I knew from this moment on, my life would be different. It all changed when I saw the police officer with his gun drawn and pointed it right at me. I was a tall young lad with a moderate athletic build; parents looked at me and suspected trouble.  I have blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The way I looked and the way I could talk to anyone I could get anything I wanted. I was just 17 years old when I realized it was too late for me to turn around and start heading down the right path. The money started to get to my head; I was making choices I would usually think twice about.  It was all so simple, all I had to do was drop off packages and bring back the money and I’d get a small cut. It was sketchy, and I knew it was wrong but the money was fast and easy it was hard to say no. I was always told not to look in the bag, I said I wouldn’t and kept my word. This is my third time making a run; I’m 2 minutes away from the drop site. Next thing I see is a black Dodge Charger come flying around the corner. At first I thought nothing of it. Suddenly the driver is speeding up and is real close to the rear end of my car. I tapped on my breaks to give him a warning to back off me a little bit. I’m thinking to myself, I got precious cargo on board I don’t need any trouble right now. Next thing I know I see the flashing lights and the sirens blaring at me. What are the odds I’m getting pulled over by an undercover cop? My heart starts racing, my palms are sweating and I pull over to the side right before the train tracks.

“Son, it seems to me you got a broken tail light back there, where ya headed.”  He said in that typical western cop voice.

“Well right now officer I’m on my way to my girlfriend’s house for dinner sir” I stuttered so nervously

“Alright now, get that tail light fixed as soon as you can I don’t want to have any problems, you should really go home so you don’t get in any more trouble with any other officers they might not be this nice about it”

“Thanks for the heads up” The very second that cop pulled away I rapidly ripped open the black duffle bag. I was at awe. Now I don’t have to wonder why the bag was so heavy. I can’t believe this is what I had in the bag this whole time and I was walking around with nothing to protect myself just in case I get jumped. I knew what I was doing was illegal but I didn’t think it was this illegal. My destination was about two minutes away just past these bumpy roads and over the train tracks.

“Better get going before this train comes” I said out loud to myself. Literally nobody was around and I was talking to myself. I feel so weird, nothing felt right. Everything around me feels out of the ordinary. I get over the tracks and pull into an old run down 7/11. I am what you call a regular customer here the guy that owns the place is always here and sometimes when I have nothing to do I will stick around and talk to him about school. He is an older Indian guy with no hair and glasses. Stepping out of my car I can still see the rail road tracks and the gates start to come down. The guy I was supposed to meet still wasn’t there. I figured he would have gotten here before me considering I had to waste my time back there with that cop. Things still did not feel right at all, but I ignored my gut feeling and carried on inside. I gave the owner the old high school head nod symbolizing what’s up. Oddly enough he didn’t say a word to me. That’s when I took a few steps to my left and picked up a couple small bags of chips that were two for a dollar. His hands are shaking and his voice trembles.

“$9.11…”

“Dude it says two for a dollar? And where did the eleven cents come from?”

“9.11” he repeated as he is gazing out the window and points down to his shirt. I noticed the mic and looked out the window and saw more cops stuck behind the train.

“Oh s***…”It’s a set-up, running out the door the train clears. I can’t get away in my car but, I thought to myself, maybe get away on foot. I grabbed the black duffle bag so fast it ripped open and all the guns fell out the bag along with loaded magazine clips. I’m shaking in fear, I don’t know what to do, I have to ditch my car and the guns and start over. I grabbed one of the chrome Colt M1911 pistols and started running to hop the fence but the cops stopped right in between me and the fence. I’m running at full speed there is no stopping. That’s when I jumped off my right foot and stepped on the cop’s car with my left and all in one motion I dove over the fence into a fenced in area with two Rottweilers that look like they haven’t eaten in days. I froze; the dogs looked like they were going to eat me. I slowly start moving towards the other fence closest to me. The Rottweilers go straight into attack mode and jump on top of me before I could even take off. I had no other option I put 3 bullets in two dogs that were just protecting their property I couldn’t stomach it, I was so distraught I took a life of another living creature. Two minutes go by feeling like thirty minutes, the only place I could go is over another fence and pray the coast is clear. I’m rushing over the fence and struggling to do so, I hear a car sliding on the warn down gravel. I try to look back and see what it was but I lost focus and fell on my knee. I feels broken I can’t run anymore. The smoked cleared

“Drop your weapon!” the cop said pointing his gun at me. I could tell he was just as scared as me. I don’t want to get in any more trouble than I’m already in. I threw the gun over 5 feet away from me; the cop flips me, and slaps the handcuffs on me. It all processed through my mind that it was all a set up…

“I hereby sentence you to a juvenile correctional facility until you are the age of 18 and you will serve 5 years in prison” The judge slams his gavel and my life changed forever. After the 5 years I get out and get a fresh start working construction and working my way up the chain to a successful position.