Episode #162 w/ Andre Patterson

Andre “Dre” Patterson was sentenced to 50 years to life at just 17 years old. Charged with multiple counts including murder, robbery, and assault, he spent decades behind bars—until his release in 2020. But Dre’s story didn’t end there.

Since coming home, Dre has transformed his life, dedicating himself to youth mentorship and community uplift. He works with Guns Down Life Up as a mentor and violence interrupter, and he founded Freedom Elite Sports Academy, a nonprofit empowering youth through sports and leadership. While building his organization, he also earned both his HVAC and CDL licenses and currently works with NYC Parks, soon transferring to the Department of Transportation.

From East Flatbush to Rikers to redemption, Dre’s journey is about accountability, purpose, and second chances. In this episode, he speaks on peer pressure, gang affiliation, his time up north, and the power of turning your pain into purpose.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Himself.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Hope a south dark's a open your mouth.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
Redilax.

Speaker 4 (01:07):
Clear, that's right, you already knows your boy Penston, welcome

(01:32):
back to the dog in the yard.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
And then we got Drake Pattinson in the building from Brooklyn.
Served twenty six years at a fifty year centus. He
worked on this case while he was in prison. He
never did the crime. He was a basketball head, you know,
one of those guys that was super nice, that would

(01:54):
have made into the NBA and all that. He was
one of those what they pistols, What up? What up?
You already know is your boy pistol Pete walking back
the dog in the yark And today we got Drake
in the building. It what's up my brother? Plus, how

(02:17):
you been man?

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Thank you think I'm all right? Thank you for having me.
First off, I've been alright. Yeah, they've been working, grinding.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
That's what it's about, man, staying alive, staying focused.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Absolutely, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
How long have you been home.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Now, I've been on four and a half years. September
twentieth this year will be five.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
Okay, So timer a little bit about your so dre,
your upbringing, where you're from, how many siblings. You know,
how was your upbringing.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Well, I had a good upbringing. I had a good upbringing.
It wasn't the best, it was far from the worst, Okay.
I was fortunate enough to be raised by my grandparents.
I was born in Brooklyn November sixth, nineteen seventy six.
Single mother. Never met my dad. At the time, I
didn't really think too much of it because I had
my grandfather. He was he was everything, So I didn't

(03:02):
really lack anything, so to speak. But I did without
having my dad. But I had my grandfather who was
also a New York c police officer and a licensed plumber.
So we took care of the family, you know, for
that time in the eighties, growing up in the eighties
and nineties, financially, you know, two jobs could hold it down.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
So it was a tough time at that time.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Absolutely very tough. So we lived in East Flatbush, pretty
decent neighborhood. Wasn't like I said, wasn't all the way crazy.
But things happened right, And I said, I went to
PS two forty four as a young man, went to
my eleventh for a hot minute. Then my grandfather passed.
Once he passed, that changed my world everything.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
And hold hold you was pasted.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
I was thirteen. I was the only I was the
only child. My mother only had had me. I ain't
had no siblings. So my aunt and my uncle, my aunt,
my aunt Catherine, and my uncle Kenneth weren't that much
older than me. So my grandparents' two youngest children were
more like though my uncle's aren't. But they were like
my brother and sisters. Yeah, and age wise, so I

(04:12):
had kind of best both rods with them as well.
You know, my uncles decent, you know, discipline, but they
also had fun, you know. So once my grandfather passed
nineteen ninety January nineteen nineteen ninety, had exactly eight fifty
three and thirty three seconds. That's like I looked at
the clock when I heard that. That's and it's here forever,
like yeah, so when that happened, you know, sad, everything's

(04:38):
broken down.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
I mean, he got pretty young. He was thirteen, Oh.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah, he was. He was he was fifty three. My
grandmother and my grandfather was the same age fifty We
were actually forty years older than I am. So he
died at fifty three. I was thirteen, turning about to
turn fourteen. No, it was.

Speaker 3 (04:56):
It was one of those because you was thirteen years old.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
And he really wasn't. I shouldn't say he was sick,
but he wasn't sick in that man. He had high
blood pressure, something that was manageable and something I remember vividly.
My grandmother his diet. She was on top of his
diet when she fixed dinner for us. He had he
had a whole, separate.

Speaker 3 (05:17):
Whole different male.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, so that she was on top of. But with
all of us black men, that is the silent killer. Regardless.

Speaker 3 (05:29):
Pressure is dangerous man.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yes, So that day, I'm sorry she had look at
it so that danger passed. It was. It was a friday.
I was in school, came home and he wasn't home,
So got the phone called that his car broke down
and he was going through something. I just remember him
kind of yelling. I ain't gonn say yelling at my grandmother,

(05:53):
but yelling to her on the phone like whatever was
going on where he was.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
He was letting them be known, like yo, I'm going
through this and all that, and.

Speaker 2 (05:59):
I just her. I remember my granda said, I just
calmed down. His name is Charles, Charles Patterson, so I
remember she just catch saying, Charles calm downs, relaxed, all right,
she said, rap fix dinner? All right? Well, you know, babe, normal,
you know, I'm just in the kitchen with her. And
he came home. It was maybe make like an hour later.
He came in the house and he just walked straight

(06:21):
to their room. He didn't even say things, walk straight
to his room. My grandmother went in there and I
for me like five maybe, I'm gonna say five minutes,
a few minutes, five minutes. She came back out and
she called the ambulance nine one one. She said, your
grandfather having chest pains. I said, okay, Now I'm like

(06:42):
my eyes like okay, like what are you doing? What
are we doing?

Speaker 3 (06:46):
Like what?

Speaker 2 (06:47):
She didn't tell me doing things specifically, just said, listen,
I'm gonna go to the hospital within him. Your aunt's
gonna come here, you know, let them in the house. Okay.
So before he actually leaves with the ambulance, they come,
they go in the room, they do whatever they do.
That's I'm not wasn't privy to that. He comes out
with the EMT workers. He's walking, but he had a

(07:10):
mild heart attack at that time. But he was walking.
It was, they said. My grandmother said. Once they got
into the ambulance and she was allowed to go with him,
maybe five five minutes ten minutes after that, in the
ambulance he had a massive heart attack and that's what

(07:30):
killed him. He was, you know, they was doing what
they had to do. And so course on the way
to Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, we passed way. He passed in
the ambulance. But you know, but they told and when
he when she called home and she told my uncle,
and that's what he told me. And I looked at
that clock. That's the time. I just gave.

Speaker 3 (07:50):
That time. Yeah, and that So how that affected you?
How many ways it affected you? I mean you got
a father figure.

Speaker 2 (07:59):
Trillion ways a trill now it's just like a trillion
different ways of your grandfather.

Speaker 3 (08:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yeah, he was a dispinever. Yeah, he was definitely. He loved,
he took care, but he put food, he put foot
to behind.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
So how that affected you?

Speaker 2 (08:16):
So now I'm outside, you know, fast food a little bit,
you know, go through the whole morning. I'm back in school,
you know, come home. It's just my grandmoms or no one.
So I'm outside hanging with the homies. Figure. I play sport,
you know, playing sports, doing the regular ship. Now, mind you,
I never sold drugs to that effect, but I hung

(08:37):
out with all the homeboys who did. Once I was
learned to have the talent playing basketball. That's how that
was my hustle. They used to pay me a little
bit of bread to play basketball. Okay, so all right, cool?

Speaker 3 (08:50):
He was nice?

Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, I was. I was. I was. I was nice.
I was nice. It took me a while to say
that about myself. But now I'm kind of old, retire.
I was, you fer, I was, I was bucket. I
was a problem on that cook. So, like I said,
I'm playing ball. I make my little one hundred dollars
a tournament. You know, I'm fourteen. Now I'm thirteen going

(09:11):
on fourteen or fourteen fifteen. But unbeknownst to me at
the time, it's effect because I'm hanging out. I'm cutting school.
I'm not even thinking that's a problem because I'm not
being disciplined for it. You know, I'm still being to
player on the basketball team. I meet the varsity basketball team.
So I'm playing ball, and why mind you, I'm still

(09:33):
in Brooklyn at the time. I didn't move among Island.
I didn't know my grandmother was going through financial issues
with the house after my grandfather passing. Okay, so all
this is going on unbeknown us to a fifteen year
old Dre. I'm ninth going on tenth grade, and next
thing I know, normally telling me we gotta move. We're
gonna move a Long Island with my aunt Marie, God

(09:54):
bless her. She passed on. She was also a New
York City police officer. So she had a house in
Long Island with her three children and my cousins Victoria, Crystal,
and Vincent. So I moved with them. Still family home,
but it wasn't home. You know, it was home, but
it wasn't you know.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
It felt like how it used to be.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, it's like, you know, I have a place, but
I don't have, you know, and it's you know, nothing
against family, but still you still have your seclusion was usually.

Speaker 3 (10:24):
Your grandma and your grandfather. You know, it's a different
You change your space. You had your own space over there, exactly.
I get it.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
So we're out there now. And now I transfer from
South Shore High School where I played ball, to Long
to North Babylon High School, and I'm in gym class
out there meeting new people, and I was kind of
pissed off of being out there. But honestly, like care
from the city moved to Long Island. There's nothing wrong
with Long Island. That's some great people, but the environments different.

(10:54):
The bus is stopped running a nine.

Speaker 3 (10:55):
O'clock, you know, it was a whole different environment.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
Like I couldn't just get up and walk to the
subway or got you know, the closest store might have
been a few blocks instead of right down the block.
But all in all, great community. So I'm playing in
basketball and gym class. And the teacher at the time
was coach Mango, who's the football coach. He asked me,

(11:18):
said you playing basketball for the school. So I'm like, no,
I just got here. I'm just in gym class playing ball.
So he introduced me to Jack Loff, who was the
basketball coach in Long Island. Get on the team. I'm flourishing.
Me and my backcourt partner. Who's my co defendant when

(11:40):
we had arrested. The name was William Grant sharel shout
out to my brother. We're doing our thing. But with
that basketball, bro, when you're good at something, everything every
all the negative things that you don't realize the negative
right at your disposal. The homies, like I said, we

(12:03):
never I never had no beef, but who know what
they was into. But I'm hanging with them, right, you
know what they say, birds with feller flocked together, guilty
by association. So we're out there playing ball, and it
was a brother by the name of Jerry Mems who's
also my cold defendant, who's hanging with him, and I

(12:23):
got real close with him because he helped me down
with you had to fight. So that made me like,
all right, cool, pretty No, i't even know the brother.
Like I had a fight and I'm fighting one dude, and.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
You start fucking with him, Yeah, start fucking with him.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
And my cold defender, who already lived out there shot
reals who I just spoke, already knew him. So it
was kind of like, okay, but he's doing shit. He's
doing shit.

Speaker 3 (12:48):
So now you what sixteen? What year is this?

Speaker 2 (12:50):
This is six seventeen about senior year? What year? Nineteen
ninety four, ninety three, going into ninety four? Okay, right,
so this is now like December Jane where I had
to fight, I got hit by a car. Nothing major.
But go to the hospital and he's he held me down.
So now like where you know where we come from

(13:10):
our hold you down? Like show some time? All right, cool,
especially if I don't know you but get to know him.
But like I said, he's in this shit. None of
my business, but he's in this shit. I'm here, Yo,
you know boy doing X y Z bro doing da
da da all right, like cool, like he ain't fuck

(13:30):
with me. Long story short for time purposes. I said,
he's doing robberies. He's doing shit. And May fifth to
May fourth. We leave school one day, myself, my coda fitted,
my brother Shaqurels, my other cold defitted ma Reice McCormick
called him cheeks. That's my bro. Shout out to him.

(13:52):
We're in the car taking the brother to the train
station brent with Long Island, on our way to play
basketball at the Gymney has that open rec center out there.
So we went on our way to play ball, bro,
and he says, Yo, can we drop off on another
brother with me? You're gonna ride with me named Joe Jackson.

(14:15):
Don't know him but I meet him now. Has an intricate,
very very intricate part to play and while I was arrested.
So these two with us. So we're in my Cody's hatchback.
So it's three in the back, two in the front.
So we get to the Brimward Long ISD train station
and we dropped them off. Then get out piece we

(14:35):
pull out, bro. I mean it happened like this. We
get when you once you leave that train station, there's
a light, traffic light terms red. In that few seconds,
police ran down on us, guns drawn, hands up, don't

(14:56):
move a few vanities.

Speaker 3 (14:59):
Fuck out, yo, fucking asshold.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
You know the things that everyone in the world now
can see with the body camps we went through. Then
it's like when I see this now, it's like a
trigger to me, like, you know, thankful that people now,
you know, for the young brothers who's going through the
nonsense with the bad cops. At least you can see it.

Speaker 3 (15:21):
We at least you got the cameras out there to
protect and be able to defend your story, your side
of the story.

Speaker 2 (15:27):
So boom, they put us out the car path, rest
us x IDs. We give us our info, we give excuse,
we give them our info because you know it's no
my code got a license.

Speaker 3 (15:39):
So it's like everything's good, We're good.

Speaker 2 (15:41):
They said, we arrestue for attempted grand loss Andy, So
that how's it grand What are you like now? Like,
how we know what grand loss is? But how's this
grand loss Andy? When we're in the car that's registered
to his mother, my code for his mother and he
has a license, Like, so, how is this grand loossity?

(16:02):
They saying, No, the two guys that you dropped off
which attempted to steal another car. Now, I'm like, what
does that have to do with us? If someone leaves
my presence and goes over here and do something that's
on them. And that's the basic things, Like I said,
remember I tell you my grandfather's a cop and my aunt.

(16:22):
Those are basic things that they taught me. The basic
things dealing with the police department when you go on
these streets. This is the basic things that you have
to know and shouldn't know dealing with any officer. So
now a little bit that I know, I'm asking questions,
I'm getting cursed at, shut the fuck up.

Speaker 3 (16:41):
You don't know what you're talking about it, And I'm.

Speaker 2 (16:44):
Like, I do, I do know that person left our vicinity.
Like we're not saying they wasn't with us. Obviously, you're
here doing your job watching, so you've seen them get
out of the car.

Speaker 3 (16:55):
That's not the problem, that's nothing.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
We leave. But the thing is, you know, as we
went kept going for I asked the office select, why
would we bring someone to steal a car and we're
in a car, Like, I know, I'm not detective top notch, right, but.

Speaker 3 (17:16):
Looked at it like that's just something y'all do.

Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, So they take us to base Share Long Island Precinct, arrested,
get arrested, take us to.

Speaker 3 (17:26):
Base Shore Third precinst seventeen years.

Speaker 2 (17:28):
Old, seventeen So now we're sitting in there in the
bullpen processing everything. They asked, how you know the info fingerprints,
warrant check. That's that's neither I'm not nobody's worried about that,
or we're in school, blah blah blah. I give them
now hindsight's twenty twenty, bro, because we give them all

(17:49):
our parents info. I give them my grandmother's information. Who's actually,
like I said, who's still in Brooklyn though I moved
and she was still in process selling our old house
in Brooklyn. I already have moved to Long Island. So
I gave her the number. I gave them the number,
her number and the address though the house was about

(18:09):
to be gone. The first thing this cops said, Vincent O'Leary,
Detective Vincent o'lary, and I say, these names out for
the people. So if you ever if they're even still around,
these are some really cocksuckers, scumbag people.

Speaker 3 (18:25):
They're probably not around by retired people.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
I mean not. You know, I don't. I learned because
I have failures police, and I know how the cops
can give it up. But as I grew as a man,
I deal with people as people. Absolutely, this man is
a you're this dude walks, he walks in and when
I give the information, he says, all right, well that's
King's County. I said yes. He said, well, it's suffer.

(18:49):
You're in the wrong county. I said, what right, I'm
in the wrong county. He said, yeah, you're in the
wrong county, especially to be going to court. Okay. I said,
well I have another number for you. Then he said,
now I'm thinking I'm call my aunt. Okay, being in
a cop just told me this, I'm going to call
a cop. And see I was gonna work out. See

(19:11):
if it work out somewhat, you know, balance this thing out.
I give him another number in Long Island, where I'm
actually staying in North Babylon, Marie bo Hannon. So they
said it was this. I said, that's my aunt. I said,
what happened to the first time? I said, the first
time was my grandmother. By what I means, that is
my guardian, you know, until I become you know, but

(19:32):
I'm living out here with my aunt, who is her daughter,
right so it's a family thing. So you can call
my aunt. And this is where I learned. And my
grandmother always got on me after that, stop talking so much.
Sometime she said, don't never let your right hand know
what your left hand's doing. And I said that because
right after I said call my aunt, I said, yeah,

(19:52):
and she's a cop. They looked at me, bro, they
all looked at me. You know, they never call that number.
Hand of God, they never called that number. Looked at me.

Speaker 3 (20:03):
It was like, well, we can't do a lot, we.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
Can we can't call this, So they brush pushed that
to the side. I'm thinking this whole time that they
call the number. So now I'm like, I call I
tell my codies. We listen, we're gonna come down here,
or she's gonna call them. She's gonna I'm not gonna
say she's gonna get us off. We didn't do anything,
but I'm pretty sure she can make sure this has

(20:27):
done for if they did something wrong, by all means,
accountabilities to be had. If they didn't, by all means,
we're gonna find out why y'all doing what y'are doing.
Because now, like I said, my grandfather being an elder
retired cop who was deceased, a lot of his old contacts.

(20:48):
My aunt now has so I got some old hads too,
now that I got you so and so, what did
they never called fast forward? We're waiting and charges with
grand lossony. But this whole time, my co defendant, Jerry Mims,

(21:10):
he's talking about robberies and a homicide. This thing about
to get real crazy because he's talking about that because
Joe Jackson. I'm sorry, that's just like Joe Jackson mentioned
him and some dealings that they had. So in the
turn he mentioned us and brought us into the phone,

(21:31):
actually added us. That's so much added us in so
now Joe Jackson says Jerry Mims, and I learned this
from the cop because they showed me their statements. It
was Joe Jackson made a statement against Jerry Mems. Jerry
Mims in turn makes statements dealing with robberies and a
homicide with myself, Maurice McCormick and William Grant my co defense.

Speaker 3 (21:52):
So that that dumb pulling in you over turned into
a whole different, whole different head. You ain't come home.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
I ain't come home May fourth, nineteen ninety four. I
ain't come home to Settember sixteenth, twenty twenty. So you
did twenty six years from that point. From that point on, Wow,
out of fifty bro Shee.

Speaker 3 (22:11):
High life, they see, they just fucking take a totally
different turn, you know what I'm saying, Like you could
just be you know, and I've seen it so many times,
you know, you could just It's just sometime, you know,
I say, it's probably the people you hang out with,
you know what I mean? You know, and you're not
realizing the shit that they do, right, you know what

(22:31):
I'm saying, and them that shit catch up with you, right,
you know what I'm saying, You not even knowing same
thing just happened with you, right, you know, I under
say that because that's what goes on out here now
with all the young brothers and sisters. They run around
here with all kinds of people that they think that
it's cool that nobody know what they did yesterday. Then
the next day, you know, they running around, they go
to another neighborhood and them get shot, not knowing they

(22:53):
got shot because the one that was he was walking
with be with the whole project, but he ain't tell
you exactly, you know what I'm saying. So these are
the things that's going on, you know what I'm saying.
God man.

Speaker 2 (23:05):
So so when after the brother does that, now the
officer Vincent o' larry Edward Fandry is like, these people's
etched in my brain, these names, those are the detectives.
They come back in there, the same officer, Detective Fanjie
who said I'm in the wrong county. He came in
to interrogate me. Now, after mister Mims makes the statements

(23:27):
against us, he says everything this. Well, mister Mims says,
you did this, He said, mister Grant did this. He said,
mister McCormick did this. He said, and you shot the
man who deceased. I said, He said, I shot the
man that deceased. But I said, well, I don't. I
don't know what to tell you to he's mistaken, and

(23:47):
you believe in someone who's mistaken, Like, I don't know
what else to tell you. I said, but did you
Now that's why I said, but did you call my aunt?
So now they're like, yeah, we called, we called her.
I said, well, what does she say she's coming down here?
Because I know my aunt, like she's gonna come, she's
coming down there. I mean, so they lied, they called,

(24:08):
they didn't call. I'm in an interrogation room, bro from
they pulled us out. They pulled me out about one
o'clock in the morning because they interrogated mister Joe Jackson,
Jerry Mems, that interrogated my Cody's William Grant and Maurice.
Then they came to me and they kept saying that, oh,

(24:31):
they said you did this, They said you did that.
But then then they showed mister mems statement where he
wrote and signed that I did this, and mister Grant
did this, and mister Grant shot another person who didn't deceased,
and mister McCormick shot another person shot at someone, excuse me,
and I shot the deceased. So I'm like, this is crazy,

(24:51):
this is insane, but all right, move forward with that.
We go to the enarrayment court. Mindre they still never
call my aunt and my mind, I'm like, where the
fuck is my aunt? Like, because I never got to
a phone after that. They never let me get to
a phone after that. Because now I'm asking, let.

Speaker 3 (25:08):
Me get this process you and all that. Yeah, and
they charge you.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
For what Now I'm charged with murdering the second degree
and robbery, robbery, assault in the first degree, robbery in
the first degree, murdering the second first degree, and second
Excuse me, but this is how and this is where
I want to share with the brothers.

Speaker 3 (25:26):
Brother.

Speaker 2 (25:26):
Man, god bet anybody goes through this. Who's going to
see this podcast? Hopefully you can, But anybody who is
going through this, man, it's very imperative. If you get
jammed up with these systems, you have to get to
the little library. You have to because you have brothers.

(25:48):
I know you have. I watched the show you had
my brother France, who's innocent. You have brothers who's innocent, innocent?
Like you know, I didn't do this. I mean, I
may think you said, I may have done something else
that you know what calma no I got, But it's
so crazy because it changed so fast. And then when
you get sentenced to this type of time, it's two

(26:09):
things that do. Either gonna continue with the negative thinking
or you're gonna figure out how what the fuck these
people did to you, because there's no way that they
followed every extense of the law when they're depending on
someone else to say, oh, mister dre did this. So
when I was indicted, when I was charged, I charged

(26:33):
with murder, second degree felony murder to prave the difference
murder and intentional murder. So right then and there, bro
as my time went on, I learned that right then
and there they messed up. They overcharged me for one
person's one person that lost their life. Unfortunately, only one
of those charges should be able to stick if supported

(26:54):
by evidence. So when they did, they gave me what
they call a fishinget indictment, where they're gonna win maybe
nine time out of nine out of ten times because
they had a poll. They had a survey some years back.
Abraham Evermosky is a law professor who passed on. He

(27:14):
did a survey how innocent people get convicted and how
jurors come up with wrong, wrong convictions for though someone
may have done something, which is also a travesty. If
I did assault, how I get charged with murder? You
know what I mean? Like if I did something by
all means, but don't tell me I'm gonna go to
jail for murder and I only had a fight, you

(27:38):
know what I'm saying. And this is what they've been
doing to us. No, I'm not saying anyone is innocent,
but most mostly, most people is overcharged, absolutely, you know, overcharged,
So you'd still take the cop.

Speaker 3 (27:52):
The cop. The cop job is to be sure that
you stay in jail and make sure that's charge stick.
So these are things that you know, Zach, as young
men and brothers out there, we need to, you know,
learn these things by at least watching the podcast. You
can watch it on the episode that you know things
that that do happen, so that if you are out

(28:12):
there doing your thing and all that, at least you
be aware that you have rights and you gotta watch
what you say, and you gotta see what they put
down on paper, and you'll overcharge you and you know
rather than giving you you know for your charge and
the charges, you know, it just charges whatever it is
four years. Don't let them make sure that you know

(28:32):
it's that.

Speaker 2 (28:33):
Because that's what they did. Bro. I was charged with
murdered three times. I was charged with assault six times,
double charge. So it was a two kinds of assaults
for one person, right. So they charged me for assaulting
acting the concert with my Cody's they assaulted, according to
the statements to the DA and the police there, I

(28:56):
assault to them, Well, I mean I assaulted. They're victim
in concert and they in turn was murder and concert
with me. All in all, I had a twelve count indictment, right,
but it was double charges. And I want to say
shout out to my bro Swells from LG Mike Jones,

(29:18):
because when I got up North, he told me, he said, Bro,
you play ball, you know, pass your time, you know,
keep your mind, he said, but you're gonna get your
ask in that little library. He's because I've committed crimes
in my life and I'm older than you, and I
ain't never get sentenced the way you just got sentenced,
he said. You know, and his dudes who've done things like, broh,

(29:39):
you never how the fuck you get that much? Fifty
years what happened. I was convicted of murder two times
for the same person, which is double jeopardy crazy, right,
so he'd be twenty five and twenty five. I was
convicted for the assaults. They sence me to five to
fifteen rancorcurrently I was and oh gun possession, I was saying.

(30:03):
I was also convicted of a weapon that was never found.
And I asked about that and I learned from also
shout out to the brother Bush who's helping brothers get
home and wreck.

Speaker 3 (30:14):
The friends and families.

Speaker 2 (30:15):
Yes, that's the bro, right, that's the bro.

Speaker 3 (30:17):
Shout out to Bush and doing great jobs out there. Uh,
they they're doing great jobs. They're working helping a lot
of brothers. Out Shout out to Bush and the entire family,
the entire friends and family. They moving the making, they're
making the statement. And we here with them. Remember years
ago to y'all were with you, so you really know.

(30:38):
So I'm with them to be working on getting on
that note, we're working on getting my boyfriend Danny out.

Speaker 2 (30:47):
Yes, yes, salute the fat.

Speaker 3 (30:49):
Yes, okay, so we're working on getting fat Danny out.
You know, he's another guy that you know might have
have his He might not have not been perfect, but
he ain't do the crime.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
No, I feel you. No no one in the world
is perfect.

Speaker 3 (31:03):
You know what I'm saying. So you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (31:05):
No one, no one. I don't as now, you know,
as I mature, I don't think no one deserves to
be held the countle for shit they ain't do.

Speaker 3 (31:11):
Absolutely, So you know, shout out to you know, fat
Danny and the whole you know family in front y. Yeah,
bushing them.

Speaker 2 (31:17):
I was an attical with Daddy for some time, I said,
and I definitely That's why I got So were you.

Speaker 3 (31:23):
So you went to trial?

Speaker 2 (31:24):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (31:26):
And you blew trial?

Speaker 2 (31:28):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (31:28):
What year?

Speaker 2 (31:29):
Nineteen ninety five? August?

Speaker 3 (31:31):
August August?

Speaker 2 (31:34):
What you know, August tenth?

Speaker 3 (31:35):
Okay, on the Act sect it was August my birthday August.
So and what you what you got? What was?

Speaker 2 (31:44):
What was sons is fifty life half a century?

Speaker 3 (31:47):
Okay? How was it? Did you went to Ragas Island?

Speaker 2 (31:50):
No, I was in Long Island sometimes.

Speaker 3 (31:52):
So how was that over there? The first time? Going
to Suffolk County has never been arrested, never, it was
what was going through your mind? Now you in there
for a body, you know, you're seventeen years old. Yeah,
so what was going through your mind? How the fuck
I'm gonna do this? I get it?

Speaker 2 (32:10):
How to fuck I'm gonna do this? How the fuck
I end up here like this? Like I just was
playing ball, you know what I'm saying. I just is
with my girl. I just was hanging out with the homies.

Speaker 3 (32:20):
Like thing was just different a little while ago.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
You know, that's just the way I might have been.
I might have been an asshole of somebody, right, I
might have been mean as an arrogate basketball playing talented kid.

Speaker 3 (32:31):
Right.

Speaker 2 (32:31):
But how I get fifty life?

Speaker 3 (32:33):
You know what I'm saying, especially if for a crime
you really didn't commit, Like, are you serious? So you
got fifty years your blue trial and after being in
Suffolk County and you went up north north downstate, downstate?
I was that How was that that first that was
down state? That you're getting there that first experience?

Speaker 2 (32:55):
How was that that was wild? Because I'm not you know,
even though I did time and Riverhead, I'm not used
to locking in at eight o'clock or lights off. They
saying lights off, and you gotta stay inside this room. Now,
I'm like, oh, ten minute phone calls. If I don't
get through a so what too bad? Try to getting

(33:16):
them all like what like? So now my brain automatically,
my brain is saying, I gotta kind of adapt to
this wild ship that's going on, like you gotta stay
in the room. And if I was there for thirty
five days, I got I had got Fortunately, you know,
my family was a few few family members around, so

(33:37):
I got a package. You know, I gotta let her,
I gotta visit. So that that was like the start.
But I'm like, my mom, how to fuck? I amna
do this shit?

Speaker 3 (33:47):
Man?

Speaker 2 (33:47):
Fifty years I see these people's bugging. They bugged out.
They're crazy.

Speaker 3 (33:51):
Yeah, like what how? And it's lucky you ain't you
ain't going nuts. It's I swear, I man, I just
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
I was just Gods gave me strength, bro, because I
still ask myself even now I'm home. Sometime I travel
with my girl. Sometimes she'll look at me like what
you're thinking about? I'm like nothing, like I don't even like,
I don't even share it because thoughts that you like.

Speaker 3 (34:15):
Like remember reason, it's just so much ship that you
don't want to share with your loved ones.

Speaker 2 (34:19):
Yeah, and and and I and I'm what I learned.
And I had to learn to stop doing when I
first like me and my lady get get together, we traveling.
I used to like be the down or sometimes because
I'm having a great time, Like do I deserve that?
Had a great time?

Speaker 3 (34:36):
Like yeah, like yeah you CONFU Like damn, you know
what I'm saying, believe you.

Speaker 2 (34:42):
Yeah, it's still surreal.

Speaker 3 (34:43):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (34:43):
I had my passport now and everything, but not to skip.
I could get to that. But like I said, blue trial,
got fifty to life downstairs for thirty five.

Speaker 3 (34:51):
Days, got into your bed. You went to first jail
green Haven.

Speaker 2 (34:56):
Okay, get the Greenhaven which is also kind of a
blessing because it wasn't that far.

Speaker 3 (35:01):
So my grandmother who was able to travel visit you.

Speaker 2 (35:05):
Most most important part, this person in my life who
just passed right sorry so that you know she was
dead and that and all I could think about was
like I hurt her, you know what I'm saying, Like
the fun I end up here and she said telling
me this, stay strong, You're gonna be good. I'm here,
You're gonna make sure you're right. We gonna make sure
you're right. So that's all right, thank you, mam. Whatever

(35:27):
I get the green Haven, I run into a few people.
You know, we're from the City, Long Island, New York, Brooklyn,
New York, Bronx. I know, I got homies. So I
run a few people and everyone sentiment is the same, bro, Yo, Dre,
what the fuck is you doing here? Because no one
in their mind like yo, somebody was the first thing.

Speaker 3 (35:48):
They look at you like a basketball. Yeah we're supposed
to come up. Yeah nice, Yeah you had your scholarship.
Yeah yeah, you hung with us, But what the thing?
Yeah you didn't really do No, you wasn't no killer.

Speaker 2 (36:00):
And a few homies like my bro Rocky from East
New York. He was like, Yo, who the fuck got
you jammed up? Bro? Like who got you jammed up?
And then hold it down like like I said, y'o,
And I explained everything I explained to you. He was like, Yo,
this dude, I'm like, y'all don't even know where he at.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
We got a separation, you.

Speaker 3 (36:19):
Know, got a separation from me on my two holder fins.

Speaker 2 (36:22):
He was like why. So that's when I ran in
them Swells, spells, pull me up. Listen. Swells one of
OG's who knew my uncles, So that's how I knew them.

Speaker 3 (36:31):
They usually be like that, yeah, like that, so that
come to jail, you see your uncle in front of
your pops, so yo, like your big uncle or something
like that, and you know, and sometimes they're in a
great space where they're able to help you.

Speaker 2 (36:43):
Yeah, and that's exactly what happened. Swells put listen, ran
it down, and put boom smoke a little weed. I
gonna get your mind up this, he said. But boy,
you're priority. If we're gonna get this fifty years off
your back, he said, you're gonna run into some of
the homies of yours who got four years, three years,
and they gonna be running around doing all the bullshit
because they got a date. Always remember, no matter who

(37:06):
you talk to, who you hang with, you don't.

Speaker 3 (37:08):
Have a date.

Speaker 2 (37:09):
Your date is fifty years from now, which is basically
meaning you might not be alive to see sixty eight
years old to go to a parole board. So you
gotta get it right. So that's why I started doing,
geting a little library and learning, and that's when I
learned that I had what they call a repugnant verdict,
an inconsistent verdict CPL three hundred point forty right, where
a person cannot repugnant, cannot recklessly and intentionally do the

(37:33):
same thing at the same time. And that's what they did.
Felting murders an intentional crime to pay the differences of
reckless crime. So you're saying that, I at my coefinits
what's the new words these young kids did, and that
unlive we unlive this guy? Yeah, two different ways. So
he was deceased one way, resuscitated, came back to life,

(37:55):
and then debted this next way. That's what they're saying.
They went with it. I'm convicted of it. I'm sentencing
all that. And then I'm learning that the judge himself
was supposed to if the jury, who are regular people,
find you guilty, that means the judge and the district
attorney and your lawyer didn't do their jobs by specifying

(38:17):
and clearing up inconsistencies on the part of a person
who's not a lawyer. If we're juris, we're regularly.

Speaker 3 (38:25):
Regular people, So you don't really know the fine law exactly.
Every bit of the lord nothing like that. Regular people
just got picked up and you gotta go to the jeury.

Speaker 2 (38:34):
So when they when they found me guilty, right, for
a while, I was cursing the jurors out, like, but then, brother,
they didn't know the ship, Like you don't know the
shit you learned? He said, Yo, look you learning it
now they and they still don't learn it because they
don't got to learn it. They homeworking regular people. I
had to, you know, but you know in that time,
you know you're going through it ain't going through everything everybody.

Speaker 3 (38:58):
You're trying to get to the ship.

Speaker 2 (39:00):
So once I learned that, I'm like, oh shit. So
now I'm like, and this is what brother Bush told me.
He said, your indictment is defective. Bro, he said, they
gotta dismiss your indictment, man, I said, He said yeah,
he said, that's not gonna be easy. I'm like, you know,
I'm young. I'm like, word, he said, that's not gonna
be easy. He said, but that is what is supposed

(39:21):
to happen because of those verdicts. Because now that you're
up north, he said, now that you're up north, they
can't now he said, it's the word. Oh, they can't
nuther fight a verdict, the meaning that the judge can't say,
you know what, before sentence, I'm going to dismiss these

(39:41):
because it's a repugnant verdict. Right once I'm sentenced, that's final.
So the only remedy is to dismiss the chargers and
let the DA re submit a new indictment, which would
have never happened legally because it wasn't legal the first time.
Now twenty plus years later, you legally can't do it now.
You didn't do it the legal the first time. Some

(40:02):
picture now, which in turn would have given me compensation,
Not that I'm looking for it, but yeah, because I
had a scholarship, I was good enough to go across
to another country to play basketball. You took that from me,
you know what I'm saying, y'all took that from me.
You know, and I believe you know, in the day
and age, race still plays a part. And what people

(40:23):
don't realize. And I teach my young boys now about
the thirteenth Amendment. Thirteenth Amendment mean deems you a slave
after conviction. So that means when that Declaration of Independence
was deemed of written and all that seventeen seventy six.
That's bullshit. That's bullshit because they never planned for us
to be free. Absolutely, because the thirteenth Miendment deems after
the conviction of a crime, you a slave. Again, that

(40:44):
comes from the vagrant laws from when we were released
from sleeve in juneteenth. Once you released from slavery at
that time, bro, vagrant laws, if you don't have a home,
you got to go to jail. What slave have a
home from? And you I was released yesterday?

Speaker 3 (41:00):
True?

Speaker 2 (41:01):
So those laws forward to our time to police the system. Oh, conviction,
and who's the who's convicted of most of the crimes,
whether any city or guilty the blacks. So I would
lineage with slaves in it. You're still making us. How
many brothers you got up here? Look, I told somebody
I know seven millionaires and that's not a bad thing,
but it's a bad thing how they got that money.

Speaker 3 (41:22):
They took their lives from them.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
You know what I'm saying. I want all of us
to eat, But why do I got to eat by
spending thirty years in prison?

Speaker 3 (41:31):
Yeah, now we're gonna give you this bread right now.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
You take this ten million and I could have made
that my own without going.

Speaker 3 (41:38):
To prison, spending thirty years in jail.

Speaker 2 (41:40):
You know what I'm saying. So, this is what I'm saying,
This is why I learned that bro that crushed me.
When I really learned and I read that constitution.

Speaker 3 (41:48):
Once, you I should really open your eyes. It made
you realize the mother fit you really gotta get out. Yeah,
that really motivated.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
I'm going hard. I'm going hard, hard, hard, but it's time.
They knocking my peel there, knocking it down. And each
time my grandmother like listen, keep going, I'm here, I'm
not going and she's getting we getting older.

Speaker 3 (42:09):
Yeah, you know my grandmother.

Speaker 2 (42:10):
I'm like, I keep looking at her like I'm not saying,
I'm looking like this.

Speaker 3 (42:13):
Oh man yo.

Speaker 2 (42:16):
And I've never been that guy. I never been no
super like I said. But that's the one thing, bro,
that might that can't happen to me, not while I'm
in here.

Speaker 3 (42:27):
Yeah, you don't want to go through that.

Speaker 2 (42:28):
Because that was that I learned. Now that she's passed
on them, I've been here. I'm home now, but that
in there for me, that would have made me the
person that they sentenced to got you. You know what
I'm saying, Like.

Speaker 3 (42:43):
That would have really got you angry, would have made
you rebellous. He probably would have turned the monster to
the monster, would have been the yard just said fuck it.

Speaker 2 (42:51):
Yeah, we just.

Speaker 3 (42:51):
Thank god I never did. And you got focused, focus
and you stay focused, working on your on getting home.

Speaker 2 (42:57):
And she said that, she said, stay doing what you're doing.
And I was blessed enough to have my fit us.

Speaker 3 (43:03):
We'll have it. So how long you how long you
was in there in that one jail.

Speaker 2 (43:08):
I did twelve years in Grehaven and then got transferred
to dirty Urine. They said, I could say I I
was smoking, but I think I beat it. But nonetheless
I got knocked with a dirty urine. Okay, So I
went to Attica. That's when I ran the Fat Danny
for again. Was there for two years, chilling there. Nothing
made you know, Atta's laid ball. And that's the crazy thing.

(43:30):
How the white police up there as racist as hell,
but play a sport.

Speaker 3 (43:36):
I had. I didn't have no issues in.

Speaker 2 (43:38):
Attica because I played ball. They had a sergeant named Cochran,
and this dude moved me from one block to another
block to play with Richie Adams. To Richie Adams from
from Harlem. The Bronx who went to the NBA. Who
in the force, you caught a case, but he's six eleven.
They wanted me to play with him, so I did,
had no issue with but you still see the bullshit
the police do.

Speaker 3 (43:58):
Yeah, of course they'll stay the house running and said,
so I'm like, all right, cool. So you went to
should you should you manage to get any your pills
started coming through before you got trempor.

Speaker 2 (44:07):
No, it came through actually when I got the sink singh.

Speaker 3 (44:10):
So you got tramp back to scens.

Speaker 2 (44:12):
I went from no to wanga.

Speaker 3 (44:16):
Okay, you got to Schlawanga was not bad? Was good?
I Priston, but yeah I was. I was able to
stick rounded and and and work on your own, your own.

Speaker 2 (44:25):
And that's was that I was there with Bushing and
and Swells okay both of them, and the big bro
money on the Thomas Rice knew like I was.

Speaker 3 (44:35):
That's when I got with.

Speaker 2 (44:37):
All the big bros together like not one spot, one spot, like.

Speaker 3 (44:42):
All fighting for the same thing exactly.

Speaker 2 (44:44):
So that was the perfect I want to say was
in prison, but you know what I mean, it was
the scenario.

Speaker 3 (44:50):
It was just a blessing for you to get there
around these brothers.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
That was exactly and it's.

Speaker 3 (44:55):
Been doing it and was able to enlighten you on
anything else that you needed to be enlightened on exactly.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
So they taught they taught me how to speak to
the court when I because they said, listen, bro, when
you get your rhythm, we may not all be together.
So this is how you got to speak to the
court when you get to when you get your chance,
you got to do this, you know what I'm saying.
So when I tome came, bro, when I was in
sing sing and I got the reversal in, I was ready.

(45:20):
Then I was ready. I was ready, got in there,
did my talking on professional speaking on the Attorney General homie.
That's why I pat myself on her back. And I'm
proud of myself. I argue my case pro say by myself,
with the help of the brothers, but my speaking against
Attorney general trying to keep me in prison, I'm here.

(45:44):
You know what I'm saying. I made my grandmother proud.
She told me, she said, I'm proud of you. She said, motherfucker.
And that's how she said to motherfucker. You not a lawyer,
but you learning because your tuition to law school was
your life? She told me that. I look, she said,
I didn't pay money for you to go to law school. Unfortunately,

(46:05):
you have to pay your life. So what do you
want to do with your life? You want to live
or you want to stay in there? You have to
pay your life to pay that to get to that law.

Speaker 3 (46:13):
Schools the fact, so you finally got your you went
back down.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
No checking, I didn't go down. They converted my This
is another thing they did. They circumvented. They converted my sentence.
Remember I just how I explained to what they were
supposed to do. They converted my sentence to twenty five
in life and just sent me to Oldessville, a medium,
and I went to the board. From there, they ain't
even bring it back down because they're supposed to dismiss it,

(46:38):
like I said, resubmit. But they circumvented because also my age.
So they through my age and are seventeen. The mental
culpability doesn't fully mature to a certain age. They sent
me to Oldestville. I get the and I go to
the board. From there, I can hit it the board

(46:59):
now and again, like yo, how the hell I y'all?
I go to the council. Yo, listen, not against you.
And if I sound any way no like aggravated, please
forgive me. But I need a few seconds. And I
told her her name was miss Romando. I said, miss
you a very nice lady. You've helped me put my
packet together and everything for parole. I said, why the
fuck they hit me for parole board? The guy said, I

(47:20):
was doing everything, no tickets, no disruptions, nothing, you know,
outside I'm outside clearance, So why you gotta hit by
the boar nature of the crime.

Speaker 3 (47:30):
So I'm like, and they wanted you to admit to
the crime.

Speaker 2 (47:33):
Right, yeah, So I said, listen, I take responsibility for
things that I do. I take responsibility for me sometime
hang out with the wrong people. But they shoot nobody
to the death that I didn't do it. Just you
know what I mean. I may know about it, I
may not, but I didn't kill this man. Knowing about

(47:53):
something and doing something's two different things. So they hit
me at the board the not we were eighteen months
and I get a denva, which is a donova for
those who don't know. Danova is an appeal granted for
your parole hearing. So now even Alban needs to in
their mind. I'm thinking, once you get the reversal and
their minors, you're supposed to let this guta go. I

(48:15):
go back to the parole board. They denied again. I
go back to my counselor, and I'm like, this, what's happening.
Like they're gonna deny parole for twenty six years now
they make up for the time cut that I got,
Like with the reversal that got. She said, no, no, you're
gonna make it. You're gonna make it, and I'm gonna
put him on blasts for those out they got loved

(48:36):
ones who has parole here is coming up. They already know,
they already know, they already know they're gonna make that board.
They already know the release date and everything. I seen
my release date and didn't know it was my release date.
She showed it to me and it's like, well, you
know we from you pay attention. She had my file

(48:57):
on the desk, bro my file and a piece of
paper hanging out the end of the foul It said
non sixteen twenty twenty. I didn't know what that was.
So I made the board. I go get my release
paper and I see non sixteen twenty twenty, and that
was two months beforeck I went to the board and
made it, so they know. So basically, Bro, I'm telling

(49:20):
the people out there, your loved ones is getting ready
to come home. Go to the board.

Speaker 3 (49:24):
They know.

Speaker 2 (49:26):
The only thing that's in our I believe in our
power is if you can talk your way out of it.

Speaker 3 (49:31):
Yeah, and change change. I got you. That's crazy, you
can talk your way out of it. But you made
the board.

Speaker 2 (49:38):
I made the board, so now I'm hyped. Same thing.
My grandmother says, she did that much twenty six years
then made the board. I made the board twenty six.

Speaker 3 (49:48):
So now you made the board.

Speaker 2 (49:50):
Come home and my bro who was on here, Donnell Rid,
my partner for Freemly Sports Academy, my back caught partner
I played board with as well. He came to pick
me up, picked me up and his wife can pick
me up from Otisville. Brought me to the Bronx and
my grandmother and that was like the greatest day of
my life in twenty six years.

Speaker 3 (50:11):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (50:12):
Though I seen my grandmother visit, though I had family
visits with her, that's been time with her being able
to go to her house and actually give her a hug.

Speaker 3 (50:23):
It's different, it's a whole different hit bro. Shit, she
was done to get with her outside freedom. Hug, Mama,
my home grandmother, you want to make it while you're
still alive too.

Speaker 2 (50:32):
And I'm the firstborn grandson, grandchild. I changed her title
to grandmother, so you know she love all of us.
But she said, I need all my kids home before
I leave this world. She used to tell me that.
She said, so don't worry, I'm here. That lady had
went through a stroke.

Speaker 3 (50:50):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (50:50):
In twenty seventeen, my aunt passed. My aunt that I
told you what I was living with. She stayed strong,
she sat, she said, your ass I stroke. She said,
but boy, I'm not going nowhere till you get here.
I need all my kids home.

Speaker 3 (51:06):
And she did. She did. So you came. Hold what
year twenty twenty, twenty twenty, and you've been home since,
no violations. I'm all parole or parole did to how much? Parole?

Speaker 2 (51:18):
Yeah? Three years? And I was released on my birthday.

Speaker 3 (51:22):
That was a blessing.

Speaker 2 (51:22):
It was a birthday president. I got that.

Speaker 3 (51:26):
I got it was like shit, what birthday and everything?
So I got I deserve it. Ship you never did
the crime anyway. That what I'm saying. So you finally
getting hold twenty twenty, been home now four and a
half years, Okay.

Speaker 2 (51:43):
And once I got home, I got a job in
Lincoln the hospital in the Bronx. Okay, organization guns down life.

Speaker 3 (51:50):
Fuck Okay, shout out to math.

Speaker 2 (51:52):
My that's my boy, Matha Gilly. Yeah, okay, my boy,
that's my bro. Gilly showed me a lot with the
how of the crisis management system, how I got involved
with that, James Jimbo Dobbins, who gave me the first
opportunity of work. Thank you.

Speaker 3 (52:07):
Couns down, my boy, what is it is? It is
couns down?

Speaker 2 (52:11):
Life? Fuck?

Speaker 3 (52:12):
Life is up? They doing with the shoutout to the
young love comes down, Life up. Shout them out, shut
out brothers, the whole team, the whole team. They keep
doing good girl. I keep hearing about the brothers. They're
doing great work.

Speaker 2 (52:27):
Yeah. So from there, Bro, just shadow and working with them.
I learned how the nonprofit thing goes. So I end
up opening and start my own nonprofit freaking sports academy
where you know, I played ball. And that's something that
me and Donnelle was talking about when we were an
inside because we played ball and a lot of times
I'm injured, like I got injured a lot, but I

(52:47):
have five knee surgeries, and like my love of the game,
I wouldn't stop. Like I've been told right now. I've
been told right now said when you get about six,
you got to get any replacement. So I'm like, all right,
but that's an iced of joke. Like, damn, man, I
get old. I really can't fucking play with that. I'm
gonna do besides watch like listen, bro, you show the

(53:10):
young people, show the young boys how to play man,
showing that the way you look at basketball games the
same we look at life. The only difference is the
outcome is different. Like you play basketball, you play with discipline.
You play with organization, play with foresight, play with patience,
you know, play with intention direction. You play life like

(53:30):
that too. But guess what if you don't live and
play life like that, guess what's gonna happen to you?
You know, you end up unfortunately where I was at
or worse. You know, too early? Absolutely, you know you
live this life with no discipline, you no no, no
type of life short? Yeah, yeah, that you cut your

(53:51):
life short. You gotta kind of tell the future about
what's going on around you.

Speaker 3 (53:55):
Fact, you know.

Speaker 2 (53:56):
So that's when I started Freedomly Sports Academy. Okay, right,
it's only like two or three years old now, still young.
But from there, my girl, doctor Millisa Ford, have connections
with the Parks Department. So she said, you won't work
for the city. I'm like, I started working the city
with the hospital, health and hospitals. I say, y, that's cool.

(54:19):
I transferred to the Parks Apartment, but I still got
the organization. So now I've working with the Parks Apartment
two and a half years. When til I Now, I
got my CDL through the Parks Apartment. Okay, I got
HVAC certified, so now I could I could do the
AC units up there. I get commercial and residential. I'm
universally licensed. Then while while doing this, bro, I became

(54:44):
a vendor for the Department education my organizations. So I'm
able to be in the after school programs in any borough,
any borough. So that's what we're working on now. We're
also working on going.

Speaker 3 (54:56):
On So what's your what's what's your job title as
far as the school what you.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
Oh, No, I'm just I'm a vendor company. I'm just
a vendor department. Education like they have you know, they
have budgets for after school program.

Speaker 3 (55:08):
That means you can have me come to your school
and talk to the kids.

Speaker 5 (55:10):
Absolutely, absolutely because I have to do that. Absolutely, definitely
do something. Absolutely, but I appreciate that. Absolutely. Absolutely, you're
the plug man. We're gonna go talk to the young
brothers and man, we're.

Speaker 2 (55:22):
Gonna plug each other out because look, I just learned
that we can help go with you guys, you know,
like the OLCA, we could.

Speaker 3 (55:28):
Do a lot of things to the course, that's what
it's about. I appreciate you just finally got it up.
You just finally caught up with your other brother, and
this is your platform just to let you know that
this is our ship. You know, when we in prison,
we don't have we don't have a voice. You know
what I'm saying is this is this is our this
is us bro, this is what we know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (55:47):
You know, you know that's it that touched me because
that's something that I've told my girl, like I don't
I'm like, you know, not bringing out of certain things.
But at first I used to say you talk a lot,
said I never had a chance to talk.

Speaker 3 (56:03):
I said, I might talk a lot. I said, you
don't want to with the same ship. Damn, did you
talk so much all day? You get paid to talk?

Speaker 2 (56:11):
Yeah? We were just on the trip. We just took
a cruise.

Speaker 3 (56:15):
Oh yeah, where you want to?

Speaker 2 (56:17):
Oh we went to Grand Turk's went to Puerto Rico.

Speaker 3 (56:20):
Okay, how was it?

Speaker 2 (56:21):
Came in beautiful? Look I joy that man, yo, bro,
since I came home, doctor Ford, I love you man.
She got my pastorp and stamped. She didn't she did.

Speaker 3 (56:32):
Sure you good? Yeah, so you find you got yourself
a wife.

Speaker 2 (56:36):
Not not married yet, but that's the plan. But we
go back though. I used to talk to her to
high school and what she does then she's a teacher
for department education. Okay, she has a doctorate, she's she's
she knits, she's a couple of hustles.

Speaker 3 (56:52):
Yeah, she's focused. So you know, and she held you down.

Speaker 2 (56:55):
She helped me down. She's come, she's coming visit from
time to time.

Speaker 3 (56:58):
So yeah, so y'all been together.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
He long since I've been home, now, since I've been home.

Speaker 3 (57:02):
Oh that's great, man, it's a blessing. You got a
good woman by his side. I've been home sometimes you
need that.

Speaker 4 (57:06):
Man.

Speaker 2 (57:07):
It's crazy because one of them was like, yo, then
you used to talk to a back in high school.
That's oh, I said, Yo. The best things are old.

Speaker 3 (57:12):
As you say, man, you get I got old, and
that looks better than that.

Speaker 2 (57:18):
Exactly, I said, Look exactly, look, I said, I'm old.
I can't play ball, no more, right, I said, but look,
I'm graceful wine. Fine, as my grandmother say, fine, wine,
that's what we do.

Speaker 3 (57:30):
Cam. You probably can't play ball, but you can show
teach it. Show show showed the show show these young
brothers sister how to play smart. Yeah, because because you
have the knowledge, you feel.

Speaker 2 (57:40):
Me, I said, I said, was old.

Speaker 3 (57:44):
Well you're working, So you're working now, I got.

Speaker 2 (57:47):
I worked for the Parks Apartment. Okay, I'm flourishing in there.
I took a class last year climbing Pruna Forestreet, dealing
with the trees of the city, and I just passed
the Civil Service exam. So I'm civil service for that.
I got my title song I be and job forever
basically right, congratulations, I got.

Speaker 3 (58:11):
I mean, you're working, man, that's what it's about.

Speaker 2 (58:13):
So civil service Since October twenty eighth. And it's crazy
because that was a week before my grandmother passed.

Speaker 3 (58:20):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (58:20):
I was so happy. I called her and I said,
my past. She said, what you passed? I passed the test?
She said yeah. I said yeah, I said, I see
when I get home, I go home, I go see her.
She's sitting in her in her chair watching watching the
old basketball highlights, because that's her thing too. So she said,
I said, I passed the test. I said, now where

(58:41):
you want to move to? We're gonna get you. I said,
you should have never lost out. I lost your house.
I should have never got rid of your house for whatever,
whatever the reasons were back then, whatever, Let's make the
ship rush, I said. I walked by the house. She
didn't know I did this. I walked by the house
on King's Highway. She said, what, you walk by the house. Yeah,
I said, guess what? She said, what I say, it's
for rent, I said, So being I say for rent,

(59:03):
I'm going to ask the God, will you be willing
to sell? Because if you're willing to rent, I think
I can kind of hope you, you know, not help you.
But you know this is you know, as my grandparents said,
so she said. She said, baby, I'm fine.

Speaker 3 (59:22):
She said.

Speaker 2 (59:23):
I said, nah, I know you fine. She said, listen,
She said, listen to me. Good. She said, I'm eighty
eight years old. She said, I have lived. Trust me.
She said. People have done things to me. I let
it go. She says, that's why my God has blessed
me with so much life. She said, I want you
to live your life. She said, you came home, you

(59:48):
stayed out of trouble, you got your job, you just
passed a civil service, you got a good woman. It's
time for you to live. You're off parole. She said.
You can get up and do anything you want to.
Whatever you do, she said, that's what I was waiting for.
I looked at I said, I old woman. You want
to She said, good bro. Five days later she passed.

(01:00:13):
I'm like yo, man.

Speaker 3 (01:00:15):
She she left from peace. She happy to see the
fact that you got your ship together and all that. So,
I mean, that's what she wanted.

Speaker 2 (01:00:23):
That's what everyone tells me.

Speaker 3 (01:00:26):
So you don't got to feel any kind of way.
She lived it. She loved you all the way to
the end. You had a bond, whether all the trials
and triple A or the bullshit you went through going
to jail or nothing. Ship that you didn't do. You
didn't have a you know what I mean. All that
she stood there and she waited and she I mean listen.

Speaker 2 (01:00:43):
And she said it. She said, listen, it's a strong woman.

Speaker 3 (01:00:46):
Man.

Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
And this is her word verbatim. She said, I know
you fight, and I'm fighting my case. Still, I know
you fighting the case and all that. Still, fuck that money.
Live your life. If it's meant for you, for these
people to give you whatever, God's gonna make a way.
God may wait for you to be home and for
you to live. Don't God they make for you to
get here and wait for somebody else, suit someone if

(01:01:09):
that's what it is, it is, but don't wait for that.
So I'm all right, that's what I'm not waiting for, bro.
So I'm going So now, like I said, now, I
took this climbing prune of class, got my sul service.
D o T call me. It's now about the transfer
to d O T. D o T Department of Transfer Tation.

Speaker 3 (01:01:25):
Okay, so the bad, it's about good benefits. Get the
everything that you gotta get.

Speaker 6 (01:01:31):
Man.

Speaker 3 (01:01:31):
So like that, when you give a certain age, you'll
be able to be good.

Speaker 2 (01:01:34):
Now. I got that now with the with the Parks apartment.

Speaker 3 (01:01:36):
But this is a better This is a better check,
better opportunity. You know what I'm saying. Yeah, Now, bro,
keep going, Man, what I listen, I could do. All
I can say is is just keep going, keep growing,
keep growing. Just know that we're here for you and
I appreciate that. What I'm saying, Dre, we wish you
all the success you deserve it my brother, you know
what I'm saying, man, And we're definitely gonna get together.

(01:02:00):
That's somebody that could regulate probably regards island on dog
in the yard in regardless to like recreation. They trying
to get me to get a team. No, I don't
be doing all that. I definitely need somebody that could regulate.
You play the ball, knows the game. You can put
the brothers together, get them you know.

Speaker 2 (01:02:16):
So it's it's sad, but it's a great thing. Like
I said, we're gonna network. We're gonna do this thing.

Speaker 3 (01:02:20):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
Is that my my my comrades to come with us
and play ball. We all play ball and we all
got that in common. And everyone should say, yo, bro,
how many nice dudes and not just basketball, but you
had DJs, you have artists the whole we have talented piece.

Speaker 3 (01:02:40):
Okay though, man, no, no way where it goes. The
point of the matter was important is that you're home now,
no question. That's what you know. You to regardless of
what you're always you never left your faith, no question
what I'm saying. You kept going and you you fought
for your life, your freedom. You know what I'm saying.
Anything you want to say in regards to to to
the young brothers out there and sisters, anything musage you want.

Speaker 2 (01:03:01):
To do, Yeah, I just want to say this to
all the young brothers, the young sisters out there, all
the young people age wise and the young people that's older,
but have the mindset of a young person. You all included,
especially you, because the numerical young people listening to the

(01:03:21):
older people with the stupid mindset, you're not prepared for
what the people have waiting for you behind the court system,
Behind that court system, no matter you know you can.
You listen to me, Listen to the brothers who came
before me on Dog in the Yard. Listen to the
brothers and the sisters who other podcasts who lived this

(01:03:44):
and survived it because everyone doesn't trust me. There's brothers
right now, right now who has six life citizens, no
chance of parole nothing. You know, I had a life
sentence sentence basically with no parole, even though they said
fifty years sixty eight years of age. Life is you're retired.

(01:04:08):
That's like when life is that it's over. And I
want to say this specifically of this, these people have
no qualms, no problems of saying in looking you in
your face and say you die in jail. They have
no problem with that. We're already at a disadvantage right

(01:04:30):
when it comes to certain things. It's not crippling. It
just make you work harder. We have to stop helping
the system because they get paid to have people in prison.

Speaker 3 (01:04:43):
All right, man, you get paid for that. You get that.
You heard that straight out of Dre's mouth.

Speaker 2 (01:04:47):
You get paid. They get paid up one hundred thousand
dollars to keep person that.

Speaker 3 (01:04:50):
Sell absolutely One last question, Drake, yes I think prison's
reformers needed?

Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes yes yes. Accountability is needed.
Prison reformers needed because sadly, what excuse me, what I've
been seeing on the news with like the brother Bush
France all the brother's been out there speaking about my brother.
Fashion Bruce Bryant, salute, I see brother. That brother been

(01:05:20):
going to Africa, my guy, I haven't got a chance
to see him in person yet. I keep doing what
you're doing, Fashion, I definitely see my brother. Salute to you.
It's really needed because us bro who has been in
there has been either a victim of police brutality seeing

(01:05:42):
it firsthand, and then none of them are held accountable
for that. I've had actually heard officers in Attica and
Clinton joke about bodies under the gym flaws, dead men
under the gym floors. Family, he's never know where they
want in a transfer, where they went to they went

(01:06:05):
to Green, They're not there.

Speaker 3 (01:06:08):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:06:09):
It's like, so be mindful man. That that that's why
I need to reform, and we need reform. The people
is gonna hold people of cattle because yeah, all right,
you do what you do. But I know I'm gonna
doing them and do it if I know if you
ain't gonna, if I'm not gonna get in, if my
man is not gonna, you know, hold me in cattle,
my man, I'm judge if my man and my sister
or my sister's husband is sitting on a panel or

(01:06:32):
making these laws. I know I'm good absolutely, so yeah,
why why why worry about anything? You know, I'm real quick,
real last thing I noticed one of those cops who
killed that brother or he pleaded guilty. You don't want
that smoke go to trial. You ain't do it right
or you yeah, you're gonna have You're gonna you're gonna

(01:06:55):
get the You're gonna get it. You can get that
rest the peace of that brother.

Speaker 4 (01:06:59):
Man.

Speaker 2 (01:07:00):
Peak to all the brothers who been a victim of
police brutality. You know, those are the bad apples, as
they say, you know you have, you have good people
is doing good doing jobs.

Speaker 3 (01:07:09):
And do their job, and you got the fuck ups.

Speaker 2 (01:07:11):
You got the fuck ups and like and like us.
You know what I learned, I don't like being stigmatized
about what another brother does. So that's what I learned
not to do, because you know, I used to be
that the police police. But then my man was like, yo, bro,
yeah yeah, you know your honor is a cop, right,
So I'm like, damn. So I don't think mine is

(01:07:32):
a bad person. I'm not saying she could. I don't
think she could I'm not gonna say she never did whatever,
but she's not a bad person.

Speaker 3 (01:07:38):
I'm like, nah, I can't you know. It can't be
in a copy gonna make your bad pressure.

Speaker 2 (01:07:42):
It's not.

Speaker 3 (01:07:42):
It's the person.

Speaker 2 (01:07:43):
So then that's the ignorant thinking, that's the immature thinking.

Speaker 3 (01:07:47):
That's right. So what Drake, listen, I want to thank
you so much for coming through. Thank you, Appreciate you man,
appreciate shake. You're doing your thing. We definitely gonna make up.
I want to definitely get to the uh get get
you you're connected with, gets this going, so can make
my trips to the schools. You all. I talked to
the young Brothers.

Speaker 2 (01:08:03):
Now we gonna we're in there, all right.

Speaker 3 (01:08:04):
So with that being said, you already know your boy
pistol pet dog in the yard, yo, whatever what else
your boy pristol p walking back to the dog in
the yard. I want to first and foremost think Drake
Patterson for coming through. Drake's been Holmes since twenty twenty,
been doing his thing. He has an organization called Freedom

(01:08:28):
Elite Sport Academy for the youth out there. You know
what I'm saying. Working with the brothers, the young brothers
out there and sisters. And with that being said, man
keep doing your thing. My brother dog in the yard's
here to support you. And you already knows your boy
pistol pet dog in the yard.

Speaker 6 (01:09:00):
Damn sit o, it was sliding, Nigga, we'd alive in
South Shot, Niddy, we're alive, and South Shot you were
the guys with the guys liter you're dumping at