the local rapper Hey Stack from
Nashville. Jelly Roll opened up for him
a bunch of times when Jelly Roll wasn't
famous. I'm getting these artists for
dirt cheap and washing my money that
way. So my name shows up on MTV News.
Three men stabbed at Bubba Spar's
birthday party. So now the feds are
like, "Oh, he's in Smyrna, Tennessee. I
know I'm going to prison eventually. I
got to make as much money as possible."
Both of my parents were addicted to
drugs and my dad was actually selling
drugs and abusing alcohol to the
fullest. And so uh my dad would had been
on this alcohol binger and taken I think
it was quaudes you know and I think the
story is true when you see it in the
movie Wolf of Wall Street where they
said if you fight to go to sleep it
actually has the averse effect on it. So
he would had been up for days ran out of
drugs. My mother was had me and we were
staying at one of his friends house at
the time. But the story was she was over
there also shooting drugs herself. And
so my dad was trying to come over there
and get drugs too and they was running
him off. And so he done got into this
rage where he was going to he had got
his shotgun was running around my
grandmother's house. He was you know
saying he was going to basically come
over there and kill everybody in the
house including himself. And then my
grandmother's brother hid the shotgun
shells from him. And so now he's tearing
up my grandmother's house trying to find
these shotgun shells. But he's changed
his language from going over there. Now
he's just going to pull the gun on
himself basically. So my my
grandmother's brother, which was his
uncle, said, "Here, take your shells and
I hope you do a good job with it." You
know, and so gives him his shells back
cuz they're just over it because he's
been raging, tearing up the house for
for days. So give him his give him his
uh shotgun shells back. He basically
takes the gun, puts it in his mouth,
says he's going to do this, and then
said he thinks about me and that, you
know, he lost his father at 10. And he
said, you know, I'm doing this same
thing. I'll be doing the same thing to
to him that was done to me. So turns the
gun, puts it on the back of his leg,
shotgun on the back of his leg,
literally blows the back of his leg off
to get drugs. And so the story growing
up was a shark bit him. So he told all
of us for years that he had bit was
bitten by a shark. And so he had a cool
story to tell. And so that happened when
I was two. And then of course my mom's
not trying to hang around there anymore
because my dad is literally crazy.
Everybody knows he's crazy. But that's
the effect that's having on him. So we
jump from house to house till I was
about four. September of 81. I was four
years old. My mother ends up getting
pregnant by another man. And so she
brings me back to my father's house and
drops me off. Well, here's the problem.
She pulls up in front of the house. I
think I'm just going to see my dad. She
pulls up in front of the house. She's
like, "Going up there and knock on the
door. I'll be back in a little while."
So, she doesn't check to see if
anybody's at home. There's no cars in
the driveway. So, I go up there. She
pulls off. I knock on the door multiple
times. Try to go in the house. It's
locked. Sit down on the porch for a
minute. My mom's left. I'm sitting on
the porch. I'm kind of confused on what
to do. I'm only four. And so I remember
there was a lady up the road that we
used to go and see and she kept a lot of
kids up there. So I was like I'll just
she was about three doors up. I was like
I'll just walk up there and see if um
she's home. So as I start heading up
that way, someone pulls up. It was one
of my dad's friends and he's like, "Hey
man, what are you doing out here?" I was
like, "I don't know. My mom dropped me
off." She's like, "Where's your dad?" I
was like, "I don't know that either." So
this before cell phones.
>> So he's like, "Get in the car." Well,
that's the I say this the first time
that that the Lord had his hand on my
life before the thing happened with my
father at two. This was another time
where I knew the Lord had his hand on my
life because that could have been
anybody putting me in that car.
>> Yeah.
>> And I I didn't know enough at the time
to not get in a car. No one had taught
me that. You know, I'd been bounced from
house to house. So, I get in a car with
this man and he takes me to my dad. My
dad was actually cutting hair at a salon
at the time. So, he takes me there and
my dad's like, "Where's your mom?" I'm
like, "I don't know. she just dropped me
off and he was like, "Where'd she go?" I
was like, "I don't know." She said she's
coming back.
>> Well, my mom never comes back. And so
now I'm at my dad's house.
>> The good news was my grandmother owned
the home, but there was so much chaos
going on in home every day. She wouldn't
stay there. So her routine was she would
come home in the mornings, she would
cook breakfast, she would clean herself
up, do whatever, and then she would go
clean houses all day, and she wouldn't
come back to the house because the house
at the time was all my dad's friends.
They were selling drugs out of the
house. They were partying all day. There
would be we had this white brick wall
that went all the way around the house.
It's like a two-ft foundation wall or
retention wall. And they would just sit
out there all hours of the day starting
at like in the morning drinking and
getting I'm sure the neighbors love
that.
>> Oh, we were I mean we were we were in
the old East Nashville. If you go to
Nashville now, that's kind of the
gentrified area where the all the people
moving to, but that was back in the day
when it was like just redneck central.
But we were mixed. It was just poverty.
>> So she dropped me off in September of 81
and then there was a incident happened
in October. So there was another um
altercation in front of the house. So my
dad and him get into this big shootout
in front of the house and I'm on the
toilet as a four-year-old and one of his
friends has to snatch me off the toilet
and run upstairs with me until a bullet
stop flying. The reason I know this is
because she's all over my Facebook even
to this day. Always like, "I'm glad I
was there for you." And and it's sweet,
but you know what I mean? Like the
story's been told multiple times. And so
that happened when I was four.
>> And I just remember turning five and um
very angry, very confused. Um, I'm in
this home with someone who's raging all
the time. But I do tell people this. My
dad never
>> turned his anger toward his children
ever, right? He would he would get into
it with his women. He'd get into it with
his friends, but he never did that
toward us. And so that's one thing I
like to clarify when I tell my story. So
when I turned 5 years old, my mom
actually sent me a birthday card. It had
$20 in it, and she goes, "I'll see you
in two weeks." I'm like, "Cool." Well,
my dad already knows like you can't
trust this woman. So he's like, "Hey, I
wouldn't get too excited if she don't
come in two weeks, but you know, I'm
like any 5-year-old
said she'd come. She's coming."
>> So I'm So I'm literally an anticipation
for my mom to come. And so the next year
comes by and I it's my birthday again.
>> And I looked at my dad and I said, "It
sure has been a long two weeks." From
there, it just became a joke
>> in our life, you know, it became a joke,
you know. And so when I was six, my dad
ended up bringing um a woman home and
marrying her and then end up having two
little brothers through her,
>> right?
>> So my dad ends up having three sons. So
they're in this um addictive, tumultuous
relationship as well. So I can remember
this. I tell people this story. You
remember the cartoon Tom and Jerry?
>> Yeah. So, I can remember nights where my
dad would go out and be drunk all night
and then we would be there at the house
and um this probably happened for like
three or four years nightly. My dad
would come home, she would be like,
"Where you been? What you been doing?"
So, and so I just can remember being
woke up and having my little brothers
there that was small cuz they were like
17 months apart. But what would happen
was I would we had a you come in our
living room, we had a bedroom, then a
bathroom, and then another bedroom. So
it just made like a big circle right
into the living room. So I would wake up
to them screaming and he would be
chasing her around the little circle and
then eventually she'd be chasing him and
so I don't know how the she'd have
something in her hand chasing him back.
So this went on you know many many
nights and I would remember like
sometimes they would even take us to the
next door neighbor's house just to get
us out of the chaos. So that was normal
what we grew up thinking was normal as a
child you know and so eventually um my
dad was selling you know selling uh bud
out of the house and so what happened
was he got tricked when I was like 8
years old the he had sold sold some
stuff out of the house so the narcotics
people call him on the telephone they're
like hey man um we just got your boy up
the road and you need to get out of that
house cuz they're coming to you next.
Okay. Wait, the the narcotics people?
What?
>> Well, I don't think I don't think he
knew it was a narcotics people at the
first. Someone called him on the
telephone, okay, and said, "Hey, it was
actually narcotics detectives, but he
didn't know." He said, "Hey, I'm a
friend of so and so's. He just got
busted leaving your house. They're on
the way to your house right now."
>> So, my dad gathers up all the the drugs
in the house and puts it in this old
school orange cooler back in the day.
They used to sell the little bottle
drinks out of. So he gets his cooler,
gets everything in it, all his
parapherna, everything. He runs out the
back door, jumps the fence. They're in
the alley waiting on him. The narcotics
are in the alley waiting on him. They
draw down on him. So they didn't have a
warrant to come in that time. So they
laughed at him when he got to the uh
alley. They brilliant.
>> Yeah, it is. They told him, they said,
"You actually fail for the uh oldest
trick in the book." So my dad's fighting
that uh case and he ends up having to
like a year later, he ends up having to
do like six months in jail. So, in the
process of him doing that 6 months in
the jail,
I'm living there with my grandmother's
house. I'm living there with his wife,
my two little brothers.
>> How old are you?
>> I'm eight or I'm nine at this time.
>> Okay.
>> So, what's interesting is um I knew she
was up to no good, but I also knew I had
to live with her. So, like even though
my dad was me and my dad was tight, I'm
like I'm not in a hurry to tell him
what's going on. I'm gonna let him get
home first because I got to live here
with her. So they end up, my little
brothers end up going to visit. And so
when they go to visit, um, my dad's
cutting hair in the county jail. So
he's, that's back when you could hold
cash in the county jail way back in the
80s. Well, he gives my he gives my
little brother like a dollar. My little
brother goes, "That guy working on my
mom's car gave me more than that."
So he dry snitches him,
>> right?
>> Dry snitches his mama straight out,
right? And so my dad calls me on the
phone. He's like, "Who's who's this and
this and this?" And I was like, "Oh,
well, all I know is,
>> you know, well, how long has she been?"
I said, "He's worked on her car. She's
went somewhere with him a few times." He
was like, "Why do you tell me?" I was
like, "I got to live here with her." So,
>> right,
>> they fall out. He gets before he gets
home, she ends up leaving with my two
little brothers. And so, now I'm in this
home with just him. And then we had, you
know, my grandmother's house was one of
them homes where anytime somebody didn't
have a place to stay, they stayed there.
So, we always had a house full of people
living there. And so um then it
transitioned because he didn't have no
one to fight with. So he would come home
at night and this happened for like four
or five years. My dad would so the party
would happen during the day and then by
my dad would go take a bath or
already knew at that time he's getting
ready to go out. So he what he would do
he'd go take a bath and then he would
leave for the bar every night and they
had like different bars they frequent
in. So he would leave for the bar and
I'd just be in that home by myself at 8
years old. You know, I was probably nine
or 10 by then. Sorry, I was probably 10.
>> But I was old enough where he could just
call me on the phone and make sure I was
good, you know, and so he would leave
every night, but what was interesting
was
>> I kind of got forced into the father
role because he would leave
>> and he would go get drunk all night and
he'd come in like in the morning
and sometimes couldn't get his keys in
the door. So I slept in the living room
on the couch anyway. So I'd go and let
him in the house. And so my dad was one
of them if it wasn't he was either an
angry drunk or he was a depressed drunk.
So he would be so drunk he'd come in,
he'd be like, "Nobody loves me. Wake up.
Come in here." So I'd basically go in
the kitchen with him, help him help him
find food. He would eat food. Eventually
I would find his keys and hide them from
him because I didn't want my dad to go
back out and kill somebody in that
vehicle or himself.
>> So he'd get done eating. A lot of times
he would go looking for his keys. I got
to go somewhere. And I was like, "Help
me find my keys." So I would run around
the house and act like I'm looking for
these keys. And the whole time I got
them hid. And so he would eventually
pass out. I'd sit at the foot of the bed
until he passed out. He would pass out.
I'd go to bed. My grandmother wake me up
to go to school. I'd give her the keys.
And that was kind of like a ongoing
thing in my home. And so the next thing
that happened was I was probably 10
years old. My dad does those six months
and comes home. When he comes home from
doing those six months, like a month
later, he's passed out in a car with a
bunch of people and they go to they go
to burglarize a Pizza Hut. So they go to
rob a safe at a Pizza Hut. So my dad's
passed out in the car, but he gets
caught with him, right?
>> And so now he's facing this charge and
so he's fighting this in court now and
he's on probation for this other thing.
>> And so it was probably 6 months after
that. Um I was outside um one evening
and the the rule back then, as you guys
know, not like today, you come in when
the street lights come on. Yeah. So I'm
standing out front of my house. I got a
bunch of friends with me and we're just
all hanging out and um I hear my dad
come to the door. He's like, "Hey, you
need to come on in. It's getting dark
outside." So I told them, "Bye." I come
in the house. I probably went in the
house 30 minutes. I hear somebody knock
on the door. Kind of a beat more of
beating, but it wasn't like It wasn't
like beating it down. It was just kind
of a hard knock.
>> So what I thought Yeah. Yeah. So what I
thought though was one of my friends got
locked out of their house and couldn't
get in. So they were coming back to
stay. So I don't even think to look
through the We had like a little We had
like a little four pane four plane four
pane glass window. It had a little
curtain over it. So I didn't think to
pull it back. So I just unlocked the
door and open it and then shotgun. They
lay me on the ground and it's he had
been selling out of the house again. So
they put me on the ground.
>> Is this a robbery or is this the police?
>> It's the police.
>> Okay.
>> So the police are coming in. So they so
they basically tell me to get on the
ground. They cuff me. They set me on the
couch. They ram sack our house. They
found like four ounces of bud. And so
now he's fighting all three of these
charges.
>> Jesus. Yeah. I I remember real quick. Uh
>> we used to
>> sometimes we'd hide my dad's keys.
Sometimes we would go and and uh take
the starter crap off.
>> You know, it was back, you know, like
all the uh you know, the the spark plug
>> spark plugs. But you could there was
just two little switches on the you just
pull the little thing off and you could
pull it up. If you just pop it at all,
it doesn't start. It just goes
So my mom cuz she he would yell at her
for stealing for hiding his keys. Where
are my keys? And she'd go, "George, your
keys right here."
>> Yeah.
>> You shouldn't be driving. And he'd get
up and I'm leaving. She goes, "You
shouldn't be driving. What? Please don't
leave knowing.
>> No, please don't leave. No. No." And he
get he's out in the
car. Sorry. He has no idea.
>> Next morning he's like, "Did you get
anybody to come and look at that car?"
and said, "Yeah, yeah, I did. I did.
They did. They came and they looked at
it. It should be starting now."
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, that's crazy.
>> That's crazy. Yeah. But when they're in
that state, they don't know.
>> They have no idea. They don't know.
>> Clueless.
>> Yeah. And so after the burglary thing,
um December of uh I was 10. So it would
have been No, I was 12. So it would have
been December of 89. So the burglary
thing happens. He he gets out on bond
for that. And then I'm laying there
asleep and somebody taps me in the
middle of the night. It's like in
the morning. They're like tapping me and
they're like, "Hey, get up." I was like,
"Why are you waking me up?" They're
like, "It's about your dad." I'm like,
"What about my dad?" And they're like,
"You need to wake up and hear this." So
now I know it's something serious. So I
raise up and they're like, "Your dad's
been shot." I'm like, "How?" You know,
they're like, "So my dad had went into
the projects to buy drugs and
>> it was a it was a
>> Who is this?
>> It's a family member. I think it was
maybe his sister. I told you there's
always random people standing there.
>> So there was a family member there with
me, but
>> um they tell me he's been shot. So what
happened was he went into the projects
to buy drugs and he gave the he gave the
young guy his money and the dude pulled
the pistol on him. So my dad starts
backing up like, "Oh man, it ain't got
to be like that." And and the dude aims
at his chest and he my dad says he just
when the gun fires it just he said I
don't know what it was but it drops. And
so he gets shot in the stomach. And so
he stays in a hospital for multiple
weeks for that. And um you know, I just
remember this because there were several
Christmases where I would wake up and
there'd be nothing under the tree cuz my
dad, he could do just as he could do the
best he could do just to get a little
bit of food in the house. You know, he
cut hair, he would do odds and ends
things, but he was so addicted to
everything that he never um had anything
extra. So I just remember Christmas
being one of those things where I never
looked forward to the holiday. So when
he's shot, I'm thinking, I'm glad my
dad's okay. But he comes home like two
days before Christmas. And I can just
remember this vividly, like, well, here
comes another Christmas where there's
going to be nothing under the tree,
>> which I didn't have high expectations at
that point anyway, you know? So, I'm 12
years old, and I'm mad at the world, you
know? I'm I'm mad at I'm mad at what I
think who God is at the time, what I'm
being taught. I'm mad at him. I'm mad at
my mom. I'm mad at my dad. I'm mad at
everybody for having me in this
environment. And I'm really like, why?
Why me? You know what I mean? So, the
book I'm actually writing now is called
God Why. It was all the questions I had
growing up
>> that I didn't get the answers to until
later in life because I had to learn
some things about life to realize what I
went through was not my fault, you know.
And so, from 12 to 15, nothing really
excited happened except for there was
one incident which was absolutely
bizarre. So there was a um female that
used to come over there all the time and
you know if she's hanging out with those
type of dudes, you can already tell what
she was, right? And so um I just
remember them um trying to get her
trying to pay her to sleep with me and I
something inside me just wouldn't do it
right.
>> Even though
>> I was like going through puberty and I
was like this would be great there was
just this voice inside of me that would
tell me don't do it, don't do it. And so
it was I was more nervous than I was
excited. And so she would come on to me,
she'd rub my leg, all that stuff. You
know, I'm 12 years old, going through
puberty. So I don't do it. And then come
to find out, like a year later, she dies
of HIV. So I was like, there's another
time where
>> it could have went real bad and
something inside of me was like, don't
do it, you know. So then I started
learning how to
>> listen to my conscience and my voice
inside, you know. I had by this time I
had um I had uh gotten saved, you know.
um what I knew to be saved. I didn't
know what it really was. I just went
because everybody said this is what
you're supposed to do. But I do know
that when I asked the Lord into my heart
at the time that the Holy Spirit was
living inside of me because there was
things that was happening in my life
that I didn't understand. But there was
always this voice speaking to me kind of
pulling me away from the danger, you
know, sort of to speak, if that makes
sense.
>> No, I I think it's always there. I just
think people ignore it.
>> Choose not to listen.
>> They just ignore it.
>> Yeah. I I believe now that I know who
God really is and I know the nature of
God. It's like anybody that has
children, I tell him he's a loving
father that always wants to speak to his
children, but I think a lot of times
we're too busy or we just choose to do
it our own way and we don't want to
listen.
>> Yeah.
>> You know,
>> no, I can I I I believe that.
>> Yeah. Uh, I think it's uh I think it's
funny because um you know people mock it
so much until until you really start to
listen and you start and things start
going right.
>> Yep.
>> And you're like
>> well test it out. That's what I'm
saying. Test prayer out
>> like how is this what is happening right
now? I mean, it's not like it's not like
it's not like it's dropping, you know,
uh, you know, $100 bills from from the
sky, but suddenly when you start doing
everything right and kind of pay
attention
um, and listening,
things just subtly
subtly start to kind of go your way. A
little here, a little there, and before
you know it, lots of things are going
your way. And then if you look back, you
kind of kind of go, the only thing that
really changed is
>> me.
>> Yeah. me doing the
>> and my thoughts about it.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> My intent. Yep. And so um
>> so then what happens after that is um
1992 I'm 15. My dad is just you know
been who he's been for so many years.
And I could just remember praying one
time and asking the Lord I'm like why
can't you make my dad normal like
everybody else? And so only thing I
thought normal was at the time was my
next door neighbors. Their father would
go to work all day. He'd come home, he'd
have dinner with the family, he might
kick his foot up and have a beer or
watch TV with the children and then, you
know, it was just a very peaceful life.
Well, all I ever known was chaos. So, I
would pray this prayer every single
night. Only prayer I knew to pray, make
my dad normal like the rest of the
fathers that I know. So, that's the only
thing I knew to pray. Well, in 1992, I
was 15 years old. U my dad actually goes
into the hospital. He has a his he's
wakes up holding his stomach and it's
hurting so bad he can't move so he's
just holding a pillow. So one of his
friends takes him to the hospital and
they end up admitting him. And so um
they tell me your dad's been admitted.
Come to find out he had pancreatitis
which basically he had basically tried
to drink himself to death. He had drank
so much alcohol that his pancreas had
swoll up so bad that they didn't know if
he was going to live or not. So the next
day it's very interesting. And I tell
people this, it's interesting how many,
and you can attest to this because of
your background, too.
>> It's interesting how many friends you
have when you're doing wrong,
>> but then how many show up when things
actually go wrong for you.
>> So, my dad's in the hospital admitted in
a hospital. So, nobody shows up
>> to party at the house the next day,
right? So, I come home from school, I'm
trying to get a ride to the hospital to
see my father. Nobody's there.
>> So, I just remember walking.
>> All of his friends.
>> All of his friends.
>> All the good friends.
>> All the good friends. They weren't
friends no more. There was only one. and
the one that took him to the hospital
was the only one that came and checked
up on me consistently. So, um, I end up
walking to the hospital and this was the
probably the first time I'd ever
experienced anything like this. So, I
walked to the hospitals like 2 miles
away. So, if people don't understand,
when you go through withdrawals from
alcohol, they have to strap you down.
So, they got my dad strapped down by his
ankles and by his hands and he's in a
coma. He's actually went into a coma cuz
he's suffering from withdrawals. So, I
show up at the hospital. So you can die
from from withdrawals from alcohol.
>> Oh yeah. Yeah. So they're having to give
him all kind of medication. I think what
they actually did is put him into a coma
so that they his body would accept what
they was putting in it to to save his
life.
>> Mhm.
>> So as I'm walking in there, the nurse is
like, "Honey, you don't want to see
this." And I'm like, "It's my father. I
want to see it." So I walk in this
hospital at 15 years old and my dad's
strapped down to this bed and I go up to
him and I put my hand on him like, "Dad,
dad." and he's doing this, but his eyes
are closed. But this is no exaggeration.
I remember him opening his eyes while he
was still in a coma, but he looks at me,
but he's looking through me.
>> He's not looking. He's looking at me,
but he's looking through me. And I'm
looking around. I'm like, who is he
looking at? And then he just starts
this.
>> And so, it's probably the first time I
ever experienced being around someone
who had demons inside of them from all
the things they had put in their body
and went through. But I didn't
understand it at the time. But this went
on for like my dad stayed in this coma
for like 21 days.
>> Holy [ __ ]
>> I actually went to the hospital every
single day.
>> Did you Did you ever see the movie um
The Good Thief with uh Nick Noly?
>> I don't remember.
>> [ __ ] such a good movie.
>> I mentioned it before like probably a
year or two, couple years ago. It's so
good. And he is
um he's addicted to H.
>> Okay. Uh, he lives in
Does he live in Italy or something? He
lives in Italy. He's an American. Lives
in Italy, addicted to age. He's a con
man. And, uh, there's a big con that he
has to do because he's broke.
>> Absolutely.
>> Um, he's broke. He lives in this house
that he's going to I think he's going to
lose the house. I think it's, you know,
he's just he's an old man. He's in his
he's in his late 60s, probably. Yeah,
probably late 60s. And he looks like,
you know, Nick Noly. just just just
shuffled like just beat to hell.
>> Yeah, life's been hard. hanging out with
all these young kids and he uh so he has
to get sober and he he gets the two kids
that are kind of one of them stays with
him kind of like a protege and then this
young girl who's working as like a
escort or something and he hands he
handcuffs himself to the bed
and gives her the key and he said tells
her like I'm going to beg you
>> for this for this key in a in a day or
two. Like and of course he's like I'm
going to go through withdrawals. I'm not
going to know who you are. Like he
explains like it's this is going to be
bad, but this is how I'm going to get
sober.
>> I got to get sober so Right. So that I
can commit this scam, which is
brilliant.
>> Right. Right.
>> This is one of my favorite movies. Uh
this is probably this is in my top 20
for sure. This is amazing movie.
>> I'll definitely check it out now.
>> Oh my god. He he's also got a um there's
a
there is a uh the detective that's
follow that's busted him multiple times.
They're kind of like friends and he's
following him. He stopped. He's like,
"Hey." He's like, "Hey." He's, you know,
Italian. And they talk. He's like, "How
you doing?" He's like, "Well, I know
you're I know you're putting something
together." He's like, "That's not true."
You know,
>> right?
>> No.
>> Yeah. But he says to him, I remember he
tells him it's called the good thief
because he says uh he you know the story
of the good thief and he's like uh
I don't know what he says. I don't know
if the detective says yes, but he said
he says um that you know there's two
thiefs on the cross beside Jesus.
>> And he said one thief is mocking him. Y
>> and the other one says you know you fool
you know what are you doing?
>> Y um
>> remember me today.
>> Yeah. He said and he said but he's like
you know this is the son of God like
don't mock him. What are you doing? And
he says, you know, remember me. Um
and uh and he says,"What are you trying
to say?" He said, "I'm saying," he was
he, "Are you you're trying to say you're
the good thief?" He goes, "I'm not the
good thief." But I'm trying.
>> Amen.
>> It was low. It's such a good movie. I
mean, listen, goosebump when he says it
cuz it's such a good movie. And listen,
>> he begs this broad to get to give him
that key. I mean, he is it's probably
one of his best performances,
>> okay? ever. Um, and and yeah, it's it's
a great movie. And uh uh he begs her,
bro, he goes through hell trying to get
sober, but then he gets he gets sober
and and he pulls off the con and it's
just this phenomenal amazing uh movie.
>> I love that the movie is actually based
off of what you told me about the two
people on the cross because I think
that's powerful because this is what I
always tell people like you got
denominations and I won't like I I I
choose not to. But you'll have some that
say if you don't get baptized in water,
>> yeah,
>> then you're not saved. Well, I always
tell him, "What about the thief on the
cross?" Jesus told him, he said, "Today
you will be with me in paradise."
Because he called on to the son of the
savior, the son of man, right? Son of
God. He called on to Jesus as a savior
and told him he was this is a savior.
Like you said, he wasn't mocking him.
Tells him remember me to your father,
right?
>> He says, "Today you'll be with me in
paradise." Right? So he didn't get
baptized in water.
>> Yeah.
>> But yet he was still saved.
>> So it just little things like that I
find interesting.
>> There's a Tik Tok that I love about and
it's um it's a a preacher or something
and he's talking about the good thief.
>> Yeah.
>> And he's I guess he's in front of a
congregation or something. He's talking
and I I've actually sent it to a bunch
of people and it's the same thing. He
he's like the guy uh he's like, "Can you
imagine what what it must have been like
for the good thief when he gets up in
front of the pearly gates and speaks to,
you know, uh St. Peter and he says, you
know, or the the head angel or whatever
and he's like, you know, he's like,
"What what are you doing here?" He's
like, "I I don't know." And he's like,
"Okay, well, are you baptized in this?"
And he goes through the whole thing and
he says, "No, no. Are you this? are you
uh do you understand the the concept of
you know whatever he goes through all
these different
>> the uh theological yeah discussions and
things that you need to be saved and go
come to heaven and say he's like no no
>> he goes what are you doing here and he
goes the man in the middle cross said I
could be here
>> amen that's
>> and he goes that's all you need
>> that's it
>> that's a great it's a great it's a great
um I'll send it to you cuz I I'll send
it to you because I know it comes up all
the time it'll come up on my feed
immediately because I I I probably
watched that thing
>> 50 times in the last year.
>> You ever heard the joke about Lazarus?
>> Mm.
>> This is great. So, um it's it's one of
them comedians that tells a story. His
name's um Chris something. I don't know.
He's super funny though. But he says uh
he says, "Can you imagine what it was
like for Lazarus?" He said, "When Jesus
raised him from the dead,
>> what his wife, his the wife, what?"
Yeah, go ahead.
>> So, he says he says, "So, here's
Lazarus. He's up in heaven." He said day
one, he's just now unpacking his stuff.
It's like day two, he's starting to meet
everybody. He's like, "Yeah, I'm, you
know, I'm getting to know everybody." He
said, "Day three, he's he's on the
court. He's playing ball. He's like
having the time of his life. I made it.
I made it." He says, "Day four."
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Angel shows up. Hey, man. I got to speak
to you for a minute. Yeah. He said he
said he comes over there and he's like,
"What's up?" He was like,
>> "Man, we normally don't do this, but uh
we're going to send you back."
>> And he says, can you imagine what
Lazarus like, "I don't want to go back."
Right.
>> And then he says when Lazarus has to go
back, he said that as he's leaving, the
angel says, "Hey, well, we we'll leave
the light on for you."
>> Right.
>> I just thought it was a great uh comedy
skit that someone did about that.
>> Well, there's one that What is it? Is it
uh oh gosh, is it Saul? I forget where
he takes his children from him. He gives
them u gives them he makes him he gives
them a disease. He kills off his flock.
He He
>> Job.
>> Job. Thank you. Job. But he's just
destro everything. He goes, "But he
never kills his wife." He goes, "She
must have been a piece of work if they
if you're putting him through hell."
Like they're like, "Oh, should we take
his wife?" No, no,
>> no. She's already putting him through
it.
>> Leave his wife.
>> This is part of it.
>> Yeah, that's good.
>> So anyway, uh yeah. So, sorry. Go ahead.
>> No, you're good. So, back to 15. I go
and visit my dad every day at the
hospital.
>> And so, eventually he comes out of the
coma on December 22nd. Um they let him
come home, I think like the day before
Christmas. Well, the doctor literally
tells him, he goes, "Hey, man, look." He
said, "Um, you almost drank yourself to
death." He was like, "I don't know how
you're alive. It's a miracle you're
alive." He was like, "But I will tell
you." Cuz in the process of him being in
a coma, he actually did die a couple of
times and they resuscitated him. So, the
Lord brought my dad back. And so, the c
the doctor looked at him right in his
face when he woke up and said, "Hey, you
died a couple of times on the table." He
was like, "So, um, you can't drink
alcohol no more or you're not going to
make it." And so my dad told me the
dream he was in the whole time. He said,
he said everybody he loved was on one
side of the plane. He said and him and
all of his friends was on the other side
of the plane. He said, "And he said, I
it didn't make sense to me at the time."
He said, "But when I woke up, it made
all the sense." He said, "Everybody on
this side of the plane was going one
direction. Everybody on this pl side of
the plane was going the other
direction." So it was kind of one of
them moments for my dad where he had
questioned if God was even real. Cuz I
remember him having a conversation one
time saying, "There's no way you could
be real. I wouldn't feel like I feel I
wouldn't be depressed. I wouldn't be
doing all these things. But what people
don't realize is God gave us a free will
from the beginning. And so it's not
God's fault if you choose to continue to
sow death into your life when death
comes. It's not his fault, you know. And
so my dad got that realization in that
moment. And so my dad comes home from
the hospital. They tell him he can't
drink alcohol no more. So he he gets he
has a friend that um takes him to um a
program called Narcotics Anonymous. So
he starts going to these meetings and
he's not drinking at the time. And so
this was he probably went to the meeting
the first time December 26th after
Christmas and all the way up until April
he's um going to these meetings with a
friend of his. Well, there was an
incident that happened right before
April. Um and I'll get to why April's
important. So, he's going to these
meetings. He's not drinking. He's still
he's still smoking a little butt at the
time because he's thinking no big deal.
>> And then the friend that he had a friend
that he used to um every time he'd get
arrested with something, they would ask
about this friend. You just give us him
and we'll let you go. You give us him
and we'll let you go. My dad never would
tell on this guy. So, this guy shows up
and picks my dad up. Well, also what I
knew with this guy is this was also the
guy my dad would shoot drugs with. So
when the guy shows up, I'm I'm I'm
angry. I'm mad. I'm like, "What are you
even doing with this guy?" "No, no, no.
It's not like that." So he leaves with
this guy all day, he comes back. Well, I
look at him in his face cuz I had been
around it enough to know what it looked
like. So when he comes back through that
door, I look him right in his face. He's
like, "I ain't done nothing. I ain't
done nothing." And I could tell he
hadn't done nothing at the time.
>> So the whole time he's with this guy,
he's telling this guy about this program
he's got, how he's changing his life.
Well, the story goes the guy actually
went and coped a bunch of pills at the
time and there was back then it was
called Delatas. And so they would shoot
these up. So he came back, he actually
gave my dad one. The whole time my dad's
telling him the story about Narcotics
Anonymous, the dude's like, "Yeah, yeah,
yeah, I hear you." And gives him a pill.
So my dad doesn't, my dad puts it in his
shirt pocket, but doesn't do it at the
time. So he comes home instead of
throwing it away. I look him in his face
and I'm like, he's not high. I know that
because I've been around it my whole
life. So my dad runs to the bathroom. So
I'm like, I know what he's up to. And
mind you, I'm on this thing that my dad
is getting his life together. I'm
believing this myself, right?
>> He's convincing everybody. He's
convincing me. And so this is probably
around March of that year of 93. He goes
into the bathroom and I go stand right
by the door cuz I know what's fixing to
happen. So, I stand right by the door.
He's probably in there 15, 20 minutes. I
know he's not using the bathroom. He
comes, he pops that door open and I'm
standing there and I look him right in
his face and I could see his eyes. I
could tell he went in there. I could
look at his arm and tell what he had
just done. And I looked him straight in
his face and I said, "Man, you make me
sick." And he looked at me and he said,
he said he went from here to here. He
said, "I was high." He said, "As soon as
you said that," he said, "I was high no
more." And he said, he said, he he
looked back at me. He said, "I know,
son. going to make me sick, too. What's
beautiful is a month later, he goes into
Narcotics Anonymous. He goes on a
retreat with him and he stands up and he
gets honest finally. And he tells him,
"Hey, haven't drank since December 1st,
but I did do this, this, and this." He
was like, "So, I got to give these key
tags back because I'm not I don't really
have this much clean time." And picks up
a brand new clean chip then. And so, my
dad's been clean off drugs and alcohol
since April 7th of 1993.
So that's the beautiful part of the
story. But now my dad's trying to be a
father and I'm in my teenage years.
>> So you can already see how this is going
to go. It's kind of a friction thing
now. My dad's trying to finally be a
father, but I've basically been running
with whoever I want for for years, doing
whatever I want, you know, trying to be
the dad in a situation. Now he's trying
to be the dad. And so I found myself
running with some people. And when I was
16, I got my car. And so I'm running
with a group of guys and I can just
remember my dad telling me like that's
not the crowd you should be running
with. But I'm like who are you to tell
me like I watched you do this my whole
life. Now you want to tell me how to do
this. So I was already kind of shaped in
the direction I was going. So when I was
16, we had an incident where I was
running with these specific guys and we
went over to this girl's house to pick.
She just told us to come by. So me and
two other my friends go over there and
her we were 16. Her brother was 19. So
he comes to the door is like get off my
steps. Y'all need to leave. Y'all ain't
talking to my sister. We're like she
told us to come over here. So he kind of
gets aggressive with us. Comes out on
the porch starts a fight with us. So we
end up um jumping on him. The three of
us jump on him and then this the reason
I'm telling the story because it leads
to something very chaotic past that. So
we um we hurt him pretty bad and then um
he goes to the hospital. So about
probably 3 weeks later, I'm working as
I'm working at Kroger's and I'm like a
courtesy clerk. So I'm going back and
forth to people's cars bringing their
groceries. Well, some of his friends
show up in the parking lot and one of
them walks up and they're like, "Um,
hey, we're going to be across the street
waiting on you when you get off work."
And it was probably five or six of them.
I'm like, "Okay." So by this time I'm in
Balden, you know what I mean? And I'm
like, I I I'm not scared. So, I go in
the I go in there and I I make a phone
call and I call my group of friends and
like three of them show up. Well, here's
the problem for them. There's only four
of us. But one of the guys that we ran
with, he was like at 16, he was like
6'2, 250. He was a junior Olympics uh
boxer that um mixed guy. So, like I
watched him I watched him go to the dam.
We used to go to the dam on Saturdays.
They would always be fighting at the
lake and I watch him knock out grown
men. So I knew I was good with him in my
corner, right? So we end up I end up
getting off work. They show up. We go
across the street six on four. We
basically handle our business and we
think it's done, right? So I'm not
thinking nothing else about it. Um, in
the in between the next incident that
happens, um, I'm actually at the mall
one time and we're leaving the mall and,
um, I got a group of friends with me and
the mall's closed. They're like, "Y'all
got to go. You got to go." So, I had got
this little um, I don't know if you
remember, they're like the hollow rope
chains you could get. So, they bought me
one of them big old round ones. That's
what I wanted for Christmas. I got a I
got one of them big fat ones. They It
was hollow though, wasn't it?
>> Yeah.
>> So, it wasn't really a lot of gold at
all. Right. So, I got this around my
neck. I think I'm cool. I'm leaving the
mall and um the mall's closing and as
soon as I I'm walking backwards out of
the mall. Dude puts a gun to my head.
He's like, "Take that chain off." And
I'm like, "Whoa." So, you know, take the
chain off, hand it to him.
>> Well, when he does that, my friend runs
inside cuz you know it's a lot of mall
police and security.
>> Hey, hey, my my friend's being robbed.
My friend's being robbed. So,
>> the dude takes my necklace and takes off
running across an empty parking lot cuz
again, the mall was closing. It was
pretty empty. So they get on the radio
and call it. He tries to go up this
embankment and the police swarm him
everywhere. And so basically I get my
chain back. They never brought me to
court on it. Um and they end up giving
this guy like nine years for armed
robbery.
>> Oh [ __ ]
>> Yeah. He was from California. So he had
a he had a rap sheet for this. What's
interesting is my dad again,
>> you don't need to be hanging out with
those guys. It's trouble. Like those
aren't the guys you should be hanging
out with. Look what's happened to you
already. You've been in two of these
fights. You get robbed. Well, I couldn't
put it together like this robbery had
nothing to do with them was my argument.
So, fast forward probably a couple
months later, it's summertime. Well,
that was after Christmas. So, going into
the summer, I remember we're hanging out
with these females and one of my buddies
gets a phone call. He's like, "Hey, the
guy's name I told you, the mix guy that
could fight, his name was Taj." So,
they're like, "Hey, Taj."
I'm like, "Whoa, what happened?" and
they're like, "Hey, he's at the
hospital. We got to go." So, we leave
and we run to the hospital and he got
shot in his wrist here fighting fighting
with some guys. Well, come to find out,
the same guys that we had got into it
with it previously, there were some
friends of theirs there. So, he shows up
at this house with some people that he
knew and he thinks they're all cool and
then they all get into a big
altercation. Well, they know they can't
whoop him. So, one guy pulls out the gun
and as he's swinging at the guy, the guy
shoots him in the wrist. Well, we pick
him up from the hospital. He gets
discharged the same day. They're like,
"Hey, we need to go back over there and
pick up so and so." So, there was a
female over there that got stranded
there. This is before Uber lift or
nothing. We like, "We got to go pick her
up." So, I'm not thinking the people are
still over there. We think we're just
going to pick her up from a house. So, I
got this twodoor um two-door Beretta.
It's a silver Beretta. It's a car
twodoor. I got his big self in the back
and me and a friend of mine over here.
So, I let him I pull the seat up. We're
in the alley. I pull the seat up. I let
him out. As soon as he steps out that
car, dude pulls a rifle. He's like,
"Hey, get back in the car or I'm gonna
kill you this time." That's what he
tells my friend. I'm like, "Bro, just
get in the car. We can get her later.
Just get in the car." So, I lift my seat
back up. As he's as he's getting in the
taking his time to get in the car, the
guy starts shooting. So, so my buddy
dives into the back and I punch the gas
and we take off. Well, as I'm taking off
down the alley, two bullet holes come
into the car. Well, what's interesting
is I'm driving like this and you can see
the scar there. So, the bullet comes
through and it just burns my arm.
Fortunately, hits the dash. A piece of
it breaks off the dash and hits my
friend and lip. So, he's like, "I've
been shot. I've been shot." So, we don't
know. He's bleeding over there. And so,
we get about, you know, half a mile down
the road. We get out of this alley. We
we all get out of the car and evaluate
ourselves to see if we've truly been
shot. So, all it was was I got grazed.
He got hit by the the part of the um the
the dash that got hit with the bullet
and nobody was shot. But it was
interesting because now it's like here's
another situation where 6 in further
>> I get shot right here in the rib cage
where my heart is. Right. And so this is
another opportunity where it could have
ended my life and and it was just me
being hard-headed and not listening to
my dad because I had already said I want
to do what I want to do, right? And so
that happens. My dad takes my car away
from me and I'm still hanging out with
these people for a little while. Well, I
then I come to this realization like
everything that is happening with these
people, it hadn't turned out good. So,
end up not really going back over there.
I get my car back. I'm not going back
over into that specific neighborhood
where we used to all run together.
Hanging out with a different group of
friends. And so, um, I'm getting ready
to graduate high school. I'm 17 and I'm
probably
a month away from high school. And my
friend gets into it with this guy before
school over a girl. And I'm like, "Y'all
can y'all can fight it out oneonone."
So, it's just three of us back there.
It's me, my friend, and and the guy
that's trying to fight with him. So,
they they get into a fight and my friend
had um something going on with his
shoulder where every time he would it
always happened to him. Every time he
had played basketball or every time he'd
throw a punch, his shoulder would come
out of place. So him and this guy get
into a fight. I could see his shoulder
come out of place. The guy gets on top
of him. I'm telling the guy, "He's done.
He's done." The guy's on top of him
trying to beat on him. Like, "Get off of
him." Basically, he won't get off of
him. So, I hit the guy off of him and
then they bring me into the office and
they're going to expel me from school.
Now, mind you, like I've worked hard to
try to get through high school because I
was the first one in my family to ever
care. And so, I begged them to not put
me out of school. And so eventually my
dad comes up there, a lot of things
happen, and I'm actually afforded the
opportunity to graduate and walk. And so
I walk. And at this point, I'm like, I
got to I got to do something different
because I know that what I've been doing
has only led to bad things. And so
I'm going to find a new group of
friends. So I so I end up hanging out
with this other group of people. And um
we're all living in this little
apartment above his aunt's house. You
know, I want out of I want out. I want
freedom. you know, I'm graduated. I
think I'm grown already. And so,
>> we're living above his aunt's house. And
so, come to find out, they're actually
selling Bud out of that house. And I
didn't know it at the time. And so, I
start seeing all these people running
and out. And I'm like, man, what what's
going on? You know, what's going on? I
done moved in. And he's like, oh man,
it's just a little this little. I was
like, man, like like I done seen too
much and been around too much. I don't
want no part of this. So, end up leaving
that house and going back to my father's
house and staying with him. At that
point, I'm like, "What's the escape? How
do I get out of all this?" So, I joined
the military. So, I go into
um the Air National Guard. Well, I've
always been a big guy. So, I had to like
run and train for like six months just
to pass. I had passed the ASVAB. I did
all the things I had to do. But back
then, they did what's called a neck and
waist test. If you couldn't get your
weight below a certain thing, they would
measure your waist around your belly
button and measure your neck. and you
had to get to a certain place in order
for them to accept you, right? And so I
was working two jobs. I was training,
running, doing all this every day. And I
finally get accepted to go in. So end up
going into the Air Force and go to basic
training in April of 1996. Well, I wish
I would have went active duty. I tell
people if I have any regrets in this
life, it was that I didn't go active
duty. But what I didn't realize at the
time was I'd already adopted this orphan
mentality. And so my friends that I
thought were my friends, the people I
thought that loved me, that was the only
people that really tr me showed me real
love my whole life, right? So truly I
can't leave them behind, you know,
because you go active duty, you're
leaving everybody behind.
>> So I joined the guard. I end up going
into basic training, get through that. I
stayed in Lackland Air Force Base for my
school. End up being a cop in um the Air
Guard. And so I come back from training,
they actually give us some orders. We're
actually doing some full-time stuff here
and there. And then I end up getting a
job at the um sheriff's department. So,
I go through the whole training academy
for the sheriff's department. And so,
I'm only having to report once a month
to the National Guard because I'm not
active duty. So, we had to report once a
month.
>> And you get paid on a government scale,
but then you got to do two weeks out of
every summer.
>> So, I go get a job with the sheriff's
department. And a guy I went to high
school with got me on cuz his dad was a
cop. So go to the sheriff's department,
go through the whole training academy
and this is probably 98 and I was
probably there about seven, eight
months. Well, the problem was it was it
was a problem for me then, but looking
back it was my own problem, but I had
there was too many people I knew from
high school locked up and I was on the
other side of the fence, right? So I'm
the one with the keys. And so long story
short, I was um SIS come in, they
investigate me basically got they made
me do a polygraph test and got caught
feeding inmates outside food. And so
>> so you're bringing in food?
>> Yeah.
>> Like what kind of food?
>> Like McDonald's, different stuff. So
what I would do is I'd order my own food
and I would order extra. So I would eat
my food. I would take I would take the
look like what looked like trash, but it
would be more food and I would throw it
on top of the trash can. Yeah. and my
buddies would know when I put that trash
out, come get the trash. Right?
>> So, some girl towed on me, one of the
officers towed on me. So,
>> of course, I'm denying it the whole
time, right?
>> And so, they're they're investig There
you're under investigation. You know,
the problem was
my lieutenant at the sheriff's
department was also part of my guard
unit, right? So, this is now mixing and
it shouldn't mix, right? Cuz when you're
in a guard, it shouldn't mix with your
everyday life, but you still are kind of
owned by the military. So, I'm under
investigation. I'm getting flack from my
my um higherups in the guard. They're
like, "Hey, what's going on with this?"
I don't know. It's all nonsense. Well,
can you take a polygraph? I'm like,
"Sure." So,
>> I know. I didn't know no better. That
was dumb.
>> So, I take this polygraph test and um
the SIS um giving me a polygraph test.
They don't tell me how I was doing. I
actually I thought I was doing really
good to be honest. But here's what
stumped me up. They're they're they're
just using very general language.
>> Yeah.
>> Well, they went the la the very last
question they asked him, they said, "On
this day, at this time, did you feed?"
And they called out the inmate's full
name food from McDonald's. And I was
like, I felt it. I felt it inside me. I
felt something jump inside me and I was
like, no. And there was like, okay, this
concludes the test. Well, I end up
getting a letter in the mail. you've
been terminated from the sheriff's
department. So now this is causing a lot
of flak here at the guard unit and then
I was probably there about five years in
the guard unit and they were fixing to
leave to they call they're going to call
us up to Afghanistan. So when you're in
a guard if they call you up you go and
back field
>> either for another um active unit at
their location you go there or you'll go
and just kind of be a part of the um the
people that are going. So, they're going
to call us to Afghanistan. And I'm like,
I'm not going. Cuz what had happened was
I had end up going to these um summer
trainings that I'd have to do, and we'd
go out for two weeks. Well, I remember
them taking us to the worst the worst
one I had. We was training for a a big
inspection. You had to pass this
inspection in order for your guard unit
to stay afloat. And because we're cops,
in normal duty, you just you you protect
the flight line, you protect the front
gate. But in wartime, you actually are
infantry. So they take us out to the
desert. They take us to Indian Springs,
Nevada. It's 45 miles outside of Vegas.
I'm young. I can see all the lights in
Vegas, but I don't get to go, right? So
I'm out here. I'm out here in foxholes.
We're doing simulated war training.
We're, you know, running around with all
this gear on, shooting at each other
with blanks and basically sleeping in
foxholes. And so when I came back from
that trip, I just remember telling
myself, I'm like, I'm never going back
across seas if they take us cuz I didn't
like the sand, you know? Still to this
day, I'll go to the ocean
>> and I'll get in the water, but I'm over
it. Just take me back to the pool cuz
sand gets in every crevice of your body.
>> And it was so fine and it was like moon
dust there. And it was so nasty. I was
broke out everywhere. When I come back,
I'm like, I don't want no part of this.
>> So now I got this thing happening with
the sheriff's department. I done been
through this. And then also I'm starting
to go out on the weekends and hang out
with people. So I feel like this guard
unit's taking up my time and I shouldn't
have to do it. And so now I'm getting
into conflict with them. But the whole
time where I look back, the Lord was
actually giving me a way out of the of
the environments I was in. And now I'm
fighting against it. If that makes
sense. Mhm.
>> Like I'm I'm provided a way out and now
I'm fighting completely against it. So I
end up um going out with this girl one
night and it was the first time I'd ever
cuz I I grew up around drugs. I had no
desire for drugs. Even though I grew up
around it, I never done them. I would go
party and hang out with people, but I
wouldn't do the drugs. Well,
>> so have you dropped out of the guard
yet?
>> Well, I'm still in the guard to this
point, but I'm but there's a lot of
friction going on, right?
>> So this is right around the same time.
So, I go to this club one night. I'm
hanging out with this girl and this guy
comes up. He's like, "Hey, do you want
to try XY?" I'm like, "What is that?"
Like, "Oh, you're going to love it."
Blah, blah, blah. So, she's like, "I
would love to try it. You want to try it
with me?" So, I try it with her and man,
I tell people the light switch went off.
It was I felt invincible. I felt
powerful. I felt Everybody Everybody
tells you they love you.
>> Again, I'm I'm coming up from no one
showing me love growing up. No, no one
knowing what love looks like. Now
everybody's telling me they love me. So
now I'm all these new friends. So then
I'm like, I really like that. But I'm,
you know, I'm working a real job and
it's expensive. I think at that time
you're paying like $25 a pill for it. So
I'm like, how do I how do I keep
enjoying this? So I start going out on
the weekends. Well, what this is what
starts causing a conflict with the
National Guard because I'm supposed to
be reporting once a month, but yet I
want to go out here and party now
because I found something I enjoy doing.
So, I would literally go out. You had to
report on Saturday and Sunday. So, I
would go out on Friday and stay up all
night and still report on Saturday
because I was young back then. It, you
know, your body could keep up with it.
So, I would go out all night on Friday.
on Saturday, I'd report to the guard and
then by Saturday night I was back out
doing the same thing. And then they was
popping me with random drug tests. But
what people didn't realize back then is
when they pop me for drug test, as you
know, they got to test specific things,
right?
>> So they're testing me for like they're
testing me for other things. They're not
testing me for ecy or the name MDMA.
They're not they're not testing me for
that. So I'm passing these drug tests.
So I think and now I'm like I'm getting
to the place where oh they're not
smarter than me. So I start taking this
every weekend and then I realize it's
expensive. I'm like how do I do this and
be able to take it? So I start finding
the person that was selling it to me. I
run into him. I'm like hey how much if I
buy this many? He was like I can do it
for this. So I would start going and
finding all my friends and be like hey
how many people want them? So that's how
it started for me. How many people want
them? I'd get their money. I'd go back.
I'd pay for all of them. he'd give me a
discount. I'd be able to take mine for
free. So, this probably goes on for
about three or four months. Um, at this
time, um, I'm realizing that there's
money in this. And so, but I'm not that
bold yet to just take off and do it
myself. So, we end up going to Panama
City to with a bunch of guys. It's a
vacation. And we're down there. I think
I was 19 at the time. And, uh, I meet
this girl and we're all taking we're all
taking the ex together. And she was
like, "Oh, this is really good." She was
like, "It's full circle." She's like,
"Hey,
um, you should come to Tampa." She was
like, "My brother can get these." She
was like, "He gets good ones." And I'm
like, "Oh, yes." I take her number down.
We hang out. I go back to Tennessee. I
tell my buddies. I'm like, "Hey, let's
put our money together. We can go down
here and get our own. Then we can be the
guys providing for all the people,
right?" So, we did. Um, we went back to
Tampa. Flew to Tampa. End up buying like
300 at the time. 300 pills. This is
right before 9/11. So,
>> what are the pills going for?
>> Um, I think I got them for I think I got
them for 10 bucks and I can knew I could
sell them for 20 25 at the time. So, he
got me some for 10 bucks. So, end up
buying like 300. I think we had put
enough money together to buy 300. So,
before 911, you could come back through
the airport. It was before scanners. All
they had was just metal detectors. So,
we had planned it out.
Um, what I learned in that was a lot of
the people that were working TSA at that
time was just like retired old people.
Yeah. Wasn't a lot of It's not like it
is today. So, I put So, what we do is we
take these pills and we put them in our
I wear jog, you know, really big jogging
pants, really big sweatshirt, come back
on a Sunday afternoon when I know the
type of group that's going to be there.
So, I put all these put them all in our
tube socks. So, we wear these big old
long socks and we just stuff them down
in there. and our pants are so baggy you
can't see. So, as long as you go through
this metal detector, you have no metal
on you. Nothing's going to go off. But
what's crazy is as soon as I come up the
escalator at the Tampa airport, um the
police dogs are walking and so I'm like,
I can't make a scene and I can't turn
around like I'm going back down because
then I'm going to look
>> You look super obvious.
>> Look super obvious. So I
>> And you don't know, but you also don't
know if they detect.
>> Exactly. And so I think I had heard
before like dogs either are trained for
for explosives or they're trained for
drugs and then with the drugs they're
normally trained for specific ones,
right?
>> But I was
>> keep in mind this is X is it's it's
pharmaceutical these are like
pharmaceutical drugs like that means
that anybody carrying any kind of drug
pretty much it would do you see what I'm
saying?
>> Yeah.
>> These are are not these are synthetic,
>> right?
I can't imagine that the synthetics
>> have a smell.
>> Yeah. Are any different between the
smell of that synthetic than Tylenol or
>> Oh, true, true.
>> Your your your heart medication.
>> Yeah. Because a lot of times you don't
know if you're getting something real or
not when you buy it from somebody cuz it
looks just like it.
>> So, I would have thought
>> but then why you got% chance that I'm
good?
>> Why you got 300 in your socks? You know?
>> Yeah. Was other. So, I come up off this
top of this escalator and I kid you not,
man. I turn and I walk to where I'm
supposed to go to and this cop and this
dog walk right beside me for about 20
yards and all my friends are just, you
know, deareyed looking at me and I'm
like just walking straight ahead and I'm
I actually just, you know, start a quick
conversation with the guy like, "Hey
man, how's your day?" You know, cuz at
this point I'm so nervous, but I don't
want to be so obvious that I'm not even
speaking cuz he's right beside me. So I
make small talk. they dog obviously
doesn't um detect it and they they kind
of turn left and go somewhere else. And
so I get through there, fly home, sell
those so fast. I'm like, we got to do
this again.
>> So then we gather up some more money.
And so I think we went back down
probably like a month later because at
the time I was uh I had I had a child on
the way. So this was the summer time and
we went down there and got those first.
So then my child's fixing to be born in
2000. So, this would have been around
September of 2000. She's born September
15th of 2000. So, I know I need to go
back down here, but I also know that
there's a conflict here because I got to
see, you know, when when she's coming.
And so, I end up coming up with like we
end up coming up with like 17 grand and
we fly back to see the same guy again.
So, we go back. I got an entourage of
people with me. We're just coming to
Eore City to party, hang out, but mainly
was coming down here to get that. So, we
get down here and we party one night and
the next day it's a Saturday, I'm
supposed to go meet with the guy. So,
since I knew the chick, her his sister,
I was the only one they trusted. So, I
show up, me and my buddy show up.
They're like, "Hey, you get in with me.
We're going to go do this transaction.
They can stay here. We'll we'll bring
you back here." So, again, not knowing
what I know now, I'm thinking, "Oh, I'm
fine." So, I get in the car. got 17
grand on me. Ride out. Well, little did
I know, we got to go to the Everglades
and I don't at this time I don't even
know where any of this stuff is. I'm a
little more familiar with it now because
I've been living here for two years,
>> but at the time I have no idea where I'm
going. So,
>> put me in a car. We ride together and I
trusted this guy because I knew his
sister.
>> And so, we're riding and we go to some I
mean, we go to some trailer way out in
the middle of nowhere in in the middle
of nowhere. Who knows where I was? My
friends didn't know. Don't have no sale
reception. This is back when cell phones
first came out anyway. So, there's no
sale reception. So, I get there and we
go and we talk to some people in this
shady house. He's like, "Hey, um, we're
going to have to go get him. The guy's
going to meet us, but he's coming up
from somewhere. I don't know. I don't
know where I'm at." So, now I got to
trust this guy with 17 grand and they're
gonna leave me at this house with who
knows what. So, I give him the money. He
drives off with with another person.
They're gone like three hours. My
friends I I have no idea what they're
thinking. They can't get a hold of me.
They're probably think something's
happened to me, right? So, I'm sitting
around trying to trying to talk to these
people I barely even know and it's a
rundown raggedy trailer somewhere in
Florida, south of Tampa. So, they
they're gone for like two or three
hours. They come back, ends up being a
dry run. They give my money back, which
was, you know, the the best thing that
could have happened in the situation is
I got my money back. I thought they was
going to rob me, but they didn't. So,
they give my money back. They're like,
"Hey, the guy didn't have what he said
he had, so we decided not to do it." So,
they gave my 17 grand back. I came back
to my friends. They dropped me back off.
Everybody was upset, so we flew back
home. Well, I said, "I'm not doing that
no more." Because too many times in that
scenario, I felt something bad was gonna
happen. Right. Right.
>> And I and I escaped it. So, I'm like,
"I'm not going back down there." So now
we're like, what do we do? Now we're
here and we got all this money, but yet
we don't have a plug. We're not going to
go back to the old way because we done
figured out that we can do it without,
you know, paying high price for it. So
we end up hooking up with some
bodybuilders that we um I knew one of
the guys from way back in the day and I
didn't know he was plugged. And so
that's how Nashville was back in the
club scene. Like everybody knew
somebody, right? So, I just kind of put
the word out there what I was looking
for and they're like, "Oh, so and so's
got it." I'm like, "Oh, cool. I know
him." So, I go up to him and he's like,
"Yeah, I can get you some." So, we end
up getting a plug in Nashville and um we
buy from him with cash a couple of times
and I think we're getting it for like
seven, eight bucks at that time. And we
buy a few thousand. What do we get our
money up to for that? And then
eventually they start trusting us. And
so eventually the dude's like, "Look, I
don't need you to pay me for them
upfront. I'm gonna get you a lot more."
So what was going on, I didn't know it
at the time, but how they was getting it
here is because they was in the
bodybuilding circuit, they would fly to
these uh shows out of the country. So
they would go to like Germany. So they
were getting these uh pills from
Holland. But the smart thing they was
doing is they was putting they were
packing all the pills in vacuum cleaner
hoses. They put the vacuum cleaners back
in the box, the original box, tape it
back up like like they're shipping a
vacuum cleaner to the US. And so they're
shipping these vacuum cleaners over here
and that's how we're getting
>> the pills. Well, we get plugged with
this guy. And so what our what our
normal routine was, we'd go out to eat
with him on Thursday night. He'd give us
two or three thousand pills and we would
uh No, actually he would we'd give him
his money from the week before, go to
dinner on Thursday night, pay him all
his money from the week before. He
wouldn't have the pills with him then.
We'd go pick the pills up the next day.
He was smart enough not to keep them
together, right? So we'd pay him his
cash. the next day we'd meet the guy
under him and he would give us an
envelope with two or three thousand
pills. So we probably ran like that for
like a probably like a year. And so 9/11
happens, a bunch of stuff happens. So
this is going into 2001. So I'm putting
together I had um I don't know if y'all
remember the local rapper Haystack from
Nashville.
Kind of kind of uh he made a little way
down here in Florida, Panama City.
Anyway, he's a white rapper. Big old
guy. Anyway, so we got we got Haystack.
I got another little white rap group.
And then I got a bunch of little local
artists, right?
>> Haystack.
>> So I'm putting together this um I'm
putting together this car show.
>> Hastack calls me all the time. Texts me
all the time. Does it really?
>> All the time.
>> You know him. Yeah. That's funny.
>> Yeah. But it was so funny is uh he was
texting me for a while like on
Instagram. I don't know who he is.
>> I just knew he had an Instagram. This
guy's texting me. He was like, "Yeah,
he's a white rapper." And so one day I'm
laying in bed and somebody he text me
like in the morning or something.
No, no, it wasn't. It was probably
cuz I don't think we had gone quite gone
to bed, but I was is we usually go to
bed at like . But either way, I was
texting on my phone. So Jess kind of
rolls over
and sees that I'm texting him. No, we
hadn't gone to bed yet. Anyway, we're
about to go to bed. We're laying I knew
we were lay in bed and I He's texting me
and she goes, "Who's texting you?" He
goes, "I don't know. Some guy." I he's
like a rapper and I said he said he used
to I go I I think I said I think he
knows Jelly Roll
>> and she goes
>> he actually Jelly Roll opened up for him
a bunch of times when Jelly Roll wasn't
famous
>> right and she says to me what's his name
and I said hey Stack and she goes she
sits up are you [ __ ] serious
>> car full of white boys
>> are you ser she goes nuts and I'm like
what what do you know she's not texting
you and I go yeah he is I said I show
him. She's like, "Oh my god. Oh my god.
I was just listening to him the other
day. I I listen to him all the time. I
And she listen. I was like,
>> "This is impressive to you. This she's
impressed by this,
>> right?
>> Some an older white rapper who, you know
what I'm saying?" Like I'm like, and
she's like, "You don't understand. I've
been listening to Jelly Roll since I was
in in in uh in in high school. I was I
before he was even nobody even knew him.
They didn't even play him on the radio."
And I and she's going on and on. She's
like, "I know." And I'm just like, I've
never seen her so [ __ ] animated in my
life. How excited she was.
>> Yep. That's interesting.
>> It's just funny that you just say that
cuz I'm like,
>> well, let me let me back up. I don't
even know who this is.
>> Let me back up because it's interesting.
You know them because now the story
would make more sense. So, um, so we
start doing we taking our money and
we're start doing these little skating
rink circuits. So, we would buy out the
skating rink on a certain night and we
would throw a concert and and people
could skate, but it was mainly for
adults, right? No kids. So we would have
hay stack and different people come and
we'd pay them. We'd pay them to come and
we would make money off the door.
Couldn't do nothing in skate ring as far
as concessions. So we just make all the
money off the door. So but we could also
sell our pills inside of there, right?
So we would just have those. So it was a
one way to get rid of our product but
also a way to make money off the door.
So we're doing this for a while. So then
this leads up to one of the guys that
was in the previous store when we got
shot at. His name was uh Alex Gilliam.
That's his real name. He goes by Alex
King now, but he was in a rap group
called Crazy White Boys and they were
under Haystack's uh they was with
Haystack's label called um it's Sunny
Paradise. It's called Street Flavor
Records. That's who Haystack was signed
to forever in Nashville.
>> Okay. So, they had been bought and
they're actually they they signed with
Street Flavor. So, I hooked back up with
these guys and I went to high school
with all of them. So, I'm So, they know
I got the pills. We're all running. I'm
doing these concerts. I'm putting them
on as well. They've already got a little
buzz because of Haystack. And so, I'm
getting these I'm getting these artists
for dirt cheap and washing my money that
way. And so we lead up to
>> So Haystack's a part of a money
laundering
>> a money laundering operation.
>> Oh, I don't know. Yeah,
>> he probably doesn't even know it.
>> So there's a deeper story that goes into
Haystack that that'll that'll show you
who he really is. And I got a I got a
real story I'm going to
>> Okay,
>> so this leads up to June 2001. Well, let
me back up. I forgot. So, I had a I had
a 50/50 partner in this and then we had
a bunch of guys that we distributed to
under us. So, one of the guys that was
probably third in what we would call our
our crew, third in our crew, it was me
and my 50-50 partner and then he was
kind of like next in line. He gets um he
gets busted one day and he's going home
on his motorcycle and he gets busted in
Hendersonville, Tennessee. So the um
drug task force gets him with like 1,100
pills or something cuz he had just we
had just got our pills and he would he
was like one of our main guys. We'd give
him a bunch cuz he had he'd sell his for
I'd give it to him for a discount then
he would sell it for what he wanted. And
so
he gets busted and he comes two days
later and he's like look he was like um
they know y'all by first name. Y'all
need to chill out.
>> You know that's not good.
>> Yeah. Y'all need to chill out. And so
we're like, "Okay, do they really? What
all did they ask you?"
>> Right?
>> Well, they knew your names and they knew
this. I'm like, but we were very flashy.
That was a problem. You know, we were
buying,
>> you know, vehicles and riding around on
rims with TVs in there and we're pulling
up. We're pulling up at the club.
>> It said everything but a neon license.
>> We were so we were so flamboyant and we
and everybody was doing it. So we
thought they don't know us, you know,
everybody in clearly do.
>> Yeah.
>> So they know who we are. And I never
remember I never forget we go and this
was like May of that year. So he gets
busted in May. The car show is going to
be the end of June. Right in the middle
of that, we say, "Okay, we're we tell
our we tell our plug what happened cuz
he's going to find out anyway. Hey, one
of our guys got popped. What are they
saying?" We tell him. He's like I was
like, "I think we're just going to chill
for a minute." You know, he was like,
"That's cool. Well, just let me know
when y'all want to if y'all want to
start back up. So, we go and watch the
movie Blow.
We go and watch the movie.
>> Okay.
>> You would think
>> that's probably not a good idea.
>> No, but you would think that would have
like opened our eyes to be like,
>> "It could go bad.
>> It's just this is going to go bad."
Yeah. It's not if it's going to.
>> Yeah.
>> So, we leave that movie and we're both
like looking at each other. Me and my
50-50 partner. I'm just like this ain't
I mean like I'm I'm at this place. I'm a
little scared at this place cuz I'm like
maybe I just need to quit. But then when
you're in that life, people don't
realize when you're in that lifestyle
and you got all these things that you've
accumulated, not just the money, but the
the status, the the the way that you
can, you know, basically you're famous
in your city. You can walk in anywhere
and do whatever you want. Right
>> now, I wasn't famous like people who are
moving, you know, keys, but I was still
famous in the scene because, you know,
we had good product. And so we decide
we're gonna take a break that lasts
about three weeks. We call our plug
back. He puts us back on. So we're
running hard and by this time we're
probably up to, you know, picking up
four or 5,000 pills a week to to move.
We had a big dis we had a big network so
we could move a lot. And with with
people like that they're like more you
can move the more I'll bring you. You
know to to them it was just money.
>> And so um leading up to this car show,
one guy gets popped back in May. The car
show is going to be the end of the end
of June. I know that because my birthday
is on July 1st and so it happens like
the day before my birthday. So, we're
going to do this car show on June 30th
of 2001.
On June 29th, it's a Friday. We had met
Thursday night on the 28th with our
people, paid them.
We go the next day, pick up the um pick
up the envelope at a Hayes Nissan. The
dude worked at a car lot, so we pick it
up. We actually go to the gun range that
day. And I never carried a gun, but we
my buddy had guns and so we just take
the guns to the gun range and just do it
for fun. I never carried a gun because I
really never needed to. I was always
someone that could talk.
>> And I always knew myself like I don't
want to have this on me that if I get I
had anger issues. I had a temper. I was
like, I don't want to use this. And then
that changes in the back of my mind. It
was always like this amount of thing can
get you this much time, but this can get
you a lot more time. So I knew enough to
know like I don't want that pistol on
me, right? So, I never would carry it
with me. Well, we go to the gun range
that day. This is Friday. Go to
breakfast, go to the gun range, go pick
up those. Later on that day, I'm back at
my house. My 50-50 partners got his his
his amount. I got my amount. We're
actually still, even though this is our
main thing, we we both have plugs on the
side that we didn't really mix that we
could get, you know, weed from. So, I
had at my house, he his house, and that
was kind of our side hustle that we
didn't split. we just do our own thing.
So, um he goes to a ball field cuz his
daughter's playing softball and um I get
a call from one of the uh one of the
females cuz we had a big crew of guys
and we knew all their females. Everybody
was close. If anything ever happens, you
know, let everybody know. So, that
particular day, it was Friday afternoon,
probably about , he goes to the
ballpark. And they waited for him to go
to the ballpark because now you're in
around children, they can up the charge.
So, they let him get to that ballpark
and they end up um drawing down on him.
As soon as he gets in the park, the the
the um DEA and drug task force come get
him. They go to like three other places,
get like three other guys that have
them. And and so a total there's
probably like three or 4 thousand pills
out there that's been confiscated. Now
I'm at my house and I'm thinking they're
coming here next. There's Yeah, they're
coming here next. There's no way around
it. Right. Right.
>> Well, I'm sitting there paranoid. They
don't come and they hit all them
simultaneously. So, I'm like, why are
they not coming to my house? So, I got
like 200 lb down in the in my
downstairs. I'm I call a guy up the
road. I'm like, hey, I need to bring
this to your house. So, I take that up
to his house, drop it off. I drop
everything I got in my house off. And
I'm just waiting. I'm waiting. Saturday
goes by, Sunday goes by, Monday goes by.
I'm just waiting. Surely they're going
to come. Nobody comes. So then um my
50-50 partner comes over my house about
two weeks later and I'm working on this
room downstairs at the house I had just
doing like making a room in like making
a garage into a bedroom. And so I got a
hammer in my hand and I'm just me and my
cousin are working on some remodeling.
He comes over there. He's like, "I got
to talk to you." Little do I know he's
wired up.
>> Yeah.
>> He shows up. He's like, "Hey man, you
know they know everything. You need to
come in here and talk to I'm like, "How
do they know everything, bro?" You know,
he's like, "Man, I I told him, man, they
got me in the school zone. They got me
with this. They got me." And they did
have him. They had him. Like, when I
tell you they they knew exactly what
they was doing. They set him all the way
up where there's no way out of it. They
could have given him 20 years if they
wanted to, even for the amount being low
just because of all the enhancements.
So, I look at him, I'm like,
>> "Sounds like a you problem."
>> I said, "Leave me out of it, bro. Like,
who's going to take care of your family
when you're gone? And you don't
understand. They want to talk to you.
They don't want to talk to me." I said,
"They don't want to talk to ain't done
nothing,
>> right?
>> And so in my mind, I don't understand.
The feds state didn't catch me with
nothing. I'm good. I don't got nothing
in my house. Well, I looked at him. I
said, "Are you wearing a wire on me,
bro?"
>> He was like, "Come on, man." And and I
had a hammer in my hand. I wasn't going
to hit him with it. I've known the guy
since since we played baseball as a
child,
>> right?
>> I just said I looked at the hammer. I
looked at him. I said, "Please get out
of my house before I get real angry."
>> So he is that an enhancement. They well
later when they picked me up, they
tried. They they brought the
conversation back up and I'll get there.
>> But I had the hammer in my hand and I
just looked at the hammer. I looked at
him. I said, "Please leave my house."
>> And he left. And so then I get a call
like two or three weeks later from a DEA
agent that's on the case. He's like,
"Hey man, you need to come in and talk
to us." He said, "You're going to talk
to us eventually. whether you talk to us
now or you're gonna talk to us later.
But either way, I think you'll be well
to come in here because they don't have
the two guys above us yet. Right. Right.
>> They just got all my guys. So, they need
me in that conspiracy. Right.
>> Well, I think they do. So, I call a
state lawyer.
>> Little do I know, I don't know anything
about the feds.
>> Call a state lawyer. Hey, man. I need
you to go down to this building with me.
We need to talk to these people cuz uh
they're calling my phone and I want to
get ahead of this. He was like, okay,
we'll go down there. So, I take him down
there.
>> What a dick cuz he's you're he's a state
attorney. So, he's going to be like,
"Yeah, give me 15 grand. If it goes
federal, I can't help you."
>> I think I gave him I think I only gave
him like five grand for that meeting,
>> but I mean, he's not you're he he's
never dealt with the feds. He doesn't I
can't go to trial. He can't do [ __ ]
>> He screwed me to be honest because
>> they listen, this is this happens all
the time. the the state guys, state
attorneys will go in knowing you were
just hit by a task force run by the DEA,
but you were arrested by the locals, but
he already knows it's going federal. And
they'll say, "Okay, listen, man. I can I
can uh give me 15 grand and I'll handle
everything for you. If it goes state, I
mean, if it goes federal, I can't do
anything, but I but you I mean, like, do
you think it's going to go federal?"
They'll be like, "I mean, you're you're
not moving like keys, are you?" They'll
like, "No, bro. Oh, I'm not moving. I'm
maybe half a key a [ __ ] month. Like,
oh, okay. Yeah, it have to be multiple
keys for it to go for you to touch it.
So, you're good knowing that's not how
it works. You give him 15 grand, 10 or
15. You think I'm good. He's going to
take it. If we have to go to trial,
he'll cover me. He knows they're going
to pick the the feds are going to pick
this up any time now. And you're going
to say, "Hey,
I need you to handle the case." And I'm
going to be able to say, "I told you I
don't do federal. You signed the
document. You said it wasn't going to go
federal. You said you weren't big
enough. These guys are talking about 30
keys. I can't handle that. You're He's
then going to say, "Well, I need my
money back." And I'm going to say, "No,
that was a fee. I can't give you your
money back.
>> It's a retainer.
>> It's a retainer. It's gone. I've already
used it up."
>> Yep.
>> And you're in prison [ __ ]
>> Yep.
>> You just gave the only You only had 25.
You gave 15 to me. No federal lawyer is
going to touch it for
>> 10.
>> For 10. Yeah.
>> You're done. You're done. Absolutely.
>> So I I that happens all the time. So
whenever somebody says that they grab
the state attorney, I think, "Oh my
god."
>> Oh, you already know where it's going.
>> Yeah.
>> So I go to the federal building with
this guy and I sit down.
>> 5,000 for a day.
>> Yeah. That's it. So I go sit down with
this guy and you know, I'm sitting here
with these people and it's the DEA, it's
the drug task force, it's the FBI. They
go around the table. They're all
throwing out their, you know, their
their badges. Right.
>> Right. And so they start talking about,
you know, they're going to they're going
to turn this case over to the feds.
Everybody's going to eventually get
indicted. And I'm like, I'm good. I
ain't ain't they ain't caught me with
nothing, right? So I look over and the
lawyer whispers. He goes, hey, what'
they catch you with? Said nothing.
>> They ain't never come to your house. No.
Then what are we doing here? I said, I
don't know. What are we doing? I said,
I'm here because they keep wanting to
question me. I said, what do you think?
It was like, I don't think they can do
anything if they caught you with
nothing.
>> Yeah. You all know what how the feds
work that you No, nobody has to be
caught with anything.
>> Right. Exactly. There was enough people
that were already working with them that
I was done.
>> You put three guys on the stand
>> that say that you were involved in the
conspiracy and that you were moving 10
keys a month and now and it's been
happening for 18 months. And guess what?
You just got 180 keys a month.
>> They add all that up. Yep. You're like,
"Well, how many keys did Jake they cap?"
>> And then they all did they all did
profers before I ever walk into that
meeting. So So they've been their
amounts have been capped off.
>> Yeah.
>> My amounts still wide open because
>> I've never talked to them. So they get
capped off on the amounts
>> because of their profer. Well, anyway,
>> I'm walking out of that room. They're
like, the dude looks me in my face, the
D agent. He goes, "I'm coming to get
that Cadillac and I'm coming to get
that." He was like, "Cuz you was in that
that day that y'all picked this up."
>> So I leave soon as I leave there and
call a friend of mine on the phone.
>> I said, "Hey." He worked at a car. I
said, "How much you give me for this
Cadillac?" He said, "Uh, let me look at
the books." He said, "I'll give you 11
grand." I said, "Come get me. I'm in
it." He came pick me up, wrote me
$11,000 check, dropped me back off at
the house. I'm like, "Y'all ain't
getting that."
>> So, I think I got I think I'm good
because I don't understand the feds,
right? So, I think I'm There's no way
they can get me. So I continue on on my
little journey. They're all basically
now they're hit. The plug won't mess
with them. I can still get it, but
they're a little nervous. So they're not
giving me much. So I'm doing a little
bit there. So then I'm just really
messing with the with the on this side
of things. So we we do this we had this
car show that kind of flopped because of
that, but I still got an in with a stack
and the local guys. So, what happened
was I ran into some guys that through
all that stuff that we were doing and
the car shows and all that, I ran into
some real estate guys who had some money
that they wanted to get into this type
of business. Not that legal, but they
want to get into the music business. So,
they start this little local rap, little
local artist thing called Dirty Bird
Records. So, I'm I'm close with these
guys. One guy's got money from real
estate. He finds out I went to high
school. He's he's like mesmerized by Hay
Stack and all them, right? you know,
he's a he's an older white man that's
got some money kind of like your said
your wife was. He's mesmerized by this,
but I but I've known all these guys for
years, so I'm not really mesmerized by
it. Well,
>> he finds out I know him. He was like,
"Hey, man. We need to sit down. We need
to we need to buy um Crazy White Boys
out from under Street Flavor." I'm like,
I can get you a meeting. So, we set the
meeting up. He ends up buying the the
dudes I went to high school with that's
up under Haststack, buying them out from
under the label. So now we own them and
we're now going and running around with
them and doing little like um you know
we're going to Atlanta, we're going to
few different places. We're finding
people that we could like have them open
up for. We're passing out CDs. We're
trying to promote them. And um 911 hits,
all that stuff happens. Well, they
actually went to a meeting. They sit
down with a record company called Epic
Records, Dave Meyers. They sit down with
him and he offered him he offered him
$300,000 on a five record deal, which
was no money back then, but the real
estate guy only bought him for 75. So,
he could have flipped his money, right?
So, anyway, he decides not to do the
deal. 911 hits. Long story short,
everybody's like, "We ain't spending no
money. We ain't buying no new artist."
So, now they're just kind of out here
trying to fend for themselves. So, this
goes on into the story. So, I keep
running. all my all my guys are talking
to the feds and I keep going and so what
happened was I end up going to we end up
going to a um this was March of 2002
mind you they had told me they was going
to indict me but I you know 6 months has
passed I'm thinking I'm clear I'm free
and clear because I don't know anything
so I go to this uh we go we all go to
Athens Georgia and we go to Bubba
Spark's birthday party so we actually
take a stack his personal manager Crazy
White Boys, the white rap group, and we
all go down there and we actually are
opening up um for all the artists that
are going to be at Bubba Spark's
birthday party. So, we're in this club
called Athens Music Factory, and it's
supposed to hold maybe 800. There was
probably double that in there. It was
crazy. Um Haystack's personal manager
was a white guy and he had a black
girlfriend. I had a black girlfriend at
the time. So, we're in this club which
is 95% black, 5% white. Not many white
people in the whole place. And of
course, you can imagine what's going to
happen. They're going to be groping and
grabbing. And so, with my gal at the
time, I'm like, "Just keep walking.
There's nothing we can do. Just keep
walking." So, we're trying to get to a
VIP area, but as we're trying to get
there, they're like grabbing on the
women and all that. And I just tell my
girl, "Just keep walking. Keep walking."
Well, Eric, his name was Eric Mini. He
was Hastack's personal manager at the
time. He just keeps getting in
confrontations with all these guys and
I'm like, man, there's nothing we can
do, bro. Like, keep walking. So, this
goes on, this club goes on for several
hours and they end up, fire marshals end
up coming in, shutting it down. So, we
get kicked out, everybody gets kicked
out of this club. So, now we're ping out
on what Athens downtown looks like their
Second Avenue, right? Be like, our Eore
City here. Mhm.
>> So, we're out there and Eric had I had
lost sight of where they went. And so,
I'm actually talking to a couple of guys
from the venue and then Eric comes
walking up the road. He's like, "Hey,
hey, y'all come on down here with me.
Y'all come on down. I'm show y'all
something. Show y'all something." He had
this uh at the time he had this uh
Lexus. It was a LX430. It was probably a
$80,000 vehicle. And it was nice. But
what happened when we got down to the
parking lot, the people he had been into
it with all night, they had his car
blocked. So they had all these big
caprices on on rims and they wouldn't
let him out of the parking lot. So we go
down there and he's So now Haystack,
this is Haystack's personal manager. I
got me, one other dude from Crazy White
Boys and Eric Mali. We're all three down
there in this parking lot. But there's
40 people down here besides us three.
>> So I'm like, this ain't going to end
well for any of us. There's nothing we
can do in this situation. So, I'm not I
hadn't been drinking. I had been taking,
but I hadn't been drinking. Eric's blind
running drunk. Eric's running his mouth
cussing. So, I found the dude in the
crowd who I knew was probably like
running things. And I said, "Look, man.
If it's okay with you," is what I said.
I said, "I'm going to take him." I said,
"He's had too much to drink. I will
apologize to you for him because I know
y'all feel disrespected." I said, "If
you'll let us go, we're not from here.
we're going to get in our cars and we're
going to leave. And the guy's like,
"Because you because you came to me
manto man." He said, "I'm going to let
y'all make it." And he raises up his
shirt and shows me his pistol. He's
like, "I'm going to let y'all make it."
So I'm like, "We don't want no trouble."
So I grab Eric and I'm I'm backing him
up and I turn to, you know, with a drunk
person. I turn and put my hands on Eric.
I'm like, "We're leaving." And Eric
tries to get past me and basically does
like a swim move past me. swim move past
me. As soon as he does that, they feel
like all bets are off. So, they start
swinging. So, they literally they just
start beating on Eric. Eric's so drunk
he can't fight back. They start beating
on Eric. Eric's getting stabbed. All
kind of stuff. I'm fighting these guys.
I'm just trying at this point, I'm just
trying to get up out of this situation
the best I can. So, I'm fighting,
fighting, fighting. I remember rolling
up under a car, coming out the other
side, just trying to get out of the
environment. And the only other guy
that's with me, there's other haystack
and them's up the road, but they don't
want to come down there because they're
like, "We didn't come here for that."
This is my problem with Haystack. This
is his personal manager
>> who was his best friend. He wouldn't
even get out of the car and he's bigger
than all of us. And I'm like, I told him
when I got back up there, I said,
>> "Bro, that's your that's your boy.
That's your 50-50." Like, I mean, it's
supposed to be your best friend. I said,
"He got he's down there getting stomped
on and you wouldn't go down there." So,
none of them would come down there. So,
it was so crazy at the end, Matt. This
went on for like 15 minutes. I end up
getting stabbed in the shoulder with a
with a beer bottle, but it was so bad.
I'm going up the road trying to get back
to the cars that people were just coming
out of the crowd that had nothing to do
with the fight because I was white and I
was into it with a bunch of black people
at the time. They're coming out of the
crowd swinging at me. And so I'm just
ducking people and trying to throw
people over me and get up out of here
and I'm just shoving people and just
getting back to to my vehicle. So I get
up there and I'm like, "Come on, we got
to go get Eric. He's down here getting
beat on. They're like, "No, man. We
didn't come here for this. We came here
for rap. We didn't do this." And I'm
like, I told Hastack to his face, said,
"Man, you weak, bro. Like, you weak.
That's your boy. Like, I would never let
him like that." Right? I did everything
I could for him. So, anyway, I go to the
hospital, gets stitched up. Eric ends up
having to stay in the hospital for days.
So, this makes MTV News because it's on
Bubba Spark's birthday. So, MTV News is
airing it the next day. three men
stabbed at Bubba Spark's birthday party.
So, my name is thrown up there. And I
had moved out of Nashville, but I was
living in a in a city about 20 miles
away, just trying to stay out of the
wave when all that stuff went down. So,
they didn't what I didn't know is the
feds had indicted me and they had an
indictment, but they didn't know where I
was. So, my name shows up on MTV News.
So, now the feds are like, "Oh, he's in
Smyrna, Tennessee."
>> Because that's where I had to give him
an address. He's in Smyrna, Tennessee.
So, I still got this tube hanging out of
my arm and I go back home and about
three days later. Um, I'm with I'm with
the chick and we're fixing to
Fortunately for me, we had been running
we had been running back and forth from
there to Bowling Green cuz she had a she
had a bunch of friends up there. This
particular day, we weren't taking
nothing up there. We was just going to
collect money. So, we was in she had
this Mercury Cougar. So, we were in
that. We literally probably got five
minutes from the house and as we're
driving down the road, cops come past
us, do a U-turn, hit the lights. I'm
like, we ain't got nothing in here.
We're good. Right.
>> So, they I'm just thinking traffic stop.
So, of course, they pull over, come up.
As they're walking up, I see them pull
their pull their weapons. They draw
down. It's two or three of them draw
down like, "Get out the car. Get out the
car." I'm like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa."
Like, it's a traffic stop. We ain't done
nothing. Like,
>> get out the car. So they handcuffed me,
set me on the ground, and they're like,
"Uh, we got some people want to talk to
you
for what?" They're like, "You'll know."
So I sit on the back of the I sit on the
ground on the back of the I sit on the
back of the car on the ground Indian
style with handcuffs for like 20 minutes
and then there was this big loop that
came down that brought you You had to
come off this big loop from the highway
that brought you down to the side row we
was on. And sure enough, I've been
sitting there and I'm just looking to
see who's coming. and a white avalanche
and then a black avalanche right behind
it and they come up synch and they pull
up together and I'm like this ain't
good. Sure enough, the same guys I had
sit at that table with and told them I
was leaving both of them walk up, flip
out their paper, United States of
America versus William Arthur
Smotherman. I'm like they're like you
know what this is? I'm like uh not
really. They're like this is this is
what we told you we was going to do so
you belong to us now. So they take me on
my way back. They're asking me all these
questions, right? Well, there was
another altercation that happened
between me and one of the guys that used
to run for me. We were cool. He was he
was um
he had left his girl behind at the club
one night, right? And we all called
oursel a family, so I'm not leaving
people there. She was like, "Greg left
me, you know, can I get a ride home?" So
I don't take her home by myself. I bring
another guy with me
>> as a way to say ain't nothing happening
here, right? So, I bring my buddy with
me. We take her home one night and Greg
had ran off to who knows where cuz we
were all really close. So, we drop her
off. We're at the house. Greg calls. He
was like, "Where's Brooke?" I was like,
"I brought her. I brought her to your
house." He's like, "I'm on my way over
there." I was like, "Okay." So, we
waited on him to get there so he could
see. It was nothing funny. Yeah.
>> Cuz it was me and another guy purposely.
So, he comes in and he's like, "Oh, you
trying to play Captain Save aole." Blah
blah blah blah blah. I was like, "Bro,
you left her? What are you talking
about? I'm not going to leave her
behind. Like, it'd be no different than
if my baby mama was here. You wouldn't
have left her behind, right? And so, he
just starts
>> would have.
>> Yeah. So, he just starts running his
mouth and and I told you I had anger
issues anyway and I was just mad at the
world. So, he just started running his
mouth. So, I just got up in his face
like, "What do you want to do?" He takes
a swing at me. So, I end up whooping him
in his living room. Well, they get me in
the back of the car and they start
telling me, "What about let's tell me
about the hammer situation?" I'm like, I
had a hammer because I was working in my
garage. That was one incident. And they
was like, and then your boy Greg
couldn't wait to come down here and tell
us how you jumped on him in his own
house. I said, I jumped on him. I was
like, I didn't jump on him. They were
trying to use that as leverage to say
that I was doing something, right?
>> Right.
>> Or I was intimidating their witnesses.
I'm like, no, these are two separate
incidents. And here's what happened
behind all of them. So anyway, they take
me down there, and this is a funny part
part of the story. They go they start
telling me this story about um there's a
there's in Memphis, Tennessee, there's
like a hotel there that the ducks ride
the elevator. I can't remember the name
of it, but anyway, they're telling me
the story and I'm like, well, I mean,
what what does this story have to do
with anything? They're like they're
like, if this story is boring you, he
said it's about as boring as your
conversation right now, so shut up
because I wouldn't talk, right? So that
as I'm taking they're taking me back to
the county jail, they're trying to ask
me all these questions. I'm still trying
to play dumb. Anyway, I get booked, go
to Federal Holding for like a week. I
get out on bond a week later on my own
recognance. So, I get out. They're mad.
They're hot. You know, they can't hold
me. So, go back to the little area where
I was living. And now I'm like, I know
I'm going to prison eventually. I got to
make as much money as possible. So, at
the time, I'm messing with these guys
that had
>> digging the hole deeper.
>> Oh, yeah. Deeper. So at the time the the
real estate guys I actually the the the
guy who was serving he would had a the
plug for the for the at the time
wouldn't mess with me directly because
they're like you can't pay it back if
something happens. They've already
indicted you. You're going to prison. So
I brought the real estate guys in. So
they come in and they got money. So now
they're dropping off. He one of the
brothers had a house in in Smyrna where
it was like a big uh old school barn.
And so they would bring the tractor
trailer load full of weed. It'd be 2 or
3,000 pounds over there. We would we
would unload it all, count it for a day.
We'd be up 24 hours counting it all. So
this is why I'm out on bond. So we count
it all and then they would let me take
as many as I want. I'd go to Bowling
Green with the girl I was dating and we
get rid of it there. So in the process
of me doing this, all is going well. Um
we had a bunch of friends from high
school and you can make a lot of money
for it up there for what we was paying
for it in Nashville. It was $300 or $400
more expensive up there. So, we was
making a great amount. And so, we was
going up there. I rent a little
apartment up there. And so, um I
probably been doing this three or four
months up here. And then one of the guys
that we had messed with for a while.
He's like, "Hey, my cousin wants to come
down from Indiana and he wants to buy 50
pounds." Well, we only been doing 10
pounds at a time with this guy. But I
don't think it's weird because I've been
dealing with this dude for like four or
five months and he's always brought my
money back every time, right? So, I'm
like, I'm not thinking nothing of it.
Plus, they're going to pay cash for it.
So, we set this deal up. They're going
to come down and get it. So, this
particular day, I bring um enough up
there to to serve them as well. And he's
like, "Meet me at Cracker Barrel." Well,
I used to have my little brother drive
it up there cuz I'm out on Bond and I
don't want to drive it at the time. So,
he would drive it up in his little S10.
So, he brought it up there. He took it
in the house. I was like, "We're going
to go meet this guy for breakfast." I
said, "You stay here with this until we
come back." So, my brother just locked
himself in the apartment. We go to
breakfast. So when we're sitting there,
I'm not putting it together at the time
what they're trying to do. Now this
whole thing is being played out later in
front like my mind's replaying it later,
but they're setting me up the whole
time. So we go to breakfast and we're
just chopping it up talking. My brother
calls me on the phone. He's like, "Man,
I don't know if it's maintenance or
somebody." He says, "Somebody keeps
wiggling the doororknob." I was like,
"Well, tell them you got a gun. They
can't come in." I'm still not thinking
somebody's trying to rob us, right? So
he says, "Okay, they left." And so the
dude gets a phone call and he talks for
a minute. He gets the phone. He's like,
"Man, it was like um they had a flat
tire coming down, man." He said,
"They're going to have to try to do it
again next week." What they was really
trying to do is steal it out of the
apartment while we was at breakfast and
it didn't work out. So now they got to
get bolder with it, right? So he was
like, "We'll try it again in a week or
two." So two weeks later,
>> they set the deal up again and this time
it's raining and I'm driving it up
myself. And so I drive it up from
Nashville to Bowling Green and I got
like 65 pounds in the trunk. So I get to
the apartments and I'm always at this
point I'm scanning. I'm always paying
attention because I'm I'm out on bond.
I'm I'm running crazy, you know. So I'm
scanning the parking lot. I don't see
anything suspicious. I do see a white
Suburban. But as I'm looking across the
parking lot, it don't look like
anybody's in it because you know when
you look over at a parking lot, you see
if people sitting in the car, I didn't
see anybody sitting in the car, right?
So it was a white Suburban. So I'm like
maybe I said I don't I don't think
nothing's going on. So soon as I popped
the trunk and I grabbed the box that it
was in. It was 65 lbs. I grabbed the
box. I hear the engine across the
parking lot rev on that white Suburban
and I was like and then I see it moving
forward real fast and then I see lights
come on. Police lights come on. I'm like
oh my god. So I grab it and I just run
into the apartment and I lock the door.
And within the girl's like what's wrong
with you? you look spooked. I said, I
don't know what I just saw, but it's not
good. Within 10 seconds, boom, boom,
doors kicked in. It's two black dudes
with DEA uniforms on,
>> right?
>> They bought at the gun and knife show.
They're draw down on me. Get on the
ground. Get on the ground. Get on the
ground. I'm like, "All right, all
right." So, I get on the ground.
>> The girl thinks that we're that it's the
police and she's cussing and going. I
was like, "Please your mouth. Just
cooperate." Right. She's like, "They
ain't going to treat me this way and
they ain't going to do this." So, they
handcuff us from the back. They lay us
on the floor, put a pillow over our
heads. I'm like, I'm praying. I'm like,
please don't let me die here, Lord. This
ain't this ain't it. I got a daughter
that I promise I wouldn't, you know,
that I don't know. It was a lot of
things going through my head. So,
anyway, they don't they don't do
anything. They they ram they ramshack
the house. She the whole time she thinks
that it's the police and it's not. So,
finally, I hear silence for like 10
minutes. So, I get myself up to my knees
and I go over to the door and I take my
head and I move the have to my handcuffs
are behind my back. So, I got to take my
head and move the blinds. So, I move the
blinds. I look outside. They slashed all
four tires on the uh car. So, I told her
I said, "We just got set up." She's
like, "I know what's going to you're
already out on." I said, "No, no, no." I
said, "It's quiet, right?" She's like,
"Yeah." I said, "They left. We got
robbed." She's like, "No." I said, "Your
boy set us up. There's no way. There's
no way. I'm telling you, he set us up."
So, they leave. We call one of her other
buddies over there. He comes over there
with a hacksaw. He's going to he's going
to cut the handcuffs off.
>> Well, as he starts cutting, he starts
laughing. I'm like, "What's Bro, what's
funny? There's nothing funny." Come to
find out, they were the little metal
handcuffs that had the little clip on
them that if you pull it back, the
things undo. You can't feel that when
it's behind your back,
>> right?
>> You know what I'm saying? So, he laughs
and takes them off. He was like, "Y'all
could have took them off yourselves the
whole time." Was like, "We didn't know."
Yeah. You know? So anyway, um, now I
have to go back and report this to the
people that I'm dealing with and
convince them that I got robbed, you
know, because they're already thinking
it's something else. So anyway, as I'm
leaving, I get my tires fixed. As I'm
fixing to leave, the guy actually calls
me on the phone. This guy that robbed me
calls me on the phone and goes, "Hey,
man, those are really good." He's like,
"You got some more over there? We're
going to come back over and get them." I
was like, "You come back over here, bro.
You're going to die." He just taunt me,
right? So, I go back to Nashville and I
got to convince these people to keep
working with me because now I owe them
money. They're going to keep work. The
thing about that is they're going to
keep working with you because you owe
him money, right? They're not just going
to let you out.
>> Unless you work it off.
>> Work it off. Yeah. So, now I'm working
it off. And so, I end up seeing the guy
that robbed me like two months later.
I'm in this club one night and
I'm standing there, but I know the
bouncer. The bouncer and me are really
cool. And I said, "Hey, man. Do you He's
with a friend of his." I'm like, "Do you
know that dude over there?" He was like,
"You talking about the I said they call
him Nico." He's like, "Oh, that's
Jeffy's friend." I'm like, "That's the
dude that robbed me." He's like, "What
do you mean he robbed you?" He's like,
"He's not even from here." I said, "Man,
dude robbed me." I said, "I know when
somebody robbed me and they put a gun in
my face. That dude robbed me." He was
like, "Oh, man. I'm going to go talk to
Jeffrey." He's like, "But don't do
nothing in here." I'm like, "All right,
bet." So, I'm standing by the front
door. I'm like, soon as this dude walks
out this front door, we got problems.
Well, they they walk back toward the
bathrooms and never come back. So I go
looking for him. They done went out the
back door. So he slipped me that time.
So then a couple more months go by and
everybody knows what happens to me. And
so I'm asleep one night and I live like
um from a different a little bar and
club they used to go to. I live like
maybe a half a mile. One of my other
buddy calls me. He goes, "Hey man, the
dude that robbed you is in here. It's
like in the morning." I was like on
my way. I didn't even have clothes to
get in. I just put on some joggers and I
went down there. But I knew the dude at
the door. I'm like, "Hey, Brian, I need
to come in. I got to holler at somebody
real quick." He's like, "And make it
quick. You know, you're going to get me
in trouble." So, I get in there and the
way the dance floor was in the middle,
you had to go all the way around. So,
I'm going in. I got me and a buddy of
mine and another dude I had never met,
but I knew of him. He was pretty crazy,
too, but I didn't really know him, but I
knew of him. So, we're going around. So,
we get about from here to your door from
him. And dude sees us. And so, he makes
a scene. He takes a beer bottle, bust
it, starts hollering cuz he's not going
to give us time to get to him, right?
So, he's making a scene. So the security
grab us real quick and like, "No, no,
you ain't doing that in here. You ain't
doing that here." So they put us out.
They don't put him out. They put us out.
I get outside. They're like, "Who y'all
beefing with?" And I said, "Um, I said
it's Vernon Nico." They're like, "Oh,
well that's his Lexus right there." I
was like, "Oh, that's the Lexus he
bought with the money he stole from me."
>> So I'm telling these guys what's up. The
one guy got mad because he got thrown
out of the club and he was just When you
call somebody, when you say somebody
simple, he was simple. Mhm.
>> He said, "Watch this." He goes to his
truck and grabs a ballpeen hammer and he
goes around that Lexus and he hits it 70
80 times with that ballpeen hammer. What
people don't realize is insurance can't
fix that. That car is total.
>> So, dude won't come out of the club, but
the other guy beat his beat his um
vehicle up so bad that he ends up they
end up having a insurance. I don't know
if he had insurance or not, but that car
could never be fixed again. So, anyway,
fast forward the story. Now, it's time
for me to go to prison. I get sentenced.
Well, they sentence them. So, one my
50-50 partner gets 24 months and they
send him to boot camp. Uh, everybody
below that got like 18 months. So,
they're trying to give me 54 months.
>> Mhm.
>> So, I'm like with my lawyer, I'm like,
we're 50/50 partners.
>> He cooperated. You didn't cooperate?
>> I I didn't know that at the time. So, my
my lawyer gets up in sentence and starts
arguing and the and the prosecutor never
forget. He's like, "This is not apples
to apples. This is not orange to orange.
This is completely different. He's
saying some stupid lingo. And so the
judge departs down from 54. I end up
getting like 49 months,
>> right?
>> So I get 49 months. They let me
self-surrender. So I end up going to uh
Lexington, Kentucky. The first one at
this time, Lexington was a federal
medical center. So they had high,
medium, low. So there's lifers there all
the way down to low security. The only
reason they didn't send me to a camp is
because I had this little state thing
pending. I forgot to tell the part where
before they indicted me and came and got
me, they had raided a house that I lived
in. That's one of the reasons I moved to
Smyrna because they I had a bunch of
these little rappers living with me and
they were selling something out of the
house. Well, come to find out, they
raided my house and they supposedly
found white, but the white they found
was fake.
>> It was baking soda. So eventually they
had to throw that out. But at the time
I'm getting sentenced, I still got that
on there. So they can't send me straight
to a camp. They got to send me behind
the fence. So I go to Lexon, Kentucky
and I stayed there like 10 months and
then of course I came from there. I my
points that that charge got dropped. My
points are dropping the whole time. I
left from there went to Montgomery down
there at uh Maxwell Air Force Base. So
that was a camp. Went there did the
ARDAT program. So I got out in like 27
months. So, I come home and this how I
know that was going to be different
because you know this well as I do, like
I tell people all the time, if you don't
change your environment, you don't
change the people you're hanging out
with, you're just going to do the same
thing. I didn't have a plan to do
nothing different. I went in there and
worked on working out. That was the only
thing I cared about in there. I didn't I
didn't read. I didn't do anything. I
mean, I might have read some books, but
Right.
>> Nothing to change my life. Right.
>> Right.
>> So, I come home, get in the halfway
house. I'm running with all these dudes
from that were locked up with me, you
know, that I looked up to back in the
day because they went down before me.
So, they're getting at the back end of
their sentences when I go in. So, we get
real close. And so, we come home and
um from there, I got a plug still on,
mind you.
>> Well, I'm on supervised release.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Okay.
>> So, I'm on supervised release. I get
sent home. My dad picks me up. He's
bringing me back to the halfway house
and he's telling me all along, "Son, you
got to do this different. You gotta do
this different. You gotta do this
different." I hear you, dad. I hear you,
dad. My dad told me right then, he said,
"I will not do this with you again."
Because he was the one bringing my
daughter to see me. He was the one
burning the interstate up.
>> It's like, "I'm not doing this with you
again." I was like, "Okay." So, anyway,
>> yeah, he's got his own [ __ ] demons to
deal with.
>> Absolutely. Yeah. He don't want to keep
doing this with me.
>> Yeah.
>> So, um, he'd cleaned his life up and
started a plumbing company and all this
at this time,
>> right? But still, he he done seen what
this leads to, right? So, I come home
and I'm in the halfway house. Well, at
this time, they um put you instead they
weren't putting you on ankle monitors
this time. They was doing like the when
they finally sent you home, instead of
ankle monitor, they was doing the little
calls where they call you on the
telephone. Yeah.
>> Verify your voice.
>> Well, we figured out real fast. Just
forward the phone call.
>> Mhm.
>> So, I was out. same guy that I'mma
finish the story about the guy that with
the that robbed me. So I'm out one
night. I'm still in the halfway house,
but I'm forwarding the phone to my um
cell phone. So when they call, we
already we already knew like what time
around the time they're going to call.
So they'll call me. I'll run to the
bathroom and get in one of them stalls
and act like I was asleep.
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>> Hello. Right.
>> Oh, is this Mr. Smotherman? Yeah, it's
him. Okay, just check on you. Yeah, I'm
home. You know, so I'm coming out of the
bathroom after one of them calls one
night and I'm walking out of the
bathroom. I had got removed from all the
dudes I was with and all of a sudden I
feel someone hit me with a bottle like
on the back of my head. I get smacked in
the back of the head with a beer bottle.
So I'm like they hit me like that and
then I feel somebody jump on my back. So
I just kind of grabbed them and threw
them off of me. And then someone I felt
somebody swing at me from this side. So
then somebody grabs me. And the person
that grabbed me was was bigger than me
because you could tell when somebody
grabs you. Like he grabbed me up in like
a full Nelson.
>> And he drags me down this hallway into
this kitchen. He's like, "Relax. Relax.
It's security. Relax." And I'm like,
"I'm cool. I'm cool." He was like, "What
happened?" I said, I asked him. I said,
"What happened?" He's like, "I don't
know." He was like, "These four He was
four black guys. They was trying to jump
on you." He's like, "I don't know how
they got in here." He said, "Because
they're they weren't dressed to be in
this club. They all had on like tank
tops." And I was like, "I ain't got no
beef with nobody. I ain't even lived in
Nashville in a couple of years." He
goes, "I'm just telling you." So, I go
back to my group of guys and I'm talking
and they're like, "What happened?" And I
told him, and another guy was with, he
goes, "It was about a Lexus." I'm like,
"What do you mean a Lexus?" He was like,
"Dude said you um totaled his Lexus."
I'm like, "Ah, it's the same dude that
robbed me,
>> right? So, this has come full circle.
I'm out of prison now and he's in the
club trying to jump me because another
dude that was close to him told him I
was home. So, that story kind of falls
dead from there because with him, I
never really saw him after that. They
end up getting him and a bunch of people
end up getting indicted later and does a
bunch of state time. But anyway, I'm
out. And so I'm running with this new
crew of people and I'm on supervised
release and I had a I had a um when I
was in prison first time, I got a CDL
license and I got a personal training
license. So I was really set up to do
something different. So my first mistake
when I came home was I was working for
my daughter's grandfather. He had an
excavating company and I was driving a
dump truck and running a skid steer for
him. So it was really a good setup. And
I left there because I wanted to go work
for this other guy who was doing like uh
home construction, but it's really just
because I want to hang out and be able
to escape the halfway house as much as
possible. Right.
>> Right.
>> So really that was my first mistake. So
had it made there and I left.
>> And so I get through the halfway house
and um I meet this I meet this
blondheaded chick. There's always a
woman coming into the story, right? So I
meet this blondeheaded chick.
Blondeheaded chick. She's 5'11. I ain't
had a I ain't been touched by a woman in
three years, right? And um my buddy's
trying to press up on her. So I was
like, there's there's a million more
women. I'm not going to press up on
somebody he's trying to press up on. So
we going to the gym and walking from the
halfway house. And every time we had
passed by, she worked next door to the
halfway house. Every time I passed by,
she would speak to me, right? And so
finally he was like, "And I think she's
more into you than she is me." He was
like, "Do whatever." Well, I start
messing with her. Well, the problem is
she was actually convicted felon
herself. had been in that same halfway
house. So, you already know what the
probation officer feels about that.
>> Like, unless y'all get married, y'all
can't be hanging out with each other.
So, my dumb self decides, we just get
married at the courthouse, not tell
nobody so we can be together.
So stupid, bro. So, I marry this chick.
Don't tell nobody I'm marrying her,
right? So, we can hang out. And so, now
she's got an appetite for
>> the things that I used to do, right?
She's got an appetite, you know, for
money because, you know, she went down
on a big case back in the day
>> with a dude that had a lot of money. So,
everybody's telling me like she's no
good. She's no good. But I I didn't see
anything but her looks at the time,
right?
>> So, I get involved with her. And so, the
motivation to get back on my feet was
there. And at the time, the dude that um
I used to get the uh from, he's cool,
but he won't give me more than like 10
pounds at a time. And he make a little
money off that. So, one of the dudes I
was running with like, "Hey, man. Um, I
got a better idea." He was like, "How
about we So, in Nashville, you could
look up on Zillow and I also had a Real
Track account from this girl. Let me log
in. You could look up like the dudes
that had a big name for that were
selling drugs there. You could look up
like all the properties they own. Right.
Right.
>> So, we just started looking up these
properties of all the dudes we knew that
had money.
>> And so, we would just start scoping
these properties out. So, we would start
looking at them and that was like our
full-time job. we just rot around and
see who was living in them. Well,
anytime we saw like a group of Mexicans
living in that home, we knew that they
were renting the Mexicans. We knew it
had to be either money or drugs there.
So, that's literally how we got back
started. Like, we sit on these houses
for two or three months and then I'd
send my little brother up to the door
with a picture of a dog. He'd go up
there with a picture of a dog and knock
on the door and if somebody came, hey,
have you seen my dog? He got loose in
the neighborhood. Oh, we're sorry we
hadn't seen him. If they didn't come to
the door, we'd sit on it for a little
bit longer and watch see if any traffic
coming out. So,
I think the first one we hit, we kicked
in the door, got like 12 grand, split it
three ways. The next one we did, we got
like 70 grand. And so, from there, it
was like
>> they just handed it over to you.
>> No, no, no. There was nothing there.
That was the thing. We never we never
did the part where we were smart enough
to not say we I didn't want to die,
>> right? So, I done knew enough stories
where you run in on somebody, they're
shooting back. I didn't carry a gun. So,
I'm like, and I'm on federal release.
So,
>> you wait. So, you wait till it's
completely empty and then you kick in
the door.
>> That's it.
>> And then just go through the house real
quick.
>> Yeah. And so, so the first one we did,
my little brother was I always called
him a magnet cuz he could go find stuff
quick. So, the first one we did,
>> kick in the door, go through there. My
brother finds a little briefcase safe
within about two minutes. So, I'm like,
"Let's go." He's like, "No, no, I can't
leave all." So he piles up all these
guns, all this. My brother comes out of
the house, I kid you not. He's got a bag
of guns. He's got a bag of change. I'm
like, "How you going to get this across
this field where the car is parked?
Somebody's supposed to be picking us
up."
>> He was like, "I'll make it." So he's
weighed down. We're trying to go across
this field. So we bunker down in this
little ravine and the guy's going to
flash his lights twice for us to come
out. So a car comes and they flash their
they don't flash their lights, but he
just sees headlights. My brother jumps
up, runs in the middle of the road.
like, "Hey, what are y'all doing?" I'm
like, "That ain't him, bro." So, my
brother drops the guns and takes off
running. I'm like, "You did all that
just to leave the guns behind, but I
didn't leave the briefcase behind." You
know what I mean? So, we end up
splitting that up. It was like 12 grand.
So, then another time, um, I knew a girl
and she didn't mean to do this. Um, she
was dating a dude and she was like, "Oh,
have you been to see so- and so?" I'm
like, "No." She was like, "His house is
over on so and so." She's like, "He's
the only house over there with a
detached garage." I'm like, "Okay." So,
she basically told us where he lived at,
even though she didn't give us an
address. So, I started riding through
there and found the house and then um
ran into her again and she was like,
"Oh, you need to come meet up with us.
We're going here on Saturday night." So,
I called my people. I'm like, "Oh, they
ain't going to be home on Saturday
night." And so, sure enough, we waited
on them to leave. And that particular
time, we ran in and got like 70 grand.
And so from there, we had one more. Um I
had two more, but one of them was kind
of a dry run and it was like that Tampa
situation. I said, "I'm done." So one
more we had a little guy and my friend
set him up. He um we were supposed to
meet him out and there was a big group
of people going out. And so he kept
saying, "When y'all coming? When y'all
coming? We'll be there later. We'll be
there later." So the whole time he's at
the club. We done went up in his
apartment and got him. We drove up to We
drove up to the club with all his drugs
and his money in our trunk and went hung
out with him after we robbed him the
whole night.
>> Horrible.
>> The whole night. So now we got an alibi
when when it finally his girl gets home
and calls and says somebody broke into
the house. Can't be us. We're with him,
>> right?
>> So he don't know who got him. And so we
end up uh staying there all night with
him and playing it off like, "Man,
that's messed up. Somebody got you.
Somebody got you." So we did that. And
then I had this uh one other incident. I
had this bookie. And so with this
bookie, I knew there was going to be
like 120 grand there because that I had
like multiple sources telling me. So
we went up to the door. Same thing. It
was during the day cuz he he worked like
20 mi away at a detail shop. So he left
the money there in a safe with his wife.
Well, there's no cars in the driveway.
So I'm thinking nobody's there. So sent
my brother up to knock. He knocks.
Nobody comes. So we pick him back up in
the car. We wait about 20 minutes and we
go back to the house. So, we go back to
the house, we kick in the door. Soon as
we kick in the door, we see the safe
wide open. We didn't know there was
another vehicle there. We didn't see
them leave, but obviously somebody was
there because when we kicked in that
door, we had just seen the the garage
door was left up. It wasn't up the first
time we come through there. So, when we
kicked in that door, that safe was wide
open. So, obviously, they had just took
the money and left because somebody
knocked that supposed to knock. So, we
ram sacked this house. I'm up in the
attic.
And if you ever walk across those
floorboards, you got to be careful
because I'm pulling up the A lot of
people like to hide their money under
their um insulation. So, I'm pulling up
the insulation
>> and I take a misstep and I literally
fall through the ceiling. Luckily, my
leg gets caught on the joist. So, I'm
still up here.
>> You're supposed to walk on the joist.
>> Yeah, I did. And I slipped.
So, I fall through the ceiling and
luckily I didn't fall all the way down.
And so, from there, I was like, "This is
stupid. I'm not doing this no more." It
was a dry run. You know, you you put a
lot of effort into stuff like that. You
put a lot of time into it. It it felt
like it wasn't worth it. So anyway, we
got enough money back up now. So now I
just go back to my old plug. What
happened with him? He got in trouble
right before this. He actually um got
into this big fight in a strip club one
night and a big stabbing happened. And I
was cool with all these guys. One guy,
one group of guys was my friends and
then the guys that got into it was my
friends. But I was never in the middle
of any of that. So they got into this
big altercation. One of my friends gets
stabbed and dies by another one of my
friends, which is messed up. So he gets
put on an ankle monitor, so he can't go
pick up his loads no more. Right.
>> Right.
>> So now he's like, "Hey, you can just go
pick the whole load up." So now I'm back
in this full force. Now I go get a
little house out in uh Franklin,
Tennessee, if you know where that's at.
>> And so I'm out in the country. Nobody
knows where I'm at. And so the dude's
just bringing like, you know, 2 or 3,000
lbs at a time, dropping it off, and
we're taking it back to this um this
house. And so it was always they always
had a number. The Mexicans would call
and say, "It's supposed to be this
amount." And I'd be like, "All right."
Well, they would tell me up front what
the amount was supposed to be. So I'd
take 10 off of it and be like, "It was
only this amount." They'd be like, "Oh,
it's supposed to be this amount." I was
like, "No, it was only this amount. I'm
the one here counting it." Right. Right.
>> I'm in here for 24 hours. like I'm
getting 10 of them for myself,
>> right?
>> So I was always but they never they had
shipped so many they didn't care,
>> right?
>> You know, they would argue with you for
a minute like, "Okay, whatever the
county is, you said it is it is."
>> So we lasted probably about
seven, eight months. I probably been out
probably been out 18 months from from
prison released. And one particular
night, it was October of 2006. I um
we had a we were putting together a
Halloween party. I was helping a friend
of mine. He was a Samoan buddy of mine
and he was a good dude and he um he
wanted me to help him like put the money
up for this party and he was going to
split the money with me because it cuz
he could he was one of the people bring
a lot of people. He he knew a lot of
people. He get a lot of people to show
up. So we're over there that day and
mind you it' been like four to 6 weeks
since the last time we got a load in and
so our lifestyle we had been running
back and forth from Atlanta doing all
these things partying. So when you have
that much access to money, you have a
lifestyle to keep up with it, right? So
when you go four to six weeks without
anything like it really adds up. You
would think somebody' be saving their
money. We're we were we're going through
it, right?
>> So four to six weeks go by all my people
are calling me. So it wasn't that I
didn't have money. I had money, but it
was more about me letting other people
down. They're like, "Oh, man. We need
some more. We need some more. Um, you
know, we got to feed our families." And
so, I felt responsible for those people,
right? So, this particular night, my guy
calls me that's on the ankle monitor.
He's like, "Hey, the load's coming in."
He said, "Um, stay by your phone." So,
it's already like at night. We
never did nothing that late, ever. We
never did it past a certain time of the
day. We always did it in the middle of
traffic on purpose, you know. So, long
story short, we say, "Hang around, hang
around." About comes, he's like,
"The load's 45 minutes away." So, about
, sure enough, they call and say,
"It's going to be at this location." So,
I sent my brother over there. I'm up the
road. I had a Range Rover at the time.
And so, I'm up the road in the Range
Rover. My brother goes down there. He's
got a white Mercury Sable. So, the deal
is go down there, pick up the van
>> that's full of what's in it,
>> drive it back to the house, we'll unload
it, go back and get your car, and swap
back out. Yeah.
>> So, he pulls up. I'm sitting up the road
for like 30 minutes. I'm like, "It don't
take 30 minutes to swap a swap a van
out."
>> So, I'm hitting him on the two-way radio
cuz we had the next tails two ways. So,
I'm hitting him. I'm like, "Hey, bro,
what's going on? Give me a minute. Give
me a minute." I'm like, "What's going
on?" So, sure enough, 30 minutes go by.
He's not answering his phone. I'm I'm
freaking out. He comes driving up the
road at in the morning in the white
Mercury Sable. He had unloaded all the
way from the green van into the white
Mercury Sable. It was It was 1,091
bricks of marijuana. They look like the
little VCR tapes. The Mexican brought it
up from Atlanta said that he couldn't
wait for him to swap the vehicle out
because he had to be back at work the
next morning cuz he was going to work at
. So, he had to get back to Atlanta.
He was already going to be late. So I
told him he should have boarded the
mission. So anyway, he comes past me,
the whole car squatting like this, gets
on the bypass. I let him get about four
or five miles down the road and I take
off behind him. And so as I get close to
him, he hits me on the two-way. He's
like, "Bro, go home. I just saw the
helicopters."
I'm like, "I don't see no helicopter,
bro." I'm like, "Get off the phones with
that mess." I was like, "You're crazy."
He was like, "I'm telling you, bro.
Trying to save you. Go home." I saw the
helicopters. I'm like, "Bro, I'm
responsible for this." So, sure enough,
we go uh there's a bypass in Nashville
called Brley Parkway. Takes you to like
the main interstates. So, we take that
and um he gets probably about four or
five miles ahead of me. I know which
direction he's going. So, I get off the
interstate. He's already gone. I come
up. I take uh I get off the interstate
to the right. I take a left on this road
called Franklin Road. It leads you all
the way into downtown Franklin. So when
I take that left, I saw two cars fly up
behind me. They were like little
Maximus, and I'm like, "This ain't
good." So I cut my hazard lights on, act
like something's wrong with the vehicle.
So I slow down to about 30 miles an
hour.
My brother is probably two or three
miles ahead at the red light, but the
red light's supposed to be flashing.
It's not supposed to be red. It's It's
in the morning. It's supposed to be
flashing light. That light never
>> was that color at that time of night. It
was always flashing. So it was a flat
road, so I could see him for like a mile
and a half out. But I'm going super
slow. These cars ain't trying to go
around me. I know something's up. So as
I'm approaching probably like a mile
away, that light's red the whole time.
It takes me at like four minutes to get
up to that light,
>> right?
>> That light never changes. As soon as I
get up behind him at that light, that
light changes. I told him, I said, "You
go left, I'm going straight." He hits a
left, I go straight. They come out of
everywhere swarming on us. So I'm I take
them on a little not really a chase. I
just I take off up the road on them.
They hit the lights. I take the little
two-way radio and I sling it into the
woods. My little brother takes him He's
so silly. He takes him on a chase in a
white Mercury sable. You're not getting
away from them. You got you got you got
a thousand bricks of in there. It's
weighted down. You're not getting away
from him. So he he takes him on a long
enough chase just to like get his
bearings for a minute and they end up
pulling us both over. Well, they take us
back to Davidson County, which is
Nashville. Well, that much Davidson
County, you might get a $100,000 bond.
It's not that big of a deal there
because in Nashville, it's a big hub for
drugs. So, they see lots of drugs. So,
they take us to take us back to
Nashville cuz that's where we picked it
up at.
>> That's where he picked it up at. I never
I never had it in my vehicle at all.
Right. So they're saying it's
constructive possession on me. It's
yours. We know it's yours. So they don't
got no phone. All they got my brother's
word if he decides. So they take us back
to interrogation.
>> I tell them my brother called me, said
he was drunk driving home from a club. I
was following him home. That's all I
know. Me and the I had a I had the chick
that the other problem of the story is I
had that chick with me that I was
married to. Right. So knowing she done
been to the feds before herself, she's
out on federal probation like me. So
we're both hit basically.
>> So they take us back and on the way back
she's like, "Hey, your brother was
driving drunk. We was following him
home. That's all we're saying. Bet."
>> Go to interrogation.
My brother's got his head down. It's
just a cubicle like this. Yeah.
>> You can hear them on the other side. The
guys interrogate my brother. My brother
says, "My brother's got his head down.
He's not talking. He's like 21 at the
time." And they go, "I heard the dude
slap the table." Boom. Boom. Don't you
hear me? I'm trying to talk to you. My
brother raises up. Boom. Boom. Don't you
see? I'm trying to take a nap. And puts
his head back down. They go, "Oh, okay.
We got y'all." So it they're livid now.
So they handcuff us all. They take us
back to Williamson County. The problem
with Williamson County is they were
giving people $20,000 bonds for just
driving on revoked license.
>> It was one of the fourth at that time.
It was the fourth richest per capita
nation. I mean uh counties in the
nation. They did not like anything going
on there. Like that was like the place
where you do not mess up there.
>> Right. So they drive us back there, put
us in the holding cell. My brother's
laughing. I'm like, "Bro, we're hit."
He's like, "Oh, it ain't no big deal." I
said, "It's a big deal for me, not for
you." So he thinks it's a big joke. So
anyway, go to court the next day, no
bond. week later, Halloween night, I go
back in the courtroom,
they give me a quarter million dollar
bond. They won't give him no bond
because he had got caught with a pistol
like 6 months before that. So, he was on
a probation violation. So, now I'm on a
federal charge. Well, no, it's a state
charge. Now, I'm on a state charge, a
new state charge with a federal
violation pending possibly because
again, I'm not caught with nothing.
>> You're right. But my brother's not
talking, so they really don't have a lot
on me, but they got enough to hold me.
And so this is where my this is where my
life changes completely, right? So I'm
in this county jail and I'm just broken.
I'm just like, I've made a mess of my
life. I'm like, God, if you're real,
show me something like, you know. And so
they do a church call and I go to a
Tuesday night. It's Halloween night,
2006. I go to church call and a and a
and a voluntary chaplain's in there.
He's giving his testimony of his life.
It's been 40 years since he had been in
the life he was in.
>> But he's telling a story like it's been
40 years now. At the time he's telling
the story been like 20 years since he
had been in the life. Well, he tells
this testimony about how he played
baseball growing up and he had a
scholarship and they were this is real
part and part of the part important part
of the story. That's why I'm telling it.
So he's telling this testimony. Well,
they swung they they would play these
baseball games and they would go down to
this little creek cuz they lived in a
little city called Chapel Hill,
Tennessee and it was a little country
town. So this particular day they had a
double header baseball game. They went
and swung off this vine that they would
do into this creek and he hits the water
wrong. Gets a gets a water gets lungs
full of water. Starts sinking. One of
his teammates jumps in, brings him out,
right? Saves his life. Well, he's
telling a story. 20 years passes from
that time and he's
goes into college, gets in a bunch of
gets gets hooked on drugs in college,
had a baseball scholarship, gets hooked
on drugs. He's 36 years old at the time
that this next incident happens. He um
36, he goes to buy some drugs.
>> They rob him. It's December and it's
cold in Tennessee in December. So, they
rob him of his jacket, his clothes,
everything. So, he's walking down this
little two-lane highway at like in
the morning with nothing but underwear
on and everybody's like, "He's crazy.
Nobody's pulling over,
>> right?"
>> So, this goes on for like 20, 30
minutes. He He probably walks like a
half a mile and finally a car pulls
over. Well, here's how I know God is
real. This what I tell people all the
time. Car pulls over, rolls a window
down, calls him by his first and last
name, says, "David G, get in this car."
David gets in the car. Guess who it was?
The same guy that pulled him out of that
water. His teammate that pulled him out
of that yard water 20 years before that.
>> What's the chances?
>> What's the chances right
>> of that guy being there at that
particular time?
>> Guy puts him in the car, takes him takes
him home, feeds him, takes him to church
next day. The man gives his life to the
Lord. Then now as he's telling the
story, it's been 20 more years. He was a
pastor now, voluntary chaplain, had a
church, had two beautiful daughters. And
there was something in that moment where
I just thought to myself, I said, "Man,
if God did that for him, he'd do it for
me." And I had a I had this moment in
time where it was like that. And I
remember looking at him and I said, "I
don't know what it is about you." I
said, "But I want whatever you got." And
I said those words. And church service
ends. He um tells the guards, "Can you
have five minutes with me?" They're
like, "Sure." Prays over me. He's like,
"You didn't know it, but I was in the
courtroom today when you went." He was
like, "It didn't go well for you." I was
like, "No." He was like, "Um, I just
want to pray for you." So, prays for me.
I rededicate my life back to the Lord at
that moment knowing I'm facing a lot of
time, right? I got a lot of things
hanging over my head. So, go back to the
sale. I know something's changed. I
don't know what. I just know something's
different. go back to the sale and 3
days later they go visitation it's not a
visitation day thinking that's a lawyer
I'm facing a lot of time so uh they
escort me down this hallway I get down
there and they open the door and it's
him again he was like do you remember me
I'm like man I haven't stopped thinking
about you
>> not for any weird reason you made an
impact in my life that no one ever told
me that I was valuable and so sure
enough I go in there and he tells me he
says um I he said I was praying, he
said, and the Lord told me to come back
and speak to you. He said, "You have a
calling on your life." I was like, "What
does that mean?" He was like, "Well, it
starts with me just pouring into you."
So, this man came for five and a half
months, three days a week on his own
time, and he just poured the Bible into
me for five and a half months. So, I'm
sitting in this county jail knowing I'm
facing prison time again. I don't know
what to do. And this guy goes, "You
know, you can get a bond reduction
hearing because it's you've been here
for like six months now." So, sure
enough, I go back and I apply for a bond
reduction hearing. Mind you, I'm on I'm
on a hold for the feds,
>> right?
>> So, I go to this bond hearing. Sure
enough, they dropped my bond from 250 to
75,000. Um, I don't have 75,000. And I
don't even have 7,500 at the time, but I
had a couple of cars at the house cuz I
had to pay. The part of the story I
didn't tell is during the time I'm
sitting there, my brother's not talking,
but I know I got to get this girl off my
case because it takes two people for a
conspiracy, right?
>> My brother's not going brother's not
going to tell on me. I know that
already.
>> But she will. So I'm like, how do I get
her off my case? So my lawyer, I paid my
I had a state lawyer at the time. I paid
him 10 grand. He was like, "Ernie wants
135 to get his charges dismissed." They
these both used to be prosecutors in
that county. I'm like, I'm like, "You
can guarantee that?" He said, "Yeah."
Gave him 135. They went back in the
courtroom, argued she was only a
passenger in a vehicle. She had no
recollection of what was going on. They
dismissed her charges completely.
>> Me and my brother stayed.
>> Me, I had to get her off the case. I
already knew what was going to happen.
If I can get her off the case, I'm I'm
hit.
>> Yeah. That's not the point. The point is
is that's corruption. That's
>> Oh, yeah. for sure.
>> Right. Okay.
>> So, they knew what they could do all
along. They were just wanting some more
money.
>> So, I give them So, so I give them the
money. He gets her off the case.
>> So, now I I I don't have to deal with
her at all. So, now it's just me and my
brother on this case. So, I get a bond
reduction hearing, get out. Well, I need
7500 to get out. Well, the guy David
that been speaking into my life and
mentoring me is like, "I know the
bondsman here." He was like, "Uh, let me
call her and see what I can do, what
she'll do it for." So, he calls on the
phone. He was like, "She says she'll do
it for half." So, instead of 7500, I
only need 3750. So, I call home, um,
move some money around, sell a couple of
things, got my 3750, they come buy me
out. Well, I know the feds are going to
grab me. I know that. But now I'm at
this place with my faith. And I like to
tell this story. The Bible says we've
all been given a measure of faith. But
there's going to come a day where you
got to activate your faith. You was
saying it earlier how there's certain
things we do and as we continue to
progress on those things, our faith gets
greater and greater because now we see
things happening on our behalf, right?
Well, I think a lot of times people
never activate their faith. And so I
hadn't gotten to this place where I
learned how to activate my faith. I
heard these words from the Lord. He
said, "I'm not a god that I tease my
children." So, I get a bond reduction. I
get the money to get out. So, I get this
bond. So, now in my heart, I got this
faith that there's no way they're going
to that I'm not going to get out. So,
the feds come get me, take me back
downtown.
>> They put me in front of the the
magistrate with my probation officer. My
dad shows up,
>> the pastor shows up, and they're
speaking on my behalf. And long story
short, my probation officer goes, I'm
willing to put him on an ankle monitor
and see how see where this case goes
since he didn't get caught with nothing.
Boom. Give me a bond. Feds give me a
bond. Put him on ankle monitor. Send me
back to my dad's house. You ain't going
back to that house you was at. Going
back to your dad's house. Go back to my
dad's house. I'm out for like two
months. I'm working for my dad's
company. Two months later, my lawyer
calls me. He goes, "Bad news." Like,
"What's up?" He was like, "Feds picked
the case up.
What do you mean the feds picked the
case up? Feds picked the case up. So the
case was out of Atlanta because that's
where the had come from that night. It
came from Atlanta. So Atlanta had a
federal indictment of like 16 people. I
just happened to be on the back end of
it. The only thing that really helped me
was I never met any of those people
before. My brother met one of them the
night he picked it up, but I never met
anybody. They didn't know my face. I
dealt with the dude local in Nashville,
but he had been on house arrest for so
long he wasn't on the indictment. They
just they might have had him on a phone
conversation, but they didn't really
know who he was,
>> right?
>> So, I go I have to go self-surrender,
self-surrender. They take me to Atlanta.
I go through all this. I get to Atlanta,
go for a bond hearing. The federal judge
gives me a bond. The prosecutor is like,
"There's no way he gets a bond." He
said, "I'm taking it upstairs." So, he
takes it, they send me back across the
street to AC/DC.
>> He goes above the judge.
>> Goes above the judge and appeals it. So
they send me back across the street to
AC/DC. I sit there for another four and
a half weeks.
>> I was in AC/DC.
>> Microwaves and ice machines.
>> I was in AC.
>> I know. The weirdest stuff that we get
excited about, right?
>> For uh I was in there for about 8
months.
>> Yeah. I was there for 3 months, but I
thought it was actually probably one of
the better county jails I' ever been in.
>> Yeah. Uh I was in prior to that I was in
um
uh Union City. Horrible. Horrible
[ __ ] place.
>> Only had to go through Atlanta. I only
had to go through the pin for one night.
I went when I first got there, they sent
me in the pin overnight, booked us in.
There was six people in a room with four
fourman bunks. Had a little roll out on
the on the ground and all night I'm
like, I got to get out of here. Cannot
stay here. Like all night I'm waiting.
Every time they call a name from the
time I got there about in the
afternoon and every time they started
calling names, I'm like, "Surely they're
going to call my name." So I probably
laid there all night, couldn't sleep.
It's probably in the morning. They
finally call my name. I'm like down
here. I'm beating on the door down here.
So they come get me, take me to AC/DC.
I'm like, this is nice compared to a
county jail where I had been. Like this
is real nice. So I go to AC/DC, go up
for a bond hearing. Judge gives me a
bond. My prosecutor appeals it, takes it
upstairs. I go back across the street,
stay there for like another three or
four weeks, go to back for another bond
hearing in front of a pellet judge. Hear
exactly what he said.
Pellet judge looks at the situation,
looks straight at the prosecutor. Why
are we here?
>> Prosecutor's like, "Cuz I don't think
it's right that he's got a bond. Look at
his criminal history. Look at this.
This." And she literally looked at it
was actually a female. She looked at the
prosecutor. She goes, "Did the judge
downstairs give him a bond?" Yes, your
honor. She did. He did. So why are you
up here? We don't go against our own
people. If she gave him a bond, I'm
giving him a bond. Dress him out. Sure
enough, sent me back across the street,
dressed me out, gave me a bond, put me
back on ankle monitor. So, I stayed out
from that point, but that changed my
life at that point. So, I stayed out on
on um that ankle monitor for like two
years and some change while they
>> while they're the other people are going
through the process.
>> Yeah. Because none of them know me.
Right.
>> Right. And so, I'm not saying I'm taking
it to trial, but I'm also not pleading
guilty to nothing
>> because you don't have nothing. So my
brother, they got him on diesel therapy.
Every time we send him money, he get
moved from he went to 17 different
county jails in a three-year period. 17.
But the whole time I ain't got nothing
to say to y'all.
>> Yeah. At all. So finally they was
offering my brother 36 months and um my
lawyer came was like they said they'll
give you the same amount. First time
offender for him.
>> He's already been [ __ ] in the city
walking out of jail. He's going straight
to a halfway house. Absolutely. That's
exactly what's fixing to happen. So they
tell they come to me and they're like
they're like you can you can take this
to trial or we give you the same amount
of time as your brother. And now here's
the thing I had in my back pocket. I
knew they didn't none of them guys knew
me but there was still another guy on
the street who had been running for a
long time and he's the one that was on
the ankle monitor and he's the one that
I was picking up from. So also knew what
superseding indictments if they get him
I'm done.
>> Mhm. He's not he's not going to bat for
me, right? So, I said, I can fight this,
but who's to say if I say I'm going to
trial, they're not going to come pick
him up later,
>> right?
>> I said, or they offer me, they said, you
can take this same 36-month sentence.
And I said, the only way I do that is if
I get if the y'all talk to the
probation, and I want 36 and 36 ran
concurrent, and I'll and I'll sign
today. And so sure enough, they gave me
36
probation violation, 36 on this end.
Well, when come the sentencing come out,
the prosecutors um asking for like six
years or something, right, with
enhancements,
>> [ __ ] Yeah, your honor, we have an
agreement. They were like, we disagree
with Yeah.
>> And so what's funny is the judge is like
the judge is in the courtroom and she
tells the prosecution, she's like, I get
the final say. So, what they wanted to
do was give me six years and then do
like uh three years probation, the
three-year probation violation, six new
years, but then also three years
supervised release. And so, I had my
lawyer go back and I said, "I'll do 36
and 36 concurrent and you can give me as
much probation as you want on the back
end because I'm not going to mess it up
again."
>> So, sure enough, when it all came down
to it, the prosecutor still didn't agree
with it, but the judge said, "I'll do
this instead." head. She said, "I'm
going to give you 3 years um on the new
charge." She said, "I'm going to give
you 3 years with a probation violation.
Run concurrent." She said, "But I'm
going to give you 8 years on supervisor
release." She was like, "So, if you're
really not going to do nothing, you'll
survive it." But I was cool with that,
>> right?
>> So, I said, "Do I get the time I served
in the county jail?" She was like,
"Yeah." So, I got sentenced and I
already had six months built in the
county jail. So, it it equal like seven
something
>> right
>> months. So, literally got sentenced,
went home, let me self-surrender again
like 2 months later, self-surrendered
again. But, um, man, in prison, man, to
be honest, like it was my first
opportunity to like like I had men in
there that mentored me and like really
showed me what life is supposed to be
like past all the all the things I had
been living, you know what I mean? And
so um started went into two Bible
colleges and they got an opportunity in
prison to preach. And so that's what I
did from prison. And then when I came
home from prison 2011, I had my CDL
license. So I went to a company called
uh Ready Ice. And this is how this set
up. I had a made a friendship with a guy
in there and his his stepfather was like
the head of all the safety of Ready Ice.
And he was like, so I go home and I turn
in like 30 different resumes and nobody
will hire me, right? And so finally his
mom calls me on the phone. She's like,
"We just want to see how this job search
is going. We was worried about you." I
was like, "Well, nobody hired me." She's
like, "Well, go to Ready Ice." She's
like, "My husband's going to call him."
So I go to Ready Ice. Got a CDL license.
When I put his name down on the
application, the manager looked at he
said, "You know him?" I was like, "Yep."
He was like, "Oh, you're good." Hired me
on the spot. stayed there for a year and
a year later they promoted me from
driver and I ended up becoming the route
supervisor there. From there I stayed
the route supervisor for four more years
there and from there got promoted to
plant manager. I ended up being a plant
manager for like five more years. So I
gave him 12 years out of prison.
>> Did 12 years there and then the Lord
called me out of there. told me I got
too comfortable and he told me my
identity became in become my identity
became what I was doing instead of in
who I was right so it was very
interesting he told me I got comfortable
and and I wasn't he didn't want my
identity to be a plant manager right
wasn't a bad thing he was really calling
me out to something greater right so
tells me to leave
um it was a rough time in my life I went
through a had marriage at that time. And
so I had walking away from what
everybody telling me I'm crazy. You're
walking away from a career. My boss was
in Aniston, Alabama. I was in Nashville,
Tennessee. I ran the location. I talked
to my boss on the phone. They never came
up there and bothered me. I was good at
my job. So I knew the job like the back
of my hand. Nobody leaves an environment
like that, right? Everybody's telling
me, "You're crazy. You're crazy. This is
a career. You're walking away from a
career." But I just knew that there was
something more inside of me that was
telling me to go. And so I gave him a
four-month notice because they were a
seasonal business. And I decided I was
going to leave in June of 2022.
Thought I was going to leave. So I gave
him till November. So I hired and
trained my replacement. Left in
November, went and started my own
business. And me and my cousin, first
cousin did um low voltage wiring for a
while. that was his trade. So, we
started a little business, got a little
escorp and did that for like six months,
that slowed down. Um, the Lord told me
to humble myself and go work for my
little brother who was running my dad's
plumbing company. And so, that was a
hard thing for me. The same one that was
driving the stuff up the bowling room
>> and the same one that, you know, I
raised, the Lord told me to humble
myself and go work for him. And so, that
was a challenge for me, but it was um
needed. You know, I learned a lot about
humility in that time. So I left and he
made me a 1099 employee and I went and
drove their dump truck because it's a
plumbing excavation construction. They
tear houses down all that now.
>> So I went and drove that dump truck for
them for like two years. Worked for my
little brother. I have a funny story
about working for him. Um you know I was
working for him and um we was picking up
asphalt one day and um super crazy. So,
I pick up the asphalt
and I forgot to Now, mind you, I'm going
through a I'm going through a divorce.
My head's all over the place. I'm my my
brain is scrambled right now. My life's
done been changed three times in the
last two years, altered completely. I'd
gotten real comfortable where I was at.
And so, I went to pick up this asphalt
and I didn't lock the pins on the back
of the trailer. I mean, the door shuts
down like this. It's heavy,
>> but I didn't lock the pins. So I take
off.
>> When you drive off it, it all dumps out.
>> Well, it just starts coming out slow.
>> Oh, okay. I thought you really [ __ ]
load.
>> No, I dropped it down, but the door's so
heavy that it just spits out.
>> Yeah.
>> But it's hot asphalt, so it's going to
get everywhere.
>> So I get So I come out of the asphalt
plant and I'm half a mile from the
interstate. I jump on the interstate.
>> My brother ends up driving beside me and
I'm thinking he's just waving at me.
Like what's the chance of us being on
the interstate at the same time? It was
a coincidence. He was like, "Pull over,
pull over, pull over." He's screaming.
I'm like, He's like, "You didn't lock
the back." So I was like, "Man." So I
pull over and man, I pulled over and he
pulled up behind me and he cussed me up
and down like a dog. I mean, cuss me
like a dog. And I just felt that thing
inside of me say, "How you going to act?
Are you going are you going Are you
going to act the way he's acting or are
you going to take responsibility and do
something about it?" And so sure enough,
talked to me like a dog and I knew what
I was supposed to do in that moment. I
said, "My bad, man. I messed up." And I
just got a shovel and I got out there
and I started scooping it up and
throwing it into the back of the truck
and we did that together for as far as
we could and locked it back and went on.
You know what I mean?
>> And so I did that for two years. And
then the Lord called me to move from
Nashville to come here. And so to come
here, the reason to come here, one of
the guys that mentored me when I was in
prison, he had planted a church here in
Wesley Chapel back in 5 years ago. It'd
be 5 years in September. So it's called
uh
>> what's it called?
>> City of God Church. It's at We meet at
Bonito Middle School,
>> Cross Creek.
>> Yeah. I don't know. Uh uh you know where
um uh the Bridges
uh church? It's uh
>> Where's it at?
>> It's It's close to 54. It's all It's off
54.
>> And then we we went there for a while
and then we went to
>> um I want to say city city churches. I
don't know. My my
>> city church is a big church out there.
>> Yeah. Uh we've only gone there maybe for
like the last couple months. Um, only
because the the the bridges
is uh
the preacher,
you know, he I like churches where they
they they they tell you almost like a
like a story, right? Like like, hey,
here's, you know, and and and you learn
something from the story. It's
entertaining. It's understandable. This
is how you Yeah. This is how you behave.
This is how
>> But at the bridges, they listen, here's
the thing. The problem is is that he,
you know, his whole thing is like I
teach, you know, directly from the the
Bible and that's great.
>> Mhm.
>> But I don't need to know the origins of
every word, right? That like he
>> he wants to break down the Greek and the
Hebrew of everything.
>> Yes. And and I don't need to know that,
bro.
>> I don't need to know where the origins
of this.
>> How does this relate to my life?
>> Right. when I walk out of there, I want
to be able to relate this this this um
sermon to my life and how can I use it
and not know that this word the origins
of this word is from here and it means
this and it means this and it mean and
like I understand you're very smart.
You're a very smart guy. You you really
looked into it. But when I walk out of
there, I don't want to be halfway
through through the sermon and be
thinking, I wonder if we should put our
our order into um first watch. Yeah.
>> Where are we going to eat? What am I
going to get? Like I don't want to be
drifting off thinking about the rest of
my day. I want to know that you're
teaching me something that I can,
>> you know, use in my life.
>> Yeah. And and instead now I know where
the origins of this word came from and I
understand that this city was close to
this city and they walked there and so
it was a long journey and so okay, I
don't care that it's a long I I've got a
Toyota. Like what are we doing here? But
the other the other one is better. Much
better. New
>> Yeah, New Walk is much better because
And here's the thing,
everybody's just kind of like, you know,
I don't know. I shouldn't say this. It
doesn't it it it doesn't it doesn't
matter, but I mean they they're just
regular people, bro. They're just
regular people that are there. You know,
some people are in blue jeans, some
people are dressed up.
>> Absolutely. Some people it's just
regular people that are just, you know,
and uh so it's and this is the other
part about where that bothers me.
>> This you know what I'm saying?
>> No, I'm just I'm just thinking if
someone from this church
>> Oh, if they're watching. Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> Straighten up. Okay. I'm just telling
you.
>> Um
so one, it seems like every few months
they're patting themselves on the back.
That bothers me,
>> right? Uh the the the other thing that
bothers me is they keep talking about
how they have this outreach program and
this outreach program. We have an
outreach program for uh prisons and and
and the jails and this and that. Okay.
Well, we wrote two emails to you about
work trying to work with you. Not even
work with you. Like I understand you
probably have 15 people that are a part
of this whole thing. And if you need
help, I we're willing to help.
>> Keep in mind we we we donate. Mhm.
>> Like I mean it's not like I'm showing up
for nothing. We're sending money.
>> Right. Right.
>> So,
and if you need help, like I think
that's great. Going into prisons, the
whole thing. I'm willing to do that. I
think I'd be a great example of that. I
did that anyway.
>> Yeah.
>> Um but we sent a couple emails, bro.
Nobody got back. We didn't send it to
the wrong email,
>> right?
>> Nobody got back to So it may first
thought was
>> I'm not that important.
>> No, my first thought is do you actually
have a reachout program? got you
>> because two former federal inmates, my
wife and I, reached out to you, sent
emails, you didn't respond.
>> Give me a go [ __ ] yourself. We're not
interested. Tell me that,
>> right?
>> Tell me, I got your email, but you're
not the kind of person I want
representing this church. I get it. I
understand. I'm not for everybody,
>> right?
>> But don't not respond. It makes me
think, is this just a part of a griff?
Like, you're pitching every single time.
But is the pitch simply to say
>> to make yourself look good for your for
your followers?
>> Yeah. Am I just Yeah. I want everybody
know I'm a good We also have we reach
out to the local prisons. Do you?
>> Yeah.
>> You know, and their big thing is then we
need help not just with donations. We
need physical bodies.
I'm I'm here. That B, bro, it irritates
me. And it it's funny because it bothers
my wife that it irritates me. Yeah.
>> Um so anyway, then we went to the other
one. We we like the other place
>> like New Walk.
>> Um I forget the other one that Jess and
I went to for like three years. The
problem is when we moved,
>> it's an hour and 45 minute drive to get
to the other church.
>> And it's like, okay, do we spend three
and a half hours driving back and forth
at church plus an hour at church? Like,
do we spend the entire day going to the
church that we like or do we find one
locally?
>> And so I was like, we're let's just find
a local church. But the other church,
and I can't even remember the name of
it, um that's See, I'd call her right
now. She'd know exactly. Uh um that
church, like every single preacher at
that church was amazing. Every one of
them were great.
>> Yeah.
>> You walked out, you felt great for the
rest of the day.
>> But these guys got to work on they got
to work on some stuff, man.
>> It's definitely characteristics,
personalities,
>> and it's Wesley Chapel. Like they've got
money.
>> Yeah, they do.
>> This is not
>> People are dropping money. Yeah.
>> Yeah. It's not broke. We're not broke.
>> So, you know where the You know where
the mosque is on 54? I mean on Morris
Bridge
>> down by the Shell station in front of
Publix.
>> Yes, I do. I do.
>> There's a lot of like mosques and
>> Well, there's a there's a big church
right there and then there's a mosque
right on the corner of
>> Morris Bridge and Cross Creek.
>> Okay. Yeah.
>> There's a Publix right there. So, if you
turn if you're coming off Morris Bridge,
you make a right on Cross Creek,
>> but Neto Middle School is up on the
left. It's It's like right It's like
right dead smack between
>> Bruce B downs and and it's on Cross
Creek, but it's right in the middle of
um Bruce B downs and Morris Bridge. So,
it's a middle school. So, we have to set
that middle school up for service every
Sunday and tear it back down for school.
But during the summer, we only got to
tear down half of it. So, we got a main
auditorium and then we got a kids, you
know, kids area or whatever.
>> Right. So, um, but we also have, you
mentioned the prison. You We also have a
I have an end to that already. So, if
you're really interested, I can get you
connected. So, what
>> I just flew out to I just flew out to
Utah.
>> Yeah.
>> On my own dime. Flew out to Utah to talk
to a bunch of inmates.
>> Amen.
>> And flew back.
>> And you know,
>> so we have Zephr Hills up here. Zephr
Hills Correctional up here.
>> Mhm.
>> And they um It's
>> a horrible looking prison.
>> But you know, you know what's crazy,
bro? It's this the only time I've been
somewhere where they have lifers mixed
in with people under five years. But
it's the whole prison is literally
>> Is it a prison or is a county jail?
>> No, it's actually a prison.
>> It looks It looks horrible.
>> It does, but it's I mean we um we go
there. We have the the fourth Sunday of
the month and then we also do a re-entry
program. Like we haven't done it in like
eight weeks because we were traveling
for Africa, but the we'll do like a
10-week re-entry program. But that's the
that's the point where we're less like,
"Look, man, we're going to tell you the
truth. Like, here's what you expect when
you get out. Here's what you don't want
to do. Here's what you're going to have
to do." You know? So, that whole
re-entry program I felt like was way
more impactful than us coming on a
Sunday night and and teaching anything.
You know what I mean? Because we're
sitting there and they're able to ask
questions. They're able to like want to
know what this experience was like. And,
you know, we're just the raw and the
real. You know, that's what I believe in
more than anything, the raw and the
real. You know, I believe we should have
environments where people can ask
questions if they want to know
something. You know what I mean? I'm
with you. I don't want a environment
where it's all about the stage and a
spotlight, you know? And there was a
time in my life, the reason I bring it
up, there's a time in my life where I
thought being called to ministry had to
be behind a pullpit or be on a stage
>> and the Lord had to deliver me from
that. Right? And I think a lot of people
get into performance mode, especially
people that are called into the ministry
like that. I think a lot of people get
into performance mode. If I'm not up
here, I'm not important. Well, the Lord
had to deliver me from that, right? And
so, I'm thankful now that I This is
ministry right here. Me and you talking,
right? I can meet somebody in Walmart
and they're telling me they have
something going on in their life and I
sit and talk to them. That's ministry to
me, right? It doesn't have to be behind
some pull pit with all the lights on me
on Sunday, you know, but not everybody
has that.
>> Not everybody not everybody's free from
that.
>> But I thank God I am now, you know, but
I wasn't for a long time. I used to
think that that I had to do certain
things in order for me to be noticed.
You know what I mean? But now I'm far
from that place. Like I I guess what I'm
saying is I think a lot of us um our
identity get gets wrapped up in what
we're doing for God instead of just
merely being a son and a daughter. Our
only call in this world as as a
Christian is to love the Lord as our
father and see ourselves as sons and
daughters. I think too many times too
many people get caught up in the
performance side of it. If I'm not doing
this, this and this. You see it all the
time. If I'm not doing these things, I'm
not happy. You know what I mean? And
that's a trap in my opinion, you know.
So, I'm I'm I'm excited for the
opportunities that I get inside the
prison. I feel like personally for me, I
feel like that's my greatest testimony
is being able to be real with the people
inside from where we came from, you
know, but they could close that door
tomorrow and I'm still okay, you know.
Africa, love that, you know, love going
there and and loving on the people. And,
you know, we we were able to do some
This is my this is my third year in a
row. my pastor's fourth year in a row
going and you know we um we fed 750
families for a month over there. Helped
a um local hospital with supplies and
food. Helped a orphanage school over
there with desk and chairs and paid
their rent and after care facility with
food. So all those things are great
things but my identity is not wrapped in
wrapped up in that. You know what I'm
saying? I'm not allowing myself as a
Christian to be wrapped up in that, you
know, and not even my calling to be
wrapped up in that. I'm grateful that
the Lord trusts me to do those things,
but I'm not my my life's not going to
fall apart if I don't do it. If that
makes sense,
>> right?
>> And so that's what Africa was about. We
just got back from there. And so what
the Lord told me to do from there is I
had this thing last year where me and my
wife was just kept hearing when we
prayed just hearing the Lord say
orphanage, orphanage. So, you know, I
felt like I was an orphan growing up. My
wife is what's considered a a spiritual
mother. You know, she's wanting people
to go to we can go to Chewies and have
lunch and by the time them little girls
that's waiting on us leave, they're
crying because my wife's speaking into
their life and they and she's echoing
things they've heard their whole life.
That's just the type of gift on our
life, you know? So, I say that when we
keep hearing orphanage last year, asked
the Lord, what's that look like? And I'm
like, I'm over here. Like, I can't run
an orphanage in a third world country
from here and the Lord's like, you know,
how to scale a business, so we'll do it
that way. So, when we went to Africa
last year, um, we put a couple of
children in a pastor's home over there
and just send money every month to them.
And then, so when I come back this year,
the Lord's like, I want to take this a
step further. So, now he had me create
um, and it's small level. I don't I
don't have a I don't have a foundation
on paper or none of that yet. And I just
have a dream in my heart of what the
Lord told me, but it's going to be
called Aba's House Foundation. And it's
literally I got four overseers now. I
got one in Pakistan that's got an
orphanage. I got three in Africa. One of
them's a a community school for kids
left behind. One is an orphan school,
which is basically kids left behind. And
the other one is the pastor's home where
he's got kids there raising them. So I
got four overseers and four different
places where I can send money to now.
And I was doing it, me and my wife's
doing it on our own. But that's what the
Lord was saying. He wants us to find
more people to partner up with us. So,
since I've been home from Africa on
Friday, I've been talking to people that
I know that have businesses and close
friends. So, I already got three people
already um obligated, not I don't say
obligated, three people willing to
partner in with the foundation. So,
literally um the Lord used this
language. I like this. I want to share
this with with your viewers, too.
Um he said, "Tell your partners that
they get a chance of making heaven's
history." We think about history on the
earth. We don't think about heaven's
history. But everything we do here, the
Lord said everything we do here for
other people is being recorded in
heaven. And one day when we get there,
we're going to see the history of heaven
and how did we impact the history of
heaven. And so that's what the language
the Lord gave me over the weekend. And
so, um, that all being said, I don't
want it to get so big where it becomes
some entity. I I want the money to come
through my hands and out to the
overseers and then what comes back has
got to be pictures and receipts of
everything that the money's spent on and
we're going to give out reports from
there. So, that's really what's on my
heart right now for um where the Lord's
taken me and my wife, per se.
>> Hey, you guys, I appreciate you
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Also, if you want to contact Arthur on
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