I'd start planning a fraud it did a scam of some kind and it was so overwhelmingly comforting within three or four minutes straight to sleep straight to sleep oh that's great that's not normal that's not normal behavior. Yeah. Yeah, that's funny. I just, for me, I think about it too, bro. Like, and it's just, it's just part of our, it's embedded in us. That's what I'm saying. It's like becoming a good person and becoming a good citizen, it's like growing up all over again. That's what I was told a long time ago when I started this journey and recovery. It's like

growing up all over again, not being a criminal and just, But I'm doing well. Yeah, it's so good out here. Dude, it's great, dude. But even though, like you said, there's still the back of your mind, you're still like all these thoughts come into your head. It's just, it's just there. It's like being the alcoholic thing where they say, well, like you're, you're still an alcoholic.

You're just, I'm just not going to do it today. You know what I'm saying? Like they're, it's like they're not like they're cured. No, no, I'm just in recovery. I'm just not. And that's kind of how I feel. It's like, yeah, I'm just, it's not, I'm not saying, hey, I'm one. person, but I'm going to be a decent person today.

Yeah, like, I always tell people like, I know that I won't use, because I know if I use they'll pick up a gun and I'll end up in prison in that order. Right. And you hurt whoever along the way, create victims and all that. So I just, for me, it's really easy for me not to use drugs because I know that it's over. My life is so good right now. I got, I just, I'm very blessed. I'm very grateful to be out.

and I have good friends my family I get to go see my family I get to see my daughter and I never thought I could have a life like this I just thought all those years that it was just never going to happen for one I thought my life was just over

let alone being out I'm off parole I got up parole about six months ago I'm totally free right well let's let's jump back to that so you were in prison and you were taking the classes I got you off I think I got off on a tangent But you were taking the classes and you were taking little bits and pieces away from the different classes.

You've written the book. And so what happens? I mean, you're Sally saying we're both life. Yeah, that was in the prison before that. But now I'm sold up with my buddy Danny Federico. And he's going to all these groups. And he's pretty smart. But I just started changing.

I was still me, like you said, you're still in prison. But you just maneuvering through all the bull crap. and you're just going to groups, going to work. Since I did that electrical vocation, as soon as I got to that prison, they put me in maintenance. So I was a stationary engineer working in the boiler room,

doing all the age back, doing one of the highest paid inmates in the facility. I actually was. I was making like $100 a month, which is a lot of money. Yeah. Usually you're just like $0.16 an hour. But then they started talking about this law,

Prop 57, where if you're a non-violent three-striker you have action to go on the board and getting out no matter how much time you have left well as long as you got 15 years or more in if you can make it through the board of prison terms they're going to let you out

and again I'm just like yeah you hear I've been hearing stuff ever since I started they're going to change the three strikes law they're going to change this or they would change and it wouldn't apply to me because I got caught with the gun and the commission of the crime

all these other do you hear all this stuff so but still i'm just going through i'm so i'm clean i'm sober i'm just going through the days and next thing covid hit this is 2000 what 2000 20 21 yeah was it i thought six months before that or something like that 20 2020 i think it was 2020 yeah so i could be wrong anyway during that time we're stuck in ourselves i get a slip in the mail says hey you're going to board within six months you're going to the board I'm like, what? And I was kind of preparing because I've heard all this stuff,

but you just don't believe it. And then next thing I get that piece of paper, so I did everything I could to make sure that I had a chance of getting out. But in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, there's no way I'm going to make it through this board. It's very difficult to make it to the board of prison terms. I've seen several people go and get denied that were really smart people. And so I did everything I could.

Even though in the back of my mind, I was thinking this is not going to happen. They're going to, at least give me a three-year denial the first time and then bring me out, then they'll let me out. Because now they're letting people out. It's happening. And even though my board date wasn't supposed to be until 2013-1, the law stated, as long as you got 15 years or more. And you're a non-violent three-striker, you have a chance of getting out.

Now, my controlling case, I shot two people. That was violent. My prior. My prior was, I shot two people. I was violent. But my controlling case was nonviolent because I didn't hurt nobody. It was just selling drugs. So I was eligible for the law.

And I went to board and I got town suitable on my first time. And I was out in 2022. How long till? So I got three, two questions. One, one is when you were headed, when you were about to go to the board, did you tell anybody or were you? Oh, everybody. not everybody knows oh did it everybody knows because it's like i've seen guys that they don't say anything when they're about to get released because people get jealous people are petty

yeah this i really haven't ever ran into that maybe i just didn't know because they didn't know but usually everybody knows when you're getting out okay again when once you get found suitable it still takes four months to get out because it's got to go through all the proper channels and then the governor's got to sign it. Once you get found suitable, the governor still has to say, okay, yeah, this guy's not a threat to society, let him go. But that was the longest four months of my life, because anything can happen during that time. You get a little ride up for not locking your door, just several things can happen. But that was the longest four months of my life.

I was stressed out. And I got out in 2022. I went to L.A. we went to a transitional housing unit and that's where it started what's the transitional is that like a halfway house yes a halfway house but transitional housing is people that are getting out of prison

they want you to be in an environment where they can watch you but you have to stay there for at least six months everybody that has a life sentence unless they have a place to go or it's just I don't know I don't think I'm pretty sure that everybody has to go because they want to watch you for six months

and keep an eye on you. Some are really strict. You can't leave. You can't have a phone. You can't have nothing for the first 90 days. The place I went to was ARC in L.A. And I was allowed to have a phone, get a car, do whatever. I like to get better that way because you've got to acclimate back in society.

And the only way to do that is to get right in and do it. Did they take a portion of your check? No. Like if you were working? No, they don't take nothing. You don't have to pay anything, but they actually take your money. Like if you're work, when you start working, they take half your paycheck and they save it for you. Okay.

So when your time's up, you have money to get a place and move out. Right. I immediately started working for picking up trash for Caltrans. They have this program called CEO. And so I was, you work three days a week. Then Monday and Friday you have off. and to do whatever, to go to groups or go counseling. But you can only work there for...

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And then once that's over, by then you should have a job and you move on. So the next people that are getting out can come to the program. I already knew what I was going to do, though, because I wanted to be electrician. So it only took me two months and I ended up getting a job working as an electrician. And I'd be an electrician ever since. So, I mean, are you like a licensed electrician? Did you get, no, not yet. You have to have 8,000 hours before you can become an electrician.

When the hours that I had in prison, they don't count, which I have about five years in there working around electrical. But in a, I don't know, a couple more years. 8,000 hour, 8,000, did you, how am I to say, 8,000 hours. That's ridiculous. That's a long time. Four years. That's not really. That's four years.

There's a lot to learn in four years. And a lot of people, they can't pass that test. I know electricians that have been doing this forever. They cannot pass that test. It's not easy. In the California, to get your journeyman's card to pass that test, it's not easy. In other states, you can pretty much buy your license. Or you can get five contractors to say, okay, yeah, this guy's good.

And you get it for like $500. And then that's probably Florida. State of California, it's not happening like that. You've got to take this test, and you've got to be able to answer 100 questions. and you get three minutes per question to answer these questions and you got to like go give you a question

you got to look in the code book, find it, answer the question. It's not easy. I know a lot of good electricians that are really smart that haven't been able to pass it. Maybe they're not studying hard enough. I don't know what it is.

But it's not an easy thing to do or everybody would have one because there's a bunch of, I don't, I bet the electricians that I work with I don't do any of them have it and they're running but they're running big jobs

they're actually running really big jobs like they're running the jobs so who's signing off on the permits and everything well the the company you're working on the company oh yeah so the company's licensed okay I get it the company's license but I'm talking about you have your journeyman card

because by law I think it states that I'm not sure about this but I think for every journeyman you could have two apprentices and in California also they want you to have an EG card and what that is is for apprentices that says that you're going to school but they don't know that law in California there'd be no electricians so but I'm going to take it pretty soon and I'm going to study hard for it and I'm I could do it

if I made it through the board of prison terms the thing is too is also I think that people the I can't like for me it's hard to learn because I got ADHD but if I study hard like really hard you could do it if I got through the board of prison terms I could do anything it's it's funny because to me like I wouldn't care about failing the test I care about not trying to pass the test you say like if I fail it fine I'll take it again I'll pass it eventually yeah like I'll but I just keep bust in my ass and eventually I'm going to pass.

Some people are so afraid to fail at anything, they don't even fucking try. Yeah. And that's what it sounds telling somebody before that if you don't try, you're failing right off the bat. Right. But if you try and fail, you still succeeded in my book. Yeah. Because at least you try. But you got to really try.

You got to really put effort into it. Like, I'm going to, it's going to take me hours and hours and hours of studying that book to get ready for it. and I'm going to do it. So, and I don't, go ahead. I'm sorry, go ahead. And I'm going to do it. There's no doubt about it.

And it's a huge pay raise. You make like $5 an hour. And that's just at the least once you pass that. So right now, you're, so you're working now. And you had told me before we started that you and a buddy had kind of started like a nonprofit where you wanted to kind of. talk to, you wanted to talk to kids that were getting out of juvenile facilities? Well, no. So let me explain the whole thing to you. So my buddy Ronnie Harold, we were in prison together. He just got out like three months ago, but he, him and his wife started this before he

was getting out. He did a bunch of time too, like 26 years. It's called www. www.2,00023.org. And there's two parts to it. There's an anti-recidicism part and an at-risk youth part. So the at-risk youth part is my part, and his part is the anti-recidicism. He wrote a book called the Encyclopedia of Self-Help. It's a big book. He spent a lot of time writing it. So what he's trying to do is he's trying to get his books into all the prisons, and then go in the prisons and talk to these people to reduce recidicism in California, or anywhere for that matter. But, and my part is the at-risk youth. So I'm trying to get all my books in my books in to schools and then go speak at these schools.

I've been to a few schools and talk to kids, but I'm trying to really get it into all the schools that I can get like five or six books into these schools and then go into these schools and talk to these kids. And as far as I'm concerned, any kid nowadays is that risky? Because you've got both parents that are working. They're not able to spend time with their kids like they used to. Right. Any kid can end up with a friend like me with a dad like I had.

if you're not keeping your kid in sports or you're not there with your kid or you're not watching them all the time they're all running the streets they're out running around with their friends getting involved in who knows what um families out there now they don't have the money to send their kids to college it's California and all over the country it's just people do not have money it's expensive out there right both have to work my goal in five years is to be able to when kids getting out of school average youth or not, whoever, to get them into school to become electricians, fully paid for. So when they get out of school, they can go to school, learn the trade, work in the trade, and then become electricians and have a good, successful life because it's good money. Hey, sorry to interrupt the video. Just want to let you guys know that we're going to have an extra 15 or 20 minutes of content on my Patreon. It's $10 a month for about an hour's worth of extra content every single week back to the podcast funny because i mean before i know we already talked about this but i thought it was interesting is that like look 20 30 years ago to

be an electrician or a plumber or a framer a drywaller or a roofer any of those those uh trades is not a great is they're not they weren't 30 years ago that was not a money making career that was a i don't have a this is the only thing i can get kind of career and you weren't you weren't making a ton of money, but now these trades are making, they're basically making the same money you are as a lawyer. Like lawyers, the average lawyer, I think, makes like 100, the average lawyer in the nation, on average makes like 150,000 a year. People think, oh, if you're a lawyer rich, no, you're not. You're making about a buck 50 on average. I'm telling you right now, electricians, if he's been working for five or six years, he's probably making over 150. These

guys are making insane money it it it's not just like electricians plumbers and it's a trade that it's not like there's a ton of people going into it yeah no it's shrinking that's the problem that's the problem right now like fewer people are entering than are actually retiring yeah and it's not like we're building fewer properties no we're building more properties with less people yeah it's getting to be so that that that dollar value is getting that the value of that job an hourly pay on that job is because becoming insanely expensive. So those are great jobs now. Yeah.

Yeah. I make a lot of money on side jobs. Like on Saturdays and Sundays, I do side jobs. Like just Friday and Saturday, work Friday and Saturday. I make $1,000. Next week in $700. Maybe more.

And that's including my weekly pay. But again, like people like, how do you work? I have no choice. And plus, I like, work. If I'm not working, I don't feel, and I'm a hard worker. I got that from my dad, even though my dad was a drug addict, my dad was a hard worker. He was a brick mason, and I'm pretty sure I got that from him, but I work hard. And I love it. Like I'm hyperactive, I got energy. My knees ain't

what they used to be, so I'm kind of slowing down, but I love going to work, and then every day after work, I go to the gym, Monday to Friday, right after work, go home, get my stuff, go to the gym. And I love it, dude. I love it. I love it. I love working with electrical. It's exciting. It's dangerous, but it's got to be careful. You just got to know what to do and what not to do. And I love it.

A buddy from L.A. that we were a cellies. His brother got out a few years before him. And what does he do? He's not a welder. He's a welder inspector for commercial. So he, big ass book, studied the book, took the test, got hired on. he makes like $60 an hour. And that was like the, that was like, he makes like the starting pay was like 60.

And then so he, so he'd been doing it a couple of years, sent the book, sent a book to his brother in prison and said, you need to do this. This is a day. Because they're their own boss too. You're basically told, go here, check out this, write up the sheet that you did everything. And he's like, so I'm driving for 45 minutes to an hour. I get paid for that. I go to the job. I inspector the course of an hour or two.

I spend another hour writing everything up. I spend another hour driving back. He's like, I mean, he's like, this is a joke. Like, this is ridiculous that, but these kinds of jobs. It's one of those jobs that exist that pays well that nobody knows about. It's like the same thing for electrical inspectors. Same thing. Yeah.

Yeah. Their jobs out there. And the same thing, you got to really work hard to pass that test being an inspector. but. And then I have another friend named Chad Brewington, him of his wife, Summer. They started, they started clothing line. This is this shirt right here. It's a fucked. We used to be fucked. Now we're unfucked. And what they've been doing with their, he's a plumber. So he owns his own business. But what he's been doing before he started this is he was, he's been like donating money to like recovery road in Anaheim. If somebody needs to go to a halfway house for addiction and they don't.

have the money he pays so they can get in there so he decided to start this clothing line and what they do with the money from the clothing to selling the shirts they use that to help people get the programs or donate it to programs or whatever and that's www.w-w-w-n-fk-E-D dot com that's their website where you could buy these shirts they got a bunch of different kinds of shirts where and that money goes to help people get into programs, recovery road. It's great. A lot of people, I didn't say like 90% of the people that I used to run the streets with that are not, haven't passed away because a lot of people have passed on. They're out here doing good for the community. They're running recovery homes. They're sober. They're helping people. And that's also been a big help

for me too once I got out that this was all going on I mean we still have now it's fentanyl it's not like it was back in the day where in 2002 back then where it was now it's fentanyl and these kids are dying two people are dying every five minutes in the United States from fentanyl overdose it's crazy if I was alive or me and my friends were alive today doing what we were doing we don't we probably all be dead more of us now than are it's fentanyl's crazy crazy. And it's everywhere. It's in pills. They're putting it in everything. The math, the heroin, everything. But yeah, there's, I just hope, along with me trying to get my books in schools, trying to raise the money, which is a lot of money to send a kid through

electrical school. That's a lot of money. But also, I want to start giving money to kids for sports so they could be in sports it's very important i think for kids to be in sports so they could be doing something with their free time because sports take a lot of time but again that costs money where families don't have um i'm just trying to find my way and trying to give back after all the destruction and victims i created throughout my life and i just i hope that i could do some good now Um, yeah, I, I, I hear you. I, I definitely think the, the, the, the, the trade thing is huge because it's so, it's so lucrative now.

Yeah. And that's the thing, that's a big thing with kids, too, is that they, it's, what you want to be cool. You want to make much. So selling drugs is, it's quick money. It, it, you get to drive, you get to drive a nice car. You get to always have a little bit of money in your pocket. You get to be the cool guy. In the end, you go to prison.

Yeah. But at least, they don't see. that and those people are removed it's like gang you join you join a gang and you end up shot or whatever yeah but they don't see that they don't it's not going to happen to me caught up with the wrong people and you fall down the wrong path and or you become friends with a guy like me with the dad like I had and it's over uh and it can happen very easily I do that a lot of people do that a lot of kids do that because they just don't have an out if you gave them an out say, hey, here's the light at the end of the tunnel.

Most kids are in those neighborhoods where everybody they know that has any money is selling drugs or committing crime. There's just no good influences. Yeah, dude, like, hey, this is something you could do and you could make really good money doing it, then at least they have an out. Yeah. Well, it's like that a lot for like the blacks and the Mexicans, they grew up in these cultures, especially Mexicans and blacks where they're all families, aren't game.

things. It's like, I don't want to say that. It's just what they grew up with. It's a cultural thing. And it's hard to get out of. You got these, I work with some younger Mexican kids, and they're younger, and they're doing it, man. And they're from L.A. They're from wherever. But guaranteed, half their family grew up with games. And it's like that for the white kids, too, but not as bad. If they're in them areas, they're going to end up in, it could happen to anybody. But it's one of those things, man, where it's easy to fall through the cracks. And this country with this fentanyl, when all these gangs and everything that's going on is how to control.

Well, listen, let's, I mean, are you, you feel good about this, this interview? Are you good with everything? Yeah. Okay. if if anybody wants to find or donate or find any of the anything we've talked about like do you want me to put i can put there's any links or anything i can put in the description box yeah i'll do like a website yeah i'll give you all that i'll give you all that also too like if you want to support if you want to send donate to the the at risk youth website is what you do is you go to wwww dot star 2,023.org and you scroll down to good cause and then you'll see at-risk youth with my book there and you click on that and the at-risk youth part comes up and you could click to donate on there and you could donate click the button it's a website it's a dot org it's okay it's a it's a real nonprofit it's everything's there

and then i'll give you the information for chad brewington's website where you could buy these shirts that will also help people in recovery and my book of course or it's kind of the dark site is on Amazon portion of that money goes to at-risk youth and yeah yeah my Amazon too none of it goes to at at-risk youth I get all that money so but I hear you but you're a better person than me so I wouldn't say that I wouldn't say that we all we're just trying to make it and just trying to do our thing right I work hard I'm very grateful to have life I'm getting married next year. Yeah, dude.

And if it wasn't for God, dude, I wouldn't be here. I go to the week house. I would say, I met my wife in the halfway house. And when I, when you said like prison saved your life, like that's the same thing she says. Yeah. She's like, I'd be dead right now. Prison was like a gift. I'd be dead right now.

Yeah. No doubt. And she was, by the way, she was, it was like she had a conspiracy, like a 60 man conspiracy. She's selling everything. And she's like, oh, I'd have never made it. Never. Yeah. Yeah.

But yeah, that's great that you're getting married. Yeah. What's that? I said that's great that you're getting married, too. It's funny because that was one of the things that I had just decided that was done. Wasn't in the cards anymore. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?

Like, I'd gone to prison. I'm going to get out. I'm going to be in my 50s. Like that part of my, that's over. Don't even think about that. That's not even the daydream about getting married or having a girlfriend. right now, that's over. And then you get out and you're like, hey, things are working out. Yeah. Well, for me. Yeah, me and my girlfriend, man, we get along good. We both, we both been through

the same. She went through it just like I did. And she told herself, oh, she's never going to get in a relationship. She was single for like six years, but then she met me and she couldn't resist. Yeah. But that's good, though, because I'm saying, it's good to have that share. struggle. Yeah. Like we both, we both hit the halfway house at the same time. We both got jobs about the same time. So we both started rebuilding our lives at the same time. That's a great, that's a real bonding experience. Yeah. Having that a similar struggle. So it's good that your, that your girl has that in her, in her past. I'm not that I wish that on anybody, but I'm saying, but it's good because you have that shared experience. Hey, I really appreciate

you guys watching. Do me a favor. If you like the video, hit the subscribe button. share the video, hit the bell so you get notified, leave me a comment, all the stuff you're supposed to do. I really appreciate it. Also, I'm going to leave all of Chris's links in the description. We're going to leave the link to the website. We're going to leave the link so you can go buy his, the shirts for his buddy. If you want to donate, go to his website, you can donate. He just explained the whole thing. I really appreciate you guys watching. Also, do me a favor. Please consider joining my Patreon. We put special Patreon exclusive content on the Patreon channel. Please check it out. I appreciate you guys watching. Thank you very much.

See ya.