"From Pilsen, To Prison, I've Risen!" - Dionne Garcia interview

In this compelling episode host Omar Calvillo introduces Dionne Garcia, who narrates her journey from growing up amidst gang violence in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood in the 80's & 90's, to her eventual redemption years later. Dionne details her early involvement in gangs, teenage pregnancy, significant role in drug dealing, and dramatic arrest by U.S. Marshals, leading to her fugitive life in Mexico with her children. Despite the challenges of reinventing her life abroad and the eventual capture and extradition to the United States, Dionne’s faith grew stronger. She describes a moment of lack and frustration in prison which eventually led her to founding a ministry called 'Cheerful Givers,' which supported new inmates with a care package, and her role in various other spiritual activities. After her release, she faced the complexities of reuniting with her children and adapting to life post-incarceration while continuing to build a spiritual community. The episode concludes with a heartfelt prayer and an invitation to embrace faith in the only One who can save and for personal transformation in the lives of those she loves.

Transcript

0:15

From the city of Chicago, a city most recently known for its crime and violence. On this podcast, we will be sharing stories of redemption from individuals raised in the tough streets of Chicago and from around the country. Some of them were gang members, drug dealers, incarcerated victims, and perpetrators of violence. Listen to my guests as they share their experiences, struggles, trauma, but also the strength, hope, faith and perseverance, these have developed in them to keep pushing and moving forward in life. Tune in to hear how their lives have gone from darkness to light and from wrong to strong

Omar: 1:11

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Wrong to Strong Chicago. I'm your host. My name's Omar Calvio, and tonight I have my guest. This is the first time ever that I've interviewed a woman, uh, here on the wrong to Strong Chicago podcast. And, uh, we're trying to get into the 21st century. You know, we're trying to open it up. Uh, so I have next to me is Dionne Garcia. Welcome to the wrong to strong, uh, podcast. And, uh, the, the way I connected with her, it's, uh, it's funny. Cause about, it had to be about three weeks ago. Uh, my wife was watching a video. She was watching a testimonial and uh, she was watching that on her phone And then I look and I seen it was a pastor Mark Jobe. Shout out to pastor Mark Jobe. He's uh, The lead pastor of New Life Community Church, uh, and I go to New Life Community Church Cicero So that's how I have a like a tie with him Uh, but, uh, I was watching it. I'm like, man, Pastor Mark Jobes doing an interview. So, so I'm watching it. I'm, I'm looking at the title. I'm, I'm hearing the, uh, the conversation. And then when I seen the name, I like, man, that name sounds familiar. Uh, cause I grew up in Pilsen and, uh, she grew up in Pilsen. Uh, so I feel like back then, like Pilsen, I don't know, it seemed like, uh, everybody knew everybody. I mean, in my eyes, my perspective. So when I seen the name and then I started watching the testimony, I'm like, man. It spoke to me, you know, because uh, your testimony points points to god and that's what we're all about here on the wrong So strong podcast, you know, we share Uh stories from from darkness to light But all these stories is like we mentioned earlier is not to glorify that past But to give hope to those who might still be in it or or you know, trying trying to get out of it So like man, uh, I left a comment and I believe that's when when you reached out. Yes So I just want to thank you for that. I believe it's god been making a divine connection. So so thanks for being on here

Dionne: 3:03

Thank you.

Omar: 3:03

Okay. So, uh, you know what usually we like to start it in the beginning Uh, so I usually ask my guests like, um, obviously like I mentioned you grew up in chicago I believe a large I don't know if your whole life you were in pilsen. Yes I grew up my

Dionne: 3:16

whole life. All

Omar: 3:17

right You you want to tell us maybe about those early years of your life? Can you describe it for those that maybe never been to chicago and don't know what life was like, you know in that community?

Dionne: 3:26

Yeah, sure. Um, so Growing up in Chicago, I lived, uh, right in the deep part of Pilsen. Uh, I want to say that, um, I lived right at the border between two, two gangs. Two sections, um, right in the middle. And, um, you know, our house was always very, it stood out a lot. Right on, right on Damen. Right by Harrison Park. Um, I come from a broken family. Um, You know, I started to learn a little bit more about my past as I grew up because, um, I was raised by my grandfather, my maternal grandfather. And, um, you know, for some time I really didn't understand and I don't think that it affected me at that time, you know, to not have a, you know, a mother in the household or a father. My grandfather was everything. And so it wasn't until my, you know, late teens that, you know, I started to ask questions. Obviously in school, you know, field trips, um, you know, who wants their parents to come, you know, to the red house and whatnot. And I started to ask, you know, my grandpa, like, um, you know, if he can come with or the mothers were going to be there, but I really didn't know too much about my mom. Um, I don't really want to, like, go too, too deep into detail as far as, um, you know, my parents. Um, but the main important thing is that I, I made peace with them. I found closure with them and I, I'm grateful that my grandpa, my grandfather, my grandfather raised me. Um. At a specific moment, um, I was going to be placed up for adoption. So because of him, uh, he intervened, God intervened and, you know, he raised me as his own, as his own, uh, daughter. And so I want to say that, um, because of the lack of parental guidance that I didn't have from a maternal mother, um, you know, I started to rebel. In a lot of ways looking for love in the wrong places and you know anger probably as well rebellious That you know I started to look for love in the wrong places like I said, you know I started off very very young. I can relate to a lot a lot of women You know with the teen pregnancy Abuse Verbal abuse, physical abuse, you name it. I, I, I went through that. I experienced that in my first relationship. And so, um, again, you know, not knowing what love was. And so it wasn't short, you know, shortly after, you know, I got pregnant with my first daughter at a very young age.

Omar: 6:12

How old were you at that time?

Dionne: 6:15

I was 15 years old. I was 15 years old. And, um, I had my first daughter, a single mother because obviously, you know, the, the, the choice of people I got involved with, you know, were from the streets. And so with the streets comes, um, you know, prison drugs, you know, everything that, that you think at the time is cool. And, um, and so I recall that I, at an early age, was already, you know, Waiting for somebody that was in prison that You know Maybe at the time I thought was going to be forever and so Once he released Obviously my daughter probably was like three or four the relationship didn't last long. Um I during that time found my escape while he was in prison towards the streets Uh, I think I want to say that at that time I felt that that was the only way that I was going to be able to get out of that relationship. And, um, you know, I started off, you know, fairly well in high school, but because of my pregnancy, you know, it led for me to have to drop out. Uh, I went to two different high schools. The last one that I attended was Benito Juarez. So, you know, living in Pilsen, you got to cross different neighborhoods, you know, if you're, if you're, you know, if I'm on Damon, I got to go cross through all these other blocks just to get to Juarez and you got all those blocks and almost every corner, every other corner, there's a different section of gang of, you know, gangs. And so, uh. I don't want to say that that's what made me turn or get involved in gangs, you know, to having to go through territories or whatever. But I found that a lot of the people that I grew up with, um, during my elementary school years were already involved. And so I followed.

Omar: 8:17

No, no. Could I ask you this? I know like growing up, you had a brothers, right? I don't know if there were. Directly your brothers. I remember them as your brothers. You want to share about that? What was it? Just you? uh as the female in the house or

Dionne: 8:30

um, I was actually raised by my grandpa along with um, these this was um, actually a cousin of mine, but because we both kind of shared the same background as far as You know our our parents Uh, my grandpa raised both of us. And so I consider him my blood brother brother.

Omar: 8:48

Yeah

Dionne: 8:49

Um, and then along with that, because it was, you know, you always have the grandparent's home that's always open to the whole family. And so by that being the house that was open, everybody went there. So whether I had cousins or, um, second cousins, whatever the case may be, that was, that was the house. And so that house was always targeted from the males that live there or, or went there. Um, Right now that you mentioned, you know, the males there, my brothers, um, you know, back in those days, the gangs and the party crews that existed at that time weren't like the way they are now. I mean, back then I could remember you look over at Harrison Park and there was a rumble and they were, you know, they were boxing as, as we spoke back then, you know, and Nowadays everything is guns Killing, you know, and so back then that's how a lot of a lot of the the rival gangs and and at that time Party crews were starting to be labeled as those those gangs if they lived in that neighborhood And so that's what became of my brothers. Um Targeted You know because of where we lived

Omar: 10:02

But

Dionne: 10:03

I do have to say that um, what really really took a turn You In growing up at that time was, um, I lost a family member, uh, a close again, um, primo hermano, like we say, um, to violent, to gang, uh, violence, and he was murdered at a very young age. So that is what I want to say, sparked, um, you know, for the heat to turn up between that party crew and then the gangs, because now you had. a personal issue, a personal problem you, you, you crossed and an innocent life. And I'm not going to say, um, you know, that he wasn't, you know, in a party crew. But he wasn't a gang member. And so at that time, again, you know, the party crews were, were, there was a lot, a lot of different party crews at that time, whether they were dancers or just hanging out on the corner.

Omar: 10:57

But, but they got, uh, almost labeled, let's say if you had a party crew in a, in a certain gang neighborhood, automatically they were labeled, they were part of the gang. And, and, um, If you, I don't know, like, like I'm thinking about it's almost like the minor leagues of gangs, the party crews back then, I looked at it because eventually a lot of these guys that were in these crews based on people already associating them with a gang. They just said like, forget it. I'm just, I'm just going to join the gang. Like they're going to mess with me. No, no matter what, they're going to, they're going to assume that I'm this or that just because of where I live. And like, uh, where, where, where, uh, where you grew up is right. Like on the border. Yes. And it's not just one gang. I believe it's like heading East. There was like multiple guys that you mentioned. So that

Dionne: 11:41

house, that street, that whole busy street divided, that was a, that was the border, like you said. So it divided. You know from this side and that side, you know without having to mention, you know gangs, but um, and we were there we were just Targeted right there. And again, you know being labeled at that time. I want to say my brother never He never got affiliated. He stood his ground, you know being Who he was, um, and everybody else, like you said, you know, they either turned or they just, they were, you know, either forced to turn something or,

Omar: 12:18

you know, what I remember about him. Like I, like I, like I told you when we're talking before, like I didn't know you or, or like, like, like personally, but I guess by association, but your brother, I remember him from, from my perspective, he had a larger than life personality. I remember him like his, uh, even back then. I know he was young. But when he spoke, I don't know he had like an authority. Yes. I don't know you want to talk about his personality Or what you remember about him?

Dionne: 12:42

Um And I love him to death, you know, um, and and I have to mention that I haven't reunited with him since i've been home So we're talking about Maybe 24 years I haven't reunited with a lot of my family members But him specifically we grew up together and that was one thing that my grandfather embedded in in us that we should always Look for each other and always be there for each other because that's how he raised us as brother and sister um Until this day, you know, i'm not gonna say I didn't speak to him because I did talk to him over the phone but he does have that authoritative like Bold You know, persona, I want to say, um, a lot of people feared him and, um, you know, he, he was the type of person that, you know, his family was everything as well. You know, um, he, he played a big role in, in, in that area. And so a lot of the things that took place, Towards that house or our vehicles, because again, you know, it was different back then, you know, whether they bust your windows or, you know, I mean, unfortunately, our cars vehicles got burned, um, you know, bottled, I mean, shot at. And so, um, you know, uh, by the grace of God, I'm just grateful that he's still he's still living.

Omar: 14:09

All right. So now you were saying that that had a turning point when you lost your primo hermano, like what did that do in you and like in your family, I guess, like moving forward, like how did it?

Dionne: 14:19

Um, I don't think, uh, we've really ever spoken on that or touched on it. It just seems like, uh, It was normal to to just things happen, but you really never grieved Again as i've grown older You know, and I had a lot of time to sit in prison to realize and look back at my life and the lifestyle that I lived for many years, uh, I want to say and some of my family members don't even know this but I felt a lot of guilt Because I was the one that was involved in gangs I was the one on the other side doing whatever I was doing And so it's to have His life taken, I questioned that, well, why him and not me? And so I carried that for, for a lot of years, I just never spoke about it. I can't speak about everyone else because there was another brother that was involved that was actually there. Um, and again, you know, I, you know, really never spoke on it. I just, I just know that the specific day I was outside when the detectives came. Yeah. And asked for us to identify the picture. And so, I want to say, I want to say maybe I was like, what, 17, 18? Right. So, again, you know, I was involved and I was affiliated with the streets. Uh, and then to see that happen and to, to really think like, You know, why, you know, question it. It didn't, it didn't spark anything like in me personally to say that, you know what, I shouldn't be involved. I shouldn't be doing this. This is what happened. No, I just got more involved.

Omar: 16:08

More involved. So it did have an effect but it yes and like push you okay, now we got maybe more serious or more real like yeah Okay, no, no, no, no Moving forward like, uh, how does life look I know you mentioned 17 So like, uh 18 19, how does your life begin to look or anything significant happened during those years during

Dionne: 16:27

those years? Obviously I got I you know got out of that relationship, you know once he got out of prison and um I got involved in another relationship It took, I want to say maybe along the line, seven years before I ended up having my second child. And that would be officially the person that I had the remainder of my children with. And, um, I do want to state that I went to get out of the gang. I got violated out. Um, I was a mother and I wanted to live my life with my family. But what I realized is that my name still traveled. I was still known. I was not going to just wash my hands and, you know, and that was the consequences behind, even if I did get violated out. And I didn't get violated out once. I got violated out twice because the first time I got violated out, violated out, I went and I said, you know, um, You know, I want to, I want to, I want to be a, you know, a woman, a family of, you know, my family and, um, And it seemed like it, it, it went well because they respected that. But you had other sets I had other sets that didn't know that I had gotten out And so then now where it went around and now every time I was going somewhere Now I was getting violated by the next set, you know different sections So if I was from let's just say I was from cermak,

Omar: 17:59

okay,

Dionne: 18:00

you know from cermak and palina So now if i'm going to the fiesta del sol and now I come across Throop there now now Throop's trying to You know violate me

Omar: 18:10

but but it's not a really a violation but by them is it or Is it the same gang? Yes. Oh, okay. I thought it was hop as a gang. Okay. No, no, no. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah

Dionne: 18:20

And so if you know

Omar: 18:21

for those that don't know because there's a lot of people they're going to be watching Maybe they don't know what a violation is you you want to explain like What happens there like,

Dionne: 18:29

you know with with gangs whether you could fight getting violated in violated in or out Um in my case I was getting out I was stepping out so I had to take a beat I had to take uh, five ten a toe from head to toe down

Omar: 18:42

five minutes

Dionne: 18:43

And,

Omar: 18:43

uh, is this, uh, w w w women that are doing this? Okay. Yes. Alright.

Dionne: 18:47

So I had about four women that violated me out. You know, uh, they no longer are alive, so, um, you know, it's something to think about, you know. Me, personally, when I look back again at my life, I'm probably one of the only ones from that area that is still alive. Man.

Omar: 19:11

That says a lot. Now, uh, how many women, like, I know usually I have guys here and I guess everybody knows, you know, guys in the gangs, but like women, uh, that's something that there's the first time we're talking about it, but how many women were involved and how, how did, how did it, uh, you know, influence? and Being in the gang as a woman. What did that look like? Well, no without getting into too much details, but like maybe

Dionne: 19:33

so so one thing I do want to clear up, you know And I I can't speak for everybody else But I I know like as far as myself and where I was from, you know that that whole you know women getting you know tossed around by You know different gang members like that that wasn't happening you know if you were being a part of part of the gang you were being down with your guys and you know, I Maybe For a long time, I want to say like I was the artist. I was the one that was ready to go in and throw up, you know,

Omar: 20:02

like tagging. Yeah. Okay. You know, I,

Dionne: 20:04

I, I did that a lot, you know, um, not to say that, that, you know, that's something to brag about or whatever. But the reason why I'm bringing that up is because I would learn later down in years that I was really an artist. I just was using it in the wrong way

Omar: 20:20

at the wrong canvas. Yes people's garages Um,

Dionne: 20:24

so, um as answering to that question, you know, I can't really go all the way back to remember like how many women but I mean we were we were pretty deep and if you were involved with one of the one of the guys and you were Either had a kid from him or whatever you were still considered, you know, one of the one of the Ladies,

Omar: 20:42

yeah. Yeah, right,

Dionne: 20:43

you know, so Again, when it goes to affiliation, even if you're not affiliated you're affiliated by who you're with

Omar: 20:50

Guilty by association I guess

Dionne: 20:52

and so that played a big role in in where I stood period with um, my second relationship Because he was a part of my gang

Omar: 21:02

Gotcha, and

Dionne: 21:02

so both of us together There was no, you know, there was no saying like, oh, no, she's she's she's not a part of she's you know, yeah

Omar: 21:10

So that's how that played out. So even though you got out, basically you're in still because of your relationship, right? The

Dionne: 21:16

relationship, the name.

Omar: 21:18

Yeah. So, okay, you couldn't outrun it. So, okay, so you're in this relationship and what begins to happen there?

Dionne: 21:25

So, Obviously in, in, you know, when most relationships, especially when you're, you know, from the hood, um, where there's gangs involved, there's drugs involved, there's money involved. And so, you know, the fast money, the making money, uh, that's just where we ended up going towards, you know, making the money and becoming, you know, big time drug dealers at that time. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't just, uh, you know, something small. It was something that Turned out big at the end and again, when I look back and I think like, wow, you know, um, you know, from, from one thing to another to another. And then finally, you know, obviously, you know, I catch an indictment. And I remember I had that mindset back then, like. I'll take the weight. If they come from, I'll take the weight, you know, I'm just going to go to the County and I'll get bonded out. And that's not how that went at all.

Omar: 22:25

How did it go? You know, before you share, uh, can you take us through the gradual progression? Cause I know you mentioned big time, but how did it look in the beginning and where was it at right before you got the indictment? I guess like, you know what I'm saying? Like take us through the gradual, was it big time from the get go? And, and what, what, what drug was it too? Cause, yeah. I think it's a drug unique. I believe to Chicago, I don't think a lot of places have this. And I know it was big in Pilsen.

Dionne: 22:51

So I want to say, and again, you know, just having a go back when I, when I do go into further speaking about, you know, um, the indictment in itself, but at that time, you know, the choice of drug that I'm going to speak about was, was what, what it was. It was PCP wiki. Everybody knew, uh, wet daddies, you know? And so, you know, Uh what started off maybe I want to say something small Is because that's just what the gang all sold small but then when you're when you're dealing with You know other states and it's coming in in the big like this was this is where it was coming this is a gang that was getting it and so when I say big it's like Most other gangs were coming to get it from us I mean even rivals

Omar: 23:36

Could you talk about that because that's a funny thing because You have all these gangs, let's say like in Pilsen, let's say you got five, six, seven, whatever. And they're supposed to hate each other. But behind the scenes, a lot of these gangs are dealing with it. You want to talk about that?

Dionne: 23:51

Yes. Um, I mean, they just start, I mean, and as sad as it is, you know, I, I can speak. From experience and and when I say it hits home, you know addictions because you know, that's that's what drugs does eventually no matter what what drug you start off with it gradually escalates to something even harder, or you know, like they say more deep. And so when it came to PCP that drug that drug in itself was, you know, it was, for some reason, everybody liked to be on it. Unfortunately, when you have people dealing drugs, you know, you're, you're also cutting it and adding your own, uh, to make it more, more potent. And so I want to say that that's what also led a lot of people to keep coming back for that drug. When it came to rivals, it didn't even matter whether they were sending a girlfriend or somebody else, they were still getting something from where they shouldn't be. And a lot of times that I know of, uh, there's, there's most gangs that they banned that, uh, Ban people from smoking that

Omar: 24:50

oh, no. Yeah,

Dionne: 24:51

you know,

Omar: 24:52

but that that really stopped them Like I know like in the neighborhood that was one like they were okay with you drinking smoking weed even cocaine But yeah, pcp was going back going back to the word you mentioned violations If they will catch on that that was like like a beat down That's like though I will say because in the south side like when I talk to people about heroin Like I don't know like in pilsen. I never heard about heroin, but I would equate it to that Cause I know other gangs, they will say, man, you're, you're okay to do this, except you can't do heroin. Well, in the South side over there, it was that one. Like if they catch you on that, they're going to beat you down, your own guys, you know? And

Dionne: 25:25

right now that you mentioned that, like, I was still from that era where the heroin was close by, it was in the neighborhood where I was at. You just we just didn't again, you know, that was that was something that was an oh no put it that way And so going back to the pc the sales of pcp Um, you know, you get caught smoking that like again, it was a violation Why because it puts you in a trance of you know, it's a downer and you're stuck That's that's what they call you're wicked out. You're stuck. And so being stuck you're snoozing who wants you to be standing out, especially if you're Affiliated and then you're stuck somewhere and you don't even know who's coming through your neighborhood And so that was that was some that was a drug back then that again, you know, it wasn't It wasn't supposed to be used by a lot a lot of different gangs that they said it was banned or whatever But people were buying it. Yeah, I mean I recall myself going and driving to areas at that time now um, I don't want to say that I wasn't affiliated. Like when I say affiliated, like hanging out and gang banging and you know, there's, there's, you start off on the streets and gang banging and, you know, going to different neighborhoods and doing your dirt, like they say. But I wasn't affiliated like to the streets like that. I was affiliated known to now be, uh, you know, um, one of the ones moving, moving it. Yeah. And so I didn't fear to have to go to any other area. Yeah. To go and deliver because I was making my money

Omar: 26:57

right

Dionne: 26:58

and the mentality that we had at that time was Either you were buying it for me or you were gonna go get it from somebody else

Omar: 27:05

Yeah,

Dionne: 27:06

so at the end of the day if I could make that dollar then I was gonna make it

Omar: 27:09

right Okay. Now, how old are you at this time? Like when this is happening like

Dionne: 27:14

So I want to say uh already by the age of 21

Omar: 27:19

okay That's when all this okay.

Dionne: 27:21

Yeah, because um, you know, I got indicted at the age of 23

Omar: 27:25

Oh, man, okay, you you want to take us I know you said like in the beginning how it looked But right before that indictment, how how how were things looking like how how big did it get I guess like

Dionne: 27:36

So I have to you know, I have to Specifically explain that when you're dealing with, uh, you know, PCP, whether you were a runner or, or just a user or, or, you know, somebody that just wanted to make some quick cash, but they didn't want to purchase a big quantity, you know, that, I mean, you could buy a 100 bottle and still make your money off of it. And so we were buying, I mean, from pints to gallons. And so

Omar: 28:01

no the little bottle like how many ounces or what was it say

Dionne: 28:05

that at that time because they came in little Yeah, but I want to say that last Around my time They were running like like 30 the smallest one and the biggest one was 100

Omar: 28:17

Um, you know what's crazy what I equated to now when I see anointing oil I don't know if you've seen anointing oil. It basically looks like a little bottle of anointing oil. Yeah

Dionne: 28:26

right And so again, you know, when you're dealing with quantity, I mean, from something small, you, you accumulate. And it just depends. Like I, I wasn't dealing with little things. I was putting them out there. We were putting them out there, you know, from, from, from pints to breaking them down to bottles. And then everybody else that was after, like, if they were purchasing, they became their own sales person and, and it just went from there, even from at that time, I think you remember, uh, The wiki sticks they kind of died out which was the parsley stick kind of rolled up Those kind of died out and went to just the straight squares.

Omar: 29:02

It's basically a cigarette They would dip it and they would absorb this liquid. It's basically

Dionne: 29:06

embalming fluid.

Omar: 29:07

Yeah, it's

Dionne: 29:07

embalming fluid.

Omar: 29:09

Yeah, man That's it's now let me ask you this. Um That drug, uh with the government and I know we're gonna get to indictment, but does it carry different? penalties or is it So do they go ahead?

Dionne: 29:22

So at that time, again, you know, when I go into detail with the, with the case in itself at that time, you know, it was, it was harsh penalties because it was chemical. Um, by the time I got sentenced and years had already passed, obviously, cause I've, you know, fled the United States, but it wasn't a drug of choice anymore. So now you had other drugs. Uh, I'm not too familiar with the drugs of that are out now, because again, I've been away You know for a lot of years and and my lifestyle is totally turned from where I was at back back in the day So even when I was in prison and the women that were coming in and you know You'd ask like not that you'd ask but you'd already know like, you know They were in for drugs and everything was always something different. I want to say at the time when I by the time I came back towards Chicago well because I was in cali towards california at the beginning But by the time I came over here, it wasn't a drug at all Uh drug choice anymore you it was very I don't even think I ever ran across anybody that had a pcp case At all.

Omar: 30:28

Yeah,

Dionne: 30:28

like they didn't know what like

Omar: 30:29

it died out. Okay.

Dionne: 30:31

Yeah, because now you have uh, fentanyl

Omar: 30:34

and um What's that? Oh, yeah,

Dionne: 30:37

you know things that

Omar: 30:38

weren't really around back, right? Okay. So no, no, no, let's get to the case I know we mentioned it a few times but So, what, what, what happens, you know, how, how, how are you made aware, I guess, that the feds are You know mind you guys we

Dionne: 30:51

we weren't made aware we just got hit But you don't you know, you don't think about at the time when you're doing what you're doing You don't think about you know, who's watching or you're gonna get caught and again, I still had the mentality like I always focus more on him that because he was the guy And you know, he was doing he he was the one mainly drug dealing. I I you know I was the picker upper and the money man, you know manager and whatnot and still I was guilty You know You know, because I was, I was allowing it, uh, but at that time again, you know, how, how we ended up, you know, getting, getting involved was, uh, you know, arrest after arrest after arrest. And it just seemed like, you know, These people are getting let go, but it wasn't that they were getting let go. There was an investigation taking place. That's what we didn't know.

Omar: 31:42

So, so people close to you guys are getting arrested and then released.

Dionne: 31:45

Uh huh.

Omar: 31:46

Gotcha. Okay.

Dionne: 31:47

And you know what, you know, they had to go to court, but you know, back then, you know, you had to get locked up and get bonded out and all these. And again, I have to, you know, point out that, you know, corruption with, with the Chicago police, like is bad. You know, because I even recall times that you know, whether I had a gun or drugs and Maybe not a gun, but that's what they wanted for whatever anything. They ever stopped me for and so that's just what it was back then during that time, you know, if they were letting people go or We'd get a call like damn. They just stopped me and you know, they took the stuff

Omar: 32:26

Let you go,

Dionne: 32:27

but they let us go And that happened to me on one occasion, like I didn't understand it, but at the same time, once I was able to look through my whole discovery, I was able to see, well, they were tracking everybody because they were already watching everybody. So the phones were already tapped. And I have to say like now after so many years, you know, when I, when I either see something on the news or I read an article and I think after so many years, like do people not get it that, you know, From one person to another person, that's how they built their cases. Um conspiracies, you know, two or more people and so When are people gonna know like it it ends in a bad way?

Omar: 33:10

Yeah,

Dionne: 33:11

it ends in a bad way

Omar: 33:12

Everybody thinks they're gonna be the uh exception to the rule like they

Dionne: 33:16

like you're never gonna get caught

Omar: 33:17

It's crazy how people in prison They're, uh, they're, they're plotting like, Oh, I know why I got caught.

Dionne: 33:25

I

Omar: 33:25

know what to do next time not to get caught it. It's like, uh, I heard a pastor say, uh, things don't go wrong. They start wrong. So just by having that sinful mentality, I mean, you're done already because you're starting off wrong. Okay. So. You mentioned they were grabbing people and letting them go because obviously they were waiting for the for the big one So they don't want probably

Dionne: 33:44

well, it wasn't that they were waiting for the big one They were just waiting to build more on the case, you know in itself, you know The more they gathered the more people they gathered the bigger the case, you know,

Omar: 33:53

especially the feds They want to make sure they're because what once they get you they got you, right? They're just ready to okay. So you want to take us to that day? Well, what happens that day when the feds grab you him or whoever else like

Dionne: 34:06

so Again without having any knowledge that that's what was going to take place, you know and if I were to go all the way deep into the into the story in itself, you know, it's kind of sad because whether it had been somebody close in the gang in itself that got caught that then told or You know got caught and and you know, um You What's the word I'm trying to use when they cooperate or whatever, you know, I'm not going to go into detail all of that. I just know that, you know, when you look back and I know what I read and what I seen and I was able to make out who was who. And so, again, when the arrest finally took place, I was home. Um, it was around Christmas, the 15th of December.

Omar: 34:53

What year was that?

Dionne: 34:54

I was in 2001. I was in 2001. 2001 and regular normal Christmas shopping, you know, I'm not thinking anything of it. I was pregnant, you know, with, uh, my fourth child. So, and again, I was home already. I was, you know, I was taking care of my kids. I think I was actually, I went back to school, um, and so still, you know, making, making a living. So, um, yeah. You know money underneath the table. Yeah You know, they don't they don't they don't look at all that if you if you're working and you're going to school They're looking at okay It's a cover up and this is what they're doing anyways at the end of the day And so whether i'd been going to school or held a job You know because when I think about it even back then, you know, my taxes were Everything was uh for how do you say forfeited?

Omar: 35:43

Yeah. Yeah.

Dionne: 35:44

Yeah So but yeah on that specific in that specific year that month. Um My doorbell rang and my guy at that time stepped out, you know, he was gonna go make a run and you know, my doorbell rang You know, we need you to come down your you know There's been a report over here on this street You might want to come and check your car and I had an automatic cutoff switch on my car So the car wasn't going anywhere And so it just didn't seem you know It didn't click that, you know, what were they the Chicago police knocking on or ringing bells for but the second time around It it was like oh, you know, there was a report that this vehicle in itself was involved in an accident Well, how did they know to go to my house if the car wasn't registered there? so it wasn't too long that I ended up going downstairs because they weren't going anywhere. But then I thought well if the car was involved in an accident My guy had just stepped out like You know, who did he hit or what the hell? Yeah,

Omar: 36:44

yeah, yeah.

Dionne: 36:45

And when I went down there, they, all the marshals came, probably about 20. There was probably about 10 vans surrounding the whole, the whole block. Um. You know what's crazy is that at that time and I'm pretty sure a lot of people used to use those scanners or they I Don't even know if they exist now, but we always had a scanner We were always up on which will whenever something was going on in your area We were always aware of where there was cops and you know where they were going and and for some reason, you know I I don't know for some reason either I didn't have it on or I don't know but I wasn't able to pick up.

Omar: 37:22

Yeah.

Dionne: 37:23

So by the time I went, I went downstairs to open the door. Uh, they obviously told me, Oh, United States marshals and you're under arrest and took me upstairs at that time. You know, he, he, he was, he was serving somebody. Um, and I can say this now at that time when, um, when they took me back to my, at that time we were renting an apartment. And so I didn't know at that time that the warrant What they had shown me It wasn't the warrant They were waiting on the one they they just showed me. You know what i'm saying? Like it was like, uh, it

Omar: 38:02

was an official I guess or

Dionne: 38:04

they it's something like that Because I did ask for the warrant is that we you know, they pulled out the paper But at that time I I think I was just in complete shock, you know, it wasn't chicago police. These were marshals you know and so Get a hold of him. We've heard you on the phone. We hear how, you know, you, you demand and you tell him, you know, where he's at, what he's doing. And so get him home. And at that time, I, I, you know, I, I called him, but to also let him know, like, they had me and not to come. And he was watching them. He was watching them. So he's like, I'm, I'm watching them. They got you. Right. And I'm like, yeah, I'm like, he's like, you want me to go? And I said, no,

Omar: 38:51

he was from where, from a

Dionne: 38:53

distance. He was watching from a rooftop.

Omar: 38:56

Wow. Yeah. So they grabbed you and, uh, so I stayed,

Dionne: 39:01

I stayed there, um, in my apartment while, uh, obviously, I want to say it was probably about 11 o'clock at night. So the warrant wasn't going to be issued till 12 midnight.

Omar: 39:12

So they couldn't, they couldn't go through your stuff, right? They couldn't go through anything

Dionne: 39:15

until, so then finally, finally when, when it hit, they told me that I had to contact family to come and get my kids. And at that time I started to reach out to family members. The family members that I wanted to reach out, that they knew that I was going to reach out, automatically they told me, you can't call this person, this person, this person, because we're going there next, which was all either his side of the family or direct family members. And I want to say there's a lot of family involved in this case, a lot of family. So it was, um, it was, uh, delicate. You know a delicate case because there was a lot of family It wasn't just the gang in itself, but in the gang whether it be nephews uncles grandmothers you know relationships cousins You know brothers it was it was gangs, but there was a lot of family involved

Omar: 40:13

Right. Yeah, that's usually how it is for for a lot of people. They They grew up grandfather father child and the same thing. You know,

Dionne: 40:20

what's crazy is that You know Again, you know when I look back at my life, I wasn't brought up in an environment. There was no smoking. There was no drinking Although my you know, my family members were a party crew at that time They weren't hardcore gangbangers. And so I didn't grow up in an environment of of Parents that were drug dealing because my parents weren't even in the picture You know what i'm saying? Like my grandpa was a hard working man and so Again, you know getting involved with the people that I got involved with this then where I learned that lifestyle and I became a part of that lifestyle You know,

Omar: 40:57

yeah, so you got drug in so they grab you Did they get him eventually or it was just you for a while?

Dionne: 41:03

No, they never caught him until

Omar: 41:05

okay

Dionne: 41:06

He didn't he never got caught. Okay, he faced the music Ten years later when we got captured,

Omar: 41:13

okay, you know, let's get there. So, okay, so they grab you I believe you go into uh downtown. Is it? Yes.

Dionne: 41:20

I was at mcc. How long

Omar: 41:21

were you there? And eventually you you end up Bonding out right now.

Dionne: 41:26

Yeah, so I was arrested. Um, obviously I was you know processed in Uh, you know I had to go to the first court and at that time Uh with federal cases, there is no bonding out like cash with federal cases. You're having to put a property up You properties like one or two properties, um, you're getting a security bond, which You're having to swear your hand on a on a plat screen signing off, um, you know, you're you're not going to leave um monitor voice recognition All the securities that you you could possibly have for them to to gps you and so Uh two weeks that I was there You I didn't know, uh, at that time what was gonna happen, you know? And I was one of the youngest females that landed in the MC at that time. Uh, they were all older women. And, and I didn't know, you know, you know, the, the actual, you know, aspect of the, of the case and what I had got in myself involved in you, you know? Could I ask

Omar: 42:36

you, was that your first time in prison? In in that case? Yes. My first time.

Dionne: 42:40

First time offender.

Omar: 42:41

Okay.

Dionne: 42:42

So, um, you know, being there, you know, you got women, there's all, you're going to be okay. You're going to get, you're going to go to court. They were kind of schooling me on what was going to happen. You're pregnant. They're going to let you go, uh, on a bond or, uh, you know, property bond and whatnot. So after two weeks I was able to, uh, put a security bond. It was a security bond of 250, 000 and a property bond plus, um, monitor and voice recognition because of my pregnancy. So I was able to bond out on those conditions, which I did. And, um, you know, having to move out of that apartment and then now I have to go stay with my biological father at the time. Uh, man, it was, it was hard. Uh, when I tell you that after I got released and I, I, I went back to my, my dad's house, you know, to, whether it be to visit or spend a few nights there, I couldn't go down to the lower level of his house because the The traumatic events that that that I had went through in that at that time um You know you you you feel like even though I had already been caught and I was out on on pre trial You know who's watching? You know, are they listening? and so Having to go back there you know those those Those thoughts were coming back You You know, I was reliving the experience all over again

Omar: 44:10

Of when they came to your house

Dionne: 44:11

Of the first time when I got arrested because again, I bonded out and that's where I ended up going So I stayed With my father and my children mind you, um, their dad never got caught um at that time He was running You know, um I didn't think that it was it was at that time I didn't think that it was okay for him to turn himself in if we didn't know the aspects of what was going to happen until I started to learn as I started going to court and you know, the discovery was was being presented and cds and videotapes and People talking and like whoa, you know, and so at that time the laws were mandatory

Omar: 44:51

Yeah,

Dionne: 44:51

they were mandatory laws. And so

Omar: 44:54

So there were certain amounts. Now, was that based on the amount of drugs, uh, the, the sentencing or what was it based on the mandatory sentencing that you're talking about?

Dionne: 45:04

Well, when you go back into looking into the laws back then, just with the conspiracy in itself, it carries a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life. And, um, the quantity of, of, of drugs, everything falls in categories. And so, uh, I wouldn't learn until when I finally came back to face the music What years later years later? um You know the depths of what it meant and and back then and to now and so there's a guideline there's guidelines on how In federal cases how they go about sentencing you.

Omar: 45:43

Yeah. Okay. So so you're out and eventually You decided to flee you want to take us to that moment? Like

Dionne: 45:49

so, um Again, I was pregnant. I was pregnant. I was harboring their dad, you know

Omar: 45:56

No harboring. What do you mean by that? Like, uh, so So I

Dionne: 46:00

was I was involved in in in hiding him in the sense that I knew he was out I could have turned him in at any time Rather than turning him in or arranging with the government For me to turn him in for him to go do his time or to you know to go ahead and because you know, he did he would always tell me man if you know if if if they would You You know cut you off, you know, i'll go i'll turn myself in and you know, no

Omar: 46:22

No, no cut you off means like to get you off the case. Yeah, okay So basically, you know

Dionne: 46:27

because we're thinking you know, oh, well, i'm just a female, you know, maybe they want him and maybe yeah, you know If he turns himself in though, no, no,

Omar: 46:34

no was this I know i'm sure you had a Lawyer at the time was that like maybe part of the discussion if the if you guys dropped the charges to say on you Maybe he'll turn himself in or was that I want to

Dionne: 46:46

say that one of my discussions as as it was getting closer Because I knew right after I had my daughter and again, you know, I went into premature labor during that whole time, you know carrying her because of the the the Stress the being overwhelmed um, you know i'm i'm having to You know to face the music eventually their dad couldn't be there, uh, you know to even help or You know to be with me, you know when you're pregnant and then I had three other kids and so Having to go sit with my attorney and then you know mentioning, you know him mentioning to me. Listen, look, you know you're looking at this amount of time if the only thing that you have that would be able to save you is if He turns himself in and you'll get less time. It wasn't Him turn himself in and you get off leniency. That wasn't going to happen And so, you know looking at my kids and then obviously talking with him, you know, you know, I don't even know You Again, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm not from Mexico. Um, you know, he, his family is, but I don't even know how it just came to thought and I said, we're leaving, you know, and he was like, where? And I'm like, to Mexico. And so at that time, um, again, when my attorney told me, you know, this is, this is what you're looking at. If, and again, that was back then. If you if you take take the offer and he turns himself in you're looking at about 11 years you'll do about seven years that's still You know, no.

Omar: 48:19

Yeah,

Dionne: 48:20

and so I want to say the last time that I had met with my attorney Um, and he said, then, at this point, be prepared, we're going to trial September 7th, so you'll be having to turn yourself in. Mind you, I had had my daughter premature at, at, uh, five, in five months, she was 13 ounces, 13 ounces, and I was, you know, juggling with her, with her condition, with, you know, being an incubator, and, you know, coming up on her weight, having a surgery done, you know, my other kids, uh, the case. Um, him. And so it was a lot. It was a lot. And so finally when I knew that in September I was supposed to turn myself in, that was it. There was, there was no, there was not going to be another, another meeting, you know, meeting with my, my lawyer to say, I'm ready. I'm gonna, you know, I'm going to go ahead and start, you know, figuring out what I'm going to do with my kids. No, I looked at my kids and I said, absolutely not. You know, we're, yeah.

Omar: 49:23

So the choice you made was based on your kids just wanting to be with them because I know you mentioned that in one of the interviews that you had made almost like a vow to your daughter that you weren't going to leave her side or something.

Dionne: 49:35

And so, um, I think it's important for me to say also, you know, uh, at that time I was Catholic. Uh, I don't want to say that I was an active Catholic, but I was Catholic through, um, Tradition let's put it that way and so I you know, I I prayed when I was able to release on my bond You know, I prayed and I vowed that you know that if you know, the virgin mary would would Be there and to help me get through this that I would be going to church and that you know, um My daughter make it And she did, you know, she made it But with with her fighting for her life the way that she did as a preemie You Um, I didn't know what was going to become of her. Um, you know, she, she got out of the hospital after she was born in March. She didn't get out of the hospital till like June, July until she gained a certain amount of weight. And so, I wasn't going to have a lot of time before I had to turn myself in. And so, seeing that I was already taking her to therapy and, you know, They were already starting to see, do tests to see if she, you know, she was going to be blind or she was going to hear if she was just all of that. And so I, I just remember, you know, you know, saying that if she survived because her life, she was fighting for her life, you know, to say 13 ounces, you know, she was just so small, like, And I didn't know what was going to become of her, but I just know that, that when I prayed that if she made it, that I would not leave her sight, and that included my other kids, because I don't think that I would have been able to have turned myself in, not knowing, um, what was going to become of my kids, because again, you know, I had children, uh, two different men, and so that was going to split them up, and one thing that, As a mom, um, till this day, uh, I had always, always try to look back and say, well, what I didn't have, I was going to make sure I gave my kids. And so for that reason, I, no matter what it was, you know, my kids were first.

Omar: 51:40

Yeah.

Dionne: 51:40

Um, I broke the law, you know, dealing drugs and, and getting involved in the things that I did. And on top of that, I broke the law again by leaving, but I need to make that clear that it wasn't about hiding, it was about raising my kids because the day that I would either turn myself in because it was a thought a lot of times, um, either I turn myself in or they catch me, but my children were going to have that time with me and they were going to bond with me and know who their mom was and You know, whatever, whatever it is that I had to go Go through. Um, I wasn't going to leave them.

Omar: 52:17

Gotcha. Okay, so you made the choice You guys flee. Where'd you guys go? And how did life look for you guys? Like, uh, How did it look and how did you establish a life I guess on the run?

Dionne: 52:30

Oh, wow. Um Again, you know We're leaving You know, I mentioned it in my other interview, you know, packed what I had to pack and you know Uh, and the way I went about it was kind of crazy because my dad was actually, uh, you know sick and um You know, he told me to take him to the hospital My dad had no knowledge on what I was gonna do. I was just waiting for the right moment. I nobody knew nobody knew and um I went and I dropped them off I dropped him off at the hospital and I came back home and I started loading up his car. I loaded up his car and grabbed my kids and I left a note that I was going for the weekend and that his car would be parked somewhere, a specific area. And so that's how he was able to go get his car. But I was supposed to be what other family members but that wasn't the case It was just for first of all not get my dad involved second of all for him to get his car But third so that he had no knowledge. Uh, you know to What my decision was?

Omar: 53:42

good,

Dionne: 53:43

and so Looking back that specific time. Um You know, I I can't really Really really remember exactly You know how You know, we went from from point a b to c, but all I know is that we was on the road We was on the road and and and we were leaving And once we crossed the border mind you, uh 9 11 You figure that had just happened.

Omar: 54:13

Oh, yeah

Dionne: 54:13

So yeah, because you were gonna go to

Omar: 54:15

court. Yeah, you said in uh, september, right, right

Dionne: 54:18

and so, um I want to say 9 11 hadn't happened. No, no, no nine. Yeah, because I was 22 in 22 I left so 9 11 had already happened. So the borders They were kind of strict already, you know

Omar: 54:34

Even leaving because I would imagine they were strict probably coming in but you guys were leaving so even that

Dionne: 54:39

stopped

Omar: 54:40

Okay.

Dionne: 54:40

Yeah, we did get stopped. So again, um, you know Took a chance and we just took the road Um, you know Traveling, leaving home, going through states, and that was going to be the last time that I would see the U. S. I honestly can't say at the moment that I cared or that I worried about, you know, what my family thought. Again, I came from a broken family, so to me it was like my family was my kids. Um, my grandpa, my grandfather had already raised me and he had already retired and moved, you know, to another state. So that house was already sold.

Omar: 55:21

Okay.

Dionne: 55:22

Mind you, we were all adults, so we kind of went our, our own ways. The house, once it got burnt up to the way it got burnt, like there was no way that anybody could live in that house as far as family. And so, you know, my grandfather retired and then, you know, he moved to another state. And again, uh, given that I was already an adult, I was living my life already. My brothers were already gone, living their lives. Still connected to the to the to the neighborhood there, but they were no longer that house was no longer It didn't exist to the Garcia's because that's how that house was known. Right

Omar: 55:54

Garcia's

Dionne: 55:55

lived in the house And so, you know, that was it once once got out of Illinois started passing every other state so we got to California San Diego and cross the border mind you I didn't know at that time Really what we're doing I didn't, there was no plans. It was just get up, leave. When we get there, we'll figure it out. So the crazy thing about it is that as soon as we crossed the border, like, uh, The best way that I could explain it was like I felt like I was in a third world country, you know Like what the hell? I mean, there was no streets. Uh, just the electricity, you know the water, uh Mind you this is right across the border in tijuana, you know and Man, I fell into a deep depression. I wanted to come back. I wanted to turn myself in that same week I was sick. I was sick like Like like an addict I was sick. I, I, I, it was hard to cope. I, it wasn't, that wasn't my environment. It wasn't my home. It was You know, it was it was hard. It was hard and and then to have to hear him say Mind you he had a warrant because he never got arrested. No, I had a warrant because I already fled.

Omar: 57:13

Yeah

Dionne: 57:13

You know, I fled I broke bond so my I was facing more.

Omar: 57:22

Yeah, so going back to the offer You That was no longer the number they were going to offer you once they grabbed you, right? Oh no. I'm sure the charges are going to. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. I got you. So, so, so, so you're there. And what's crazy is

Dionne: 57:36

that I didn't care. I had that mentality, um, and maybe this may sound wrong, you know, but as a mom that's going to do anything and everything for their kid and kids and you know, uh, you know, if they want me to let them come get me and that's just the way it went. But when I tell you once getting there, it was like, I want to go back. Like, what was I thinking? It was too late. Like,

Omar: 58:00

I had already

Dionne: 58:01

said at that time, you know, we, we got one, you got a one already, you know, I got a warrant, but now you got a one and yours is worse because, you know, I, I fled off bond and everything that, that I signed for, whether it had been a property bond or monitor or whatever, mind you, the monitor did come off because, um, at that time I had my daughter. So her life. Was in critical condition. So that was something that my attorney brought to the judge like her daughter's in critical condition needs she needs to be there because I did I did tell my lawyer if My daughter doesn't survive. I'm i'm i'm gonna damn sue the government And so that option was taken like it was So once we get over there again, you know, it was hard, um, uh, we didn't go there, um Like I mean I have to say it because a lot of times if people have ever been in the position of being on the run you know with money or Um, or you already know what your plans are Um a lot of times it doesn't work that way And so we didn't go there with the intentions of oh, we got money We're just gonna go move in and fit in with everybody that got money No, we started from the bottom. We made sure that we started from the bottom, you know at the poorest of the poor You know working our way in because mind you When you go to a different country, especially in Mexico, they can tell who U. S. citizens are. They can tell in your lingo, you know, like they say, you know, Spanglish, you know, the accent. Um, I've been told, and I'm not trying to make it a race thing, but I've been told, you know, that I look white. Um, I don't have No roots of, of, of Mexican in me. My dad, my, my father's Puerto Rican. And so, um, I come from Puerto Rican descendants. Okay. Um, but him on the other hand, he's, he's Mexican, you know. Okay. And so it was easier to blend in with him uh, because he he still He knew more the language and so that's kind of where the story was that He got deported and I followed him. That's the story. That's the he got deported. I followed him There was no way that I was going to be in the u. s. Raising my kids alone with their dad in mexico So that was the story that we stuck with.

Omar: 1:00:29

Okay, and you were you guys were able to build a life and uh,

Dionne: 1:00:32

um You You know, we rented, we rented for some time and moved around in different areas as we gradually started to learn. Uh, mind you, we, we weren't going there to stay there, but once reality set in that, Man, you know, I don't want to go in deeper because I already feel some kind of way being here. Anything happens to any of my kids, My freedom, that's it. I'm going to turn myself in and when I say anything happened to one of my kids, if they were in need of like something critical where they had to go to the hospital or something that I wasn't going to be able to get it done there, by all means I would have, I would have crossed the border, turned myself in with the conditions that my, my kids would be in. You know get the proper Proper care that they needed as u. s. Citizens. And so I I was the one that said no, we're not going any deeper We're staying here. It wasn't until 2005 that we finally established ourselves. So maybe about three four years later

Omar: 1:01:31

Okay, you feel established

Dionne: 1:01:33

ourself. Well, we finally we had our own home.

Omar: 1:01:35

Okay,

Dionne: 1:01:36

um rather than renting we had our own home Mind you, you know, we we built from the bottom up Um, you know, our, our, our home, what we call our home there and, and I did everything that I could to raise my kids in a somewhat household as if they were in the U. S. From the structure of the house, the way we had it built, um, to even our meals, you know, I, I, I made sure that the traditional holidays were, were included. You know the family time like, you know, I mentioned it in that video with Pastor Job. I Say that they were the best years of our lives because that's how my children put it Why because they were being raised by both parents And I have to say this, you know when it comes to our kids no matter What we do or how we are our kids love us unconditional they don't they don't they don't see no wrong in us Yeah, and so given that they were young and small at that time. There was really Not much that I kept from them when it came to Why we were out there? Because eventually, you know, I was aired on America's Most Wanted and so I had to sit them down.

Omar: 1:02:51

So they they had to be almost like I guess prepared for if and when that moment so they

Dionne: 1:02:56

knew my kids knew at a year early age that We were going we were leaving because mommy and daddy got into some trouble and if we would have stayed in chicago We would be locked up. So okay to raise them. We had to move away and be away from family And that's just what it was. There was no more questions asked. Yeah, but as they kind of got a little bit I don't want to I can't even say older because they were still young um But to where they were able to understand because obviously, you know I had my son and his dad was already schooling him on being a man Okay, and one thing I can say my kids were very very naive to the lifestyle That I had they they didn't grow up with gangs. They didn't grow up with you know you know getting jumped or Just it's a different lifestyle, you know

Omar: 1:03:45

Okay, could ask you so I know in the video You Uh, you were talking about how you started, uh, your faith journey in mexico How how did you end up going to church or how did that look where you we start seeking god while you're out there?

Dionne: 1:03:58

um, so You know, I landed a few jobs out there before I became my own Business person because that's what I did. I I you know, I i've always knew that I had the mindset of of being a leader and to be able to You To be my own boss because obviously, you know, we were we were drug dealers And so anything that I set my mind to do out there whether it's been you know getting involved at the schools or in food or you know Some of the businesses that I got involved in and ended up doing was like nails, you know Send my daughter to school for And taught myself, you know, the nails, how to put nails and all that. And so again, you know, it was always, uh, important for us to have our own business. And so, um, you asked me, what did you just ask me?

Omar: 1:04:50

Oh, about faith. You mentioned that you started your faith journey while you were out there. so

Dionne: 1:04:57

I think it's important for me to say also that it wasn't easy. To make friends, um, you know, you know people ask questions like, you know You know, what are you guys doing out here? And even though the story was that my you know, my guy had gotten deported at the same time You know To have friends female friends and you know In in mexico you know comadres that they like to come over and chit chat and all that So there was none of that happening, but I did have like neighbors lady neighbors that um You know It would spark conversation whatever and one specific woman Um, I started to watch her her babysit for her her son used to take You know play with my son and so she landed a job And asked if I could watch him, which I I didn't see nothing wrong with doing that I just I just really didn't pay no mind. Um, you know to the to the type of work that she was doing at night But it was one Specific Sunday that she had told me she's like, you know, um, mind you I went I went by a different name I didn't go by dm for a lot of years And so when you know, she told me about this church, she's like, you know, I think you should come Uh, you'd really like it and take the kids, you know, they got this and that for for the kids. And so I went um And I loved it I loved it. And I have to say that I'll never forget this woman. It's sad to say that. Um, she died You She died while I was out there and, um, I started watching her kids, uh, for her, her, her husband. He became widowed when she passed away. But it was something that I, I, I didn't mind doing. And not for monetary gain at all. It was something that I felt like this woman is who led me, you know, in my faith, in, in my spiritual walk. It was her

Omar: 1:06:55

no, no at this point of your spirit Was it just you or was your your man following along on the faith path or not? There was just

Dionne: 1:07:02

you know, what's crazy is that? Um, I I don't want to say that that that particular moment is when when again, you know, uh, I I started going as a christian

Omar: 1:07:10

Yeah,

Dionne: 1:07:11

but we were going to church. Um That's a catholic church out there. And so he would attend with me, but it you know, we did attend like, um, you know the walks and the easter and um You know certain What are the events that the traditional events that they they do and whatnot Um, and so we were going to church Catholic I was sending my kids. I had put in my kids through catechism as well um, but once I Started going to that other church I didn't stop sending my kids to you know, obviously to the catholic church um But I do recall a time because he grew up as an altar boy going to a catholic school And so, you know, he would tell me like, uh, because I would share with him like yeah This is happening and you should see like it did feel so good and the you know They got the tambourines and he he would tell me like that sounds crazy. Like where you going here, you know, and um It was just it's crazy because I mean he ended up converting christian as well

Omar: 1:08:16

out there.

Dionne: 1:08:16

No,

Omar: 1:08:17

okay later on later on

Dionne: 1:08:19

but you know the only the best way that I could describe it is that uh, You I just, you know, it was, um, it was like awesome, you know, to, to be on the run and with so much weight and, and to have, you know, somebody preaching and then just point out like you. And that's kind of what happened. I was in a moment where he had the congregation standing and and you know The pastor was was praying and then he looked up and he you know, he started talking and said, you know There's somebody that's here right now. You're running from somewhere. You're running you're running and you're hiding and God sees you He's telling he's saying he sees you and then you know, I bowed my head and I just felt hands over me And I started to cry I I felt a weight lifted off me like The same way I felt when I got captured But it was it was a healing weight like because to carry so much it's like a house like you're just You know, you're tired. You're always tired and and and I was I was tired

Omar: 1:09:27

weary.

Dionne: 1:09:28

I was tired

Omar: 1:09:28

Okay, now now take us to the moment where you finally get caught and then how did that look that transition back?

Dionne: 1:09:36

So, you know, um, I often wondered like, damn, how did we get caught? You know, why? Um, and, and I want to say, you know, I had my youngest son, I got pregnant again and I had a lot of encounters out there, like, uh, even a near death encounter where I recall, you know, calling out to God, I, I had, I got pregnant again and I had a top neck pregnancy without even knowing. And so, you know, Going into coma and losing blood and having donors and my life was in in their dad's hands Um, you know me praying not like this, please, you know, and and I survived I survived that And again, you know with my faith and knowing I remember I would always I would always pray that I was tired, you know I would think Where am I gonna be in five years, you know, my kids are gonna grow up and what's gonna become of me I'm not gonna be able to work in the school anymore because I was I had a lot of ties in the school Um, without, without having to go into detail with them on what I was doing there. My story just, it seemed to fit, you know, my, my, you know, my guy got deported. My kids are in school. I became, you know, part of the treasury. I started to, you know, run the cafeteria. Now I was renting the cafeteria and, you know, I worked my way up gradually to, to being on the board. And so, um, just. Being tired and I just recall again, um always praying You know, it's it's not easy to live on the run. It's not especially when you have kids and mind you You know, I had five kids now um, not that again, not to say that that uh, you know, I had planned my my last child, but I never took care of myself. I never, you know, used contraceptives because that's who I ended up staying with and that's who fathered my, my children. And to me, it wasn't really important that I had to, you know, to take care of myself. And so my last pregnancy, obviously, you know, I had my son out there and, um, I always thought, you know, Oh, well, he was born out here, you know, they can't come and arrest us, you know He's gonna be the one to save us because i'm gonna say no. Well, he's

Omar: 1:11:46

gotta stay with him.

Dionne: 1:11:47

Yeah You know, they can't take me they can't take us because you know, he's born out here. How are they gonna take their parents? No, absolutely

Omar: 1:11:55

You want to tell us about that because I was reading uh the article And it says when they grabbed you Only three of your kids came with you and i'm mistaken. Do you want to tell us?

Dionne: 1:12:05

Yes, what

Omar: 1:12:05

happened there?

Dionne: 1:12:06

So um So again, not, not knowing, uh, in 2007, when I was first aired on, uh, 15 Seconds of Shame, America's Most Wanted, I still hadn't known why they aired me because he would watch that show in cops and I remember always saying, like, you know, why do you keep watching that? Like, you know? And, um, his words were always, we gotta stay one step ahead of them, you know, we gotta be on it. And, and mind you, we had already came across two people from the neighborhood that already came out on there. And so, again, you know, I, I would always think like, you know, we didn't murder anybody, you know, why would they put drug dealers on there? So when I was aired on 15 Seconds of Shame. And then my daughter, you know, like tugging at me, like, you know, Mommy, Mommy, is that you? I was cooking though, the pot fell and, and, and it was over with like my, my world caved in like, when are they coming or where do we go? And we did, you know, I have to say that that minute and we had a house. Loaded up our at that time. Uh, we were driving a suburb in a family suburb and loaded up the suburb I don't know. Here we go again. Like we We was always ready just to go move Um, whether we were leaving a house behind or like in chicago leaving family behind our kids came first and we were we were going so packed up and Moved around and went to go rent somewhere else and then it finally hit us like we can't be running You know if they're gonna come get us let them let them come it is what it is already, you know Because us just leaving our house. There was no family there We weren't connected with family to say hey, you know somebody come and check on the house Like we boldly just left our house and so We end up going back. We end up going back to the house to our house And that was in 2007. They captured so 2007. They aired me 2008 around there in 2010. I was captured.

Omar: 1:14:12

Oh, so it took a while It wasn't like the media like about two three years.

Dionne: 1:14:15

Yeah, I think um And again, we were right at the border you know, I want to say that You know certain people draw certain people and even though I didn't have friends and I I wasn't Associated with anybody he tend to attract the same type of Guys, um, that were either getting deported from, from California and at work, you know, people get comfortable, um, you know, maybe a conversation might have sparked up. You know, where are you from? And I want to say my opinion, uh, when they aired us, somebody had to recognize him, you know, he, you know, when, when it comes to a person that stands out a lot, especially if you're tatted up and you know, you got teardrops and you got, you know, gang tattoos, you know, they, they, they label you, they, they, they just, they label you. And so it might've taken two years. Uh, but whoever. Witness or recognize, because mind you, um, as a family, we never went out completely as a family. Uh, there was times I was never with him. Like, I was just a single mom, or if I, I, I, I was in the school a lot with my kids. Or if we did step out, we'd take two of the kids and, you know, leave two, or take three, or Or I take them all or he take them all to try to

Omar: 1:15:40

keep it from uh, it'll be easier to yes, because that's how they

Dionne: 1:15:44

uh, when they aired me, that's how they Mainly advertise. Uh, she's traveling with you know Her three children mind you even though we had more children still In mexico is like man this family like damn They got a lot of kids because i'm not gonna say you know when I used to take my kids to the park It was like a whole kindergarten, you know,

Omar: 1:16:04

yeah,

Dionne: 1:16:05

and so we drew attention so to avoid that We just lived a certain way

Omar: 1:16:10

gotcha. We were

Dionne: 1:16:11

very discreet and how we moved. Um, no english outside only inside Um, and I have to say that my kids Um, my oldest daughter I homeschooled her probably for like two years before I got her enrolled in a school Okay, and so she was you know homeschooled Got her in school by the time I had to get my other kids in school She was already in school. So they fell right along in the school system because one child was already there Um, but yeah, even the language, you know, they spoke english at home They didn't write they only spoke. So by the time they came back to the states Uh, they only spoke english, but they didn't know how to read and they didn't know how to write They only know how to read english spanish and write spanish and so It was it was a big A big change in in in my kid's life also when they had to come back.

Omar: 1:17:04

Okay So you come back? I believe you went to san diego if i'm not mistaken and then eventually you find yourself back in chicago, right? Now do they bring you guys together and are you guys facing these charges together? Or I mean during your trial or both of you present or it's like one at a time when you guys feel like Face the charges.

Dionne: 1:17:24

So when we get arrested that early morning, uh again I, I don't think that we ever felt, um, you know, that they knew exactly where we were at because we were in Mexico. I'm not going to say that having Erdos on America's Most Wanted wasn't a tip that, that led to our captivity, but we still didn't feel like, um, you know, it's, it's, it's It's today. Uh, we lived on borrowed time. We always said that we lived on borrowed time and that meant that whenever the day came, that was it. Uh, and we had to make the best of every day that we were together. But to say that I, I prayed a lot. I was tired, you know, I prayed a lot. You know,

Omar: 1:18:16

but do you do you feel like getting captured? Maybe it was an answer to prayer. I'm obviously nobody wants to get caught, but eventually I'm sure I had to bring some relief like

Dionne: 1:18:24

it was that was you

Omar: 1:18:26

want to talk about that even though you were here facing the charges, but

Dionne: 1:18:30

It was a prayer answered, um, because again, you know living on the run it was hard My daughter was already 18 years old, you know, she's thinking, you know college and and I was taking that from her, you know Hey, do I let her go to the states? But then she's going to get questioned and you know, there was a lot to it that you know Again praying and and you know asking god to help me like I was tired like what was going to become on my life um, you know time started to get a little hard because even though You know he was working Through that, um, top net pregnancy that I had, it, that costed a lot of money because everything was cash. So we were living, we were living, not only did we have, you know, our home, but we were living off of what we had. And even though I might have invested in different areas with different businesses, at the end of the day money doesn't last. And so, um, that, that, that medical, uh, situation, uh, took a toll, a big toll. So when we finally get captured, again, um, I remember that day, you know, I asked my youngest son, what did he want for breakfast, you know, in Mexico, you could walk to the corner and they have a whole swap meet going on and, you know, all kind of food vendors and so it was easy just to say, okay, well. Um, let's go to the flea market. And so, you know, he said, no, let's just stay home. And so I had some big old windows. I opened up the curtains and, you know, I told him, okay, I'll be fixing breakfast in a minute. And I only had my two boys at that time. My girls, my daughter was already out, you know, she was 18. She was already living on her own and she would take her sisters with her. Um, when my son recognized, well, he's like, mom, there's a lot of kids. Trucks in front of the house and me thinking it's the neighbors because by then we already had purchased a house where neighbors The husbands worked in in the United States. So their houses were pretty pretty decent And so I told him I said, it's probably the neighbors got visitors, but it wasn't that it was It was Mexican authorities Mexican feds The army came I mean the tanks came for us And so I just heard My dog, I I had a blue pit. I just remember I heard my dog cry and the shots so

Omar: 1:20:54

So

Dionne: 1:20:56

that's how they were her. Yeah, they that's how they were able to enter Our gates because we had those steel gates there

Omar: 1:21:02

in mexico. They got the heavy So we

Dionne: 1:21:04

had those steel gates and you knew her you you know, we heard her You know, she's barking and barking and barking, but then you hear You know the shots And I just remember the door getting kicked in, and they came in with their, their big ol Mexico doesn't come in with small doors.

Omar: 1:21:21

No, yeah, yeah, the military, yeah. And my

Dionne: 1:21:23

hands up in the air, and my boys were right there, so I was like, I'm who you're looking for. I'm who you're looking for, like, there's no need to point the guns at them. Yeah, yeah. And, um. They looked at me. They said What's your name? And I said i'm who you're looking for. They're like this doesn't look like you mind you I never looked the same. I i've always been different um It's it's just what's worked And so I didn't look and they still didn't believe that who they had in the mugshot was who they had in front of them

Omar: 1:21:57

No, no, no, was he with you when they came?

Dionne: 1:21:59

Yes. He he worked the night shift. So You In the mornings he would sleep and so he was upstairs in the master bedroom sleeping when they came in Uh, I was still able before they kicked in and I heard the dog getting shot at I was able to run up and tell him wake him up like They're here And so he was able to get up but in his in his sleep Not really knowing what was going on um, I came back down because of the boys that I had downstairs my two boys and so by then I'm pretty sure he heard the, you know, the motion and the commotion and so before I knew it, you know, I asked if I could get dressed Um, I mean, I knew I was I knew I was caught.

Omar: 1:22:47

Yeah. Yeah, so that was

Dionne: 1:22:49

um Um, obviously when we get captured and extradited back, you asked, you know, I went, we didn't just get extradited straight to Chicago. You know, we had to go to California and then, you know, I was in Arizona and then from there, um, California, then Oklahoma, and then. I mean, before we got to Chicago, we were on the same airlift, on the Conair. So throughout the whole time, we were together, um, you know, as co defendants. And because we shared children together, we were considered, you know, obviously, you know, married, married. And so up until we end up back in Chicago, we went to court every, every court we went together. By the grace of God we were able to have our visits with our children together here in Chicago as well

Omar: 1:23:39

So yeah, did they allow your kids to come in? Wow.

Dionne: 1:23:42

Yes. I was on the 12th floor and he was on the 13th floor. I Was able to get family visits with him. So we were able to physically sit next to each other with our kids and All the way to the end, you know, when I got sentenced, um, I, I wanna say I've always had favor with staff, um, whether they seen maybe the Holy Spirit, maybe, I don't, I don't know, I've, I've always been told, you know, um, you know, there's just something about you, and, you know, we always had favor over us, uh, where, where we were at at the MCC, again, with the staff there. We were able to have our visits together, uh, my children could visit him or visit me or his mom, me and him and our kids. Uh, so it was a good thing. Uh, so we were there all the way. I want to say we were there for like three, two, three years. Um, just waiting because the case was so old. Um, having to, you know, go back and they had to dig and whatnot. And I'm not going to say, That didn't cross his mind, you know, he wanted to take it to trial. He has been old what they're going to have No, the feds don't forget about nothing I did not want to put myself through that as well I told them listen when you got people that are still locked up We left at any given moment. They can offer them something and say, you know what? Hey, we got them already. You've been in this amount of time. We'll cut you off this amount of time, you know You know testify. No, no, you're saying

Omar: 1:25:06

take it to trial. Um, so you were thinking about like taking a plea deal Is that what you're talking about? No,

Dionne: 1:25:12

because remember we never got charged. We, we only had gotten indicted. We never got charged. We never, um, we never went through trial like every, but not, how could I say the case was never closed.

Omar: 1:25:23

So

Dionne: 1:25:24

it was still open. We had to get sentenced. And so we still had an option if we wanted to take it a trial and fight after so many years in his mind, he might've thought, Oh, well, let's take it a trial, you know, it's been so long They ain't gonna have evidence that they don't forget everything is You know, everything is stored and so all the way up until the day that we got sentenced um on that day again, you know Given that you know, my attorney said i'm i'm going for the minimum of 10 years It was now advisory the guidelines were advisory where now the judge could sentence Between whatever the prosecutor wanted and whatever the attorney wanted. It wasn't mandatory anymore

Omar: 1:26:06

So now that was that like did that work in your favor because I know before you had mentioned it was mandatory back then So did it actually help? That you were facing the charges now I

Dionne: 1:26:15

will say afterwards and what's crazy is that I was facing a life sentence I was a category one with a level 45 which was off the board the category level Goes up to a 43 and I was a level 45 with Obstruction of justice, uh, uh, aid in abating a fugitive, the conspiracy, uh, the firearms. I had three firearms on my, on me just, and so Everything was adding up at the end of the, at the end, you know, I had 17 counts. Um, and so I did not want to take it to trial. I was taking it. I was taking a plea deal because I knew I was guilty and I was just as involved and not just that I wanted to get it over with I had already In my mind in my eyes. I had already did what I had to do to raise my kids to a certain age We got caught because that's all I had asked god for you know Give me enough time to be able to raise my kids where they know Who their mama was?

Omar: 1:27:11

Yeah,

Dionne: 1:27:12

and so that happened. My oldest was 18 by then. So the day that we get sentenced, um You My lawyer his lawyer Okay, we're going in there mind you. He was a career criminal. So at his minimum he was facing 20 years um mine First time offender my minimum would have been 10 years And so that's what my attorney was aiming at. Yeah We go before the judge after you know We speak on you know our remorse or whatever we had to say And they sentenced him first To 325 months, um, and I just remember that when you hear 300, and you know, like, I just in my mind, I just remember 30, you know, that's three in the 300s is a lot. Not even two seconds later. You know, the judge sentenced me to 200 months in prison and at that moment I didn't know what months. I didn't know what numbers were months. So

Omar: 1:28:12

basically you have to divide it by 12, right? To find out the years. And so

Dionne: 1:28:16

it wasn't until, you know, the little sledge, he slams it and says, and now order you to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons and you are to serve, you know, your 200 months with five years supervised release. And, and we were walked out and I just remember he was walking right before me and he was like. You know, don't even trip. You got this, you know, 16 years ain't nothing. And I'm looking at him like 16 years ain't nothing was 16 years And and i'm and i'm thinking for him.

Omar: 1:28:47

What was his years? I gotta bust out my calculator

Dionne: 1:28:50

325 months. How

Omar: 1:28:51

many years is that

Dionne: 1:28:52

25 years?

Omar: 1:28:53

Wow. Yeah, it could be like when I when I heard your census I ain't gonna lie earlier. I busted out my calculator or I was 200 divided by 12. I'm like man So 25 years he got you got man

Dionne: 1:29:04

Yeah, I got 16 years and eight months and you know when I when I think about the time that I got, you know I had always At that time when he told me, you know, it was only this amount of time and we got this or whatever like you know I was sick again. I myself the the staff had to keep the inmates away because in in a in a state of mind like that You don't know if a person's going to commit suicide or you're going to get

Omar: 1:29:27

did that ever cross your mind?

Dionne: 1:29:30

No,

Omar: 1:29:30

okay.

Dionne: 1:29:31

Never

Omar: 1:29:32

but probably because of your kids, you know, like what was it? No,

Dionne: 1:29:35

no I don't know It never crossed my mind because I already had two suicidal attempts when I was younger and that was something that I knew that I would never do again because obviously I had I had encountered Christ and I knew that That's he's the only one that could take my life

Omar: 1:29:54

and

Dionne: 1:29:55

at this I knew that when the time came, I was going to have to face the music. I did what I had to do to raise my kids. And now I was going to, you know, I was going to take the weight on whatever, you know, my, my

Omar: 1:30:07

was, it was. Okay. Now I know you were, um, during trial you're in downtown, so it was downtown Chicago, right in the prison. Now, you go to a regular prison, you want to talk about that, the difference and the experience? Yes.

Dionne: 1:30:22

Well, here in the MCC, it was just a one floor, you know, I mean, for

Omar: 1:30:27

people that don't know that's in downtown. So it's basically like a, you can say like a high rise, right? It's a holding facility

Dionne: 1:30:32

and it's a high rise up to, I want to say 26 floors. Right. The, the, the rec yard is a way at the top, uh, sky level. It's like a squared off building. So that's

Omar: 1:30:41

obviously different from a regular prison you're going mean,

Dionne: 1:30:45

there was no movement there. I mean, you were either locked in your cell or out just in the little common area. There was, you weren't going anywhere. You weren't, nothing. And so when I finally got sentenced, I was sentenced and I was designated to Huasica, Minnesota. And Huasica, Minnesota was, I mean, When I say that that's where, you know, you experience and you, you're in there with big people like lifers, lifers. Lifers, that's all I could tell you anybody that has over a 10 year sentence is considered a lifer So I was sent there with a high security level Obviously because I was a risk of flight. I had already escaped once And the severity of my case And so I was sentenced and designated their sentences 16 years and eight months and I was designated to wasika, minnesota um, you know my my time in in in wasika I want to say before the last two years that I left there, I was bad. I I had the mindset because I never thought that I was going to come home. I thought I was going to die in prison. 16 years is a lot of years. It's a lot of years.

Omar: 1:31:56

What percentage did you have to do? Because I know it wasn't a hundred percent, 85%, right? So it's not like in, let's say the state of Illinois back then, I know they changed it, but. If they give you, let's say 16, you only do eight and you'd be up 85%. I mean, that's so, so you were looking at what, like a minimum of 14,

Dionne: 1:32:14

14, 14, right? Right.

Omar: 1:32:15

Okay. Yeah.

Dionne: 1:32:16

So again, you know, And I remember I have to say, you know, I remember before I got sentenced I was praying and I you know, I I did my bargaining, you know I always say I bargained with god a lot because I would tick for tack you give me this i'm gonna give you that and So it didn't work that way. It wasn't what I wanted. It was what he wanted, but I do recall I remember saying That 10 years uh for whatever Reason the prayer was um, I would cut my hair Um Nobody's gonna ever understand uh Uh, what's the word I want to use like there's there's a Spiritual

Omar: 1:33:01

Component or

Dionne: 1:33:04

Like there's a reason only I know that I that I I do what I do at that time At that time my hair was long. Um And I never remember reading on samson

Omar: 1:33:15

And

Dionne: 1:33:17

it was just something about it But I remember I I bargained with my hair and I remember you know saying if I get the 10 years I'm cutting my hair off. I'm gonna that was my sacrifice in other words You didn't

Omar: 1:33:29

get the 10 years, right?

Dionne: 1:33:30

I didn't, but I still was woman enough to say, you know what? You gave me 16 years. That's still my life. Did

Omar: 1:33:35

you feel that it was close enough to the 10 that I'm going to do it? It wasn't life. It was

Dionne: 1:33:39

not life. I was facing life in prison. And so I still did it.

Omar: 1:33:44

You did it. Okay. I

Dionne: 1:33:44

did it. Uh, as soon as I got to Waseca, that was something that I did in, you know, in, in honoring that, you know what, I didn't get life and it is what it is, but it was, um, It wasn't easy in there at all

Omar: 1:33:57

you you want to talk about that because in and the interview I was watching You said there was a lot of violence. It was pretty rough Do you want to maybe talk a little bit about that?

Dionne: 1:34:10

That in the prison setting it's a whole different world than out here, you know Like they say, you know, you see things you hear things and and you know, you don't speak about it. You turn your cheek That's just the way it is. And so, you know given that I came from the streets of Chicago and still I'm not You know, I I didn't consider myself a punk because I still had that mentality the street mentality that I still had to survive in There so I still had to live by the streets whether it be somebody trying to steal from me or or Because it happened and I I ended up in the shoe a lot of times

Omar: 1:34:43

The shoe the

Dionne: 1:34:44

shoe is um, it's obviously a segregation area where they They house you by yourself and it's like a dungeon and you're not going anywhere. It's

Omar: 1:34:53

basically, uh, the way I explained it. Solitary

Dionne: 1:34:55

confinement by yourself 24 hours a day in the dark pit.

Omar: 1:35:01

And that does something like, I was telling like when I share my story, like I was all good for two and a half years cause I was around people. So, you know, hanging out, talking, joking, whatever. But when they threw me there, like it finally hit me that I was locked up. I explained it like jail inside of jail, right? That's like actual jail and being in the right like definitely And

Dionne: 1:35:23

so I found myself down there a lot. Okay. Um, I was mad I was angry and for a long time I blamed my mom. I blamed my dad. I blamed The father of my kids. I blamed everybody everybody for for the way my life turned out um but it was it was it was eating at me the time was getting to me because Man, it was only three years I had in Four years and you know, and I would think about 16 years. I'm gonna die in prison. I'm not going home And so, um, you know, I was I was going to school The last encounter that I had that landed me. Um in in in seg I hit the floor and I was like I actually got a letter. Uh that my son my oldest son had gotten jumped and and robbed and so You Things started to hit home. The things that I used to do and the things that his dad might have did, it was coming back and it was, it was, it was coming back with our own kids. And so I was in solitary confinement when that took place and I couldn't do nothing. I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to. You know, my, my kids were out here in the streets. Surviving on their own and my boys. I mean, well, I want to say my oldest son because he was the oldest You know going through his own thing and where was dad and where was where was the male role models? And so I just remember at that time I got on my knees and I you know I said, you know, I need to get home like what is it going to take for me? To change and to, to, to this mentality that I had because I had so much anger in me. And again, you know, resentment, hate, unforgiveness, anger, you name it, everything. And, um, and I just remember getting on my knees and just bargaining again with God, you know. Um, show me that I'm, I'm, I'm gonna go home soon. Um, I, I started to educate myself in there as well. I started to read the Bible, got out of the shoe, went to, went to my instructor, told him I was ready to, to, to get right school wise, education wise, you know, you, you could, you could get your GED in there, but you could also take college in there. And so, um, I started to go to faith programs as well celebrate recovery Um, they had a lot of different faith programs and before you know it I became a leader to these um, you know to these programs And then with my testimony They had a program there. That was the choices program And so through that program you were able to go out and talk in the community And so I was selected to be one of those persons

Omar: 1:37:59

in the community Outside of the prison. Yes Okay, yes now now how long have had you been locked up at this point,

Dionne: 1:38:07

um, so um Probably about five years six years already Five

Omar: 1:38:16

six years. I mean that's almost like a little taste of freedom. I will say a little

Dionne: 1:38:21

taste but you know, it was to me it was a blessing because I had escaped I I had I had fled. Uh, I, I, I, there was no trust to allow me to go out even though it was a little bit and I was handcuffed. Anytime I had to go before, uh, an audience, like for instance, I had to go before a law enforcement audience, a college audience, they had different audiences, uh, rehabs, women rehabs. And so only certain women were selected to go and present to those audiences. And again, by the grace of God, I was in favor

Omar: 1:38:57

of God. Yes.

Dionne: 1:38:58

I was, I was selected to, to be able to talk in front of these audiences, selected to becoming a leader, to, to celebrate recovery. I went through the whole, you know, the training program to get certified as a mentor. Um, I became a GED tutor. Um, then in my spiritual walk, I started to land, um, You know positions as leadership in the praise dancing, um in the bible studies and things just started happening once I opened up that bible and I started to read his word and I started he started to heal me and cleanse me and and the healing of You know what to stop blaming your mom and your dad. This is your fault, you know Getting out of the state of denial and um And that just goes with any anybody anything whether it be an addiction, you know, those 12 steps the first steps and so You Inventory I had to when I did my first celebrate recovery inventory at first. It was my mom and Then it was my dad and then it was my kid's father And then finally I was able to look within me and to say and so that that testimony there is what? What did it in the prison like when I was selected to speak in the auditorium in the prison You Like, it just opened up a lot of doors, and before I knew it, I was ready to go from that prison six years already and I'm like I got to move around I was always told that when you're when you're doing over ten years You got to break your time down by moving around a different prison. So you're not Stuck in that environment and that mentality like you're never gonna get out and your time goes by faster So I was ready to move I went to go six years See my case manager and I said, I'm ready to go to Texas. They got a program over there, a faith program and give you another 18 months off. I want to say I'm ready to go. And he's like, what are you talking about? He's like, you can't go. And I was like, well, why not? He's like, you're eligible for camp. I cried. I cried like I was going home.

Omar: 1:40:56

No, uh, for those that don't know camp is like a work camp, right?

Dionne: 1:41:01

Um, camp is, is now, so in the prison where I was at, it was all barred up, security, you're being buzzed in, you're being timed at how long you take a shower. It was 7 minute showers, 10 minute moves. In order for me to move from one dorm to go to the rec, I had to be from here to there in 10 minutes. Bounce, it's military. It's military, you know military Your bed's made your shoes lined up suited and booted You know id standing walking you're told how to how long you're gonna eat Get your tray and sit down and eat and get up get out Just like your phone calls, you know, uh, you're on the phone and if you run up at past those 15 minutes And you don't finish your conversation. It's gonna hang up on you. And so very militant very and I got used to that I learned to live off under authority Because we're supposed to

Omar: 1:41:53

yeah His authority exactly

Dionne: 1:41:56

and so, um Went to see my case manager and he's like you're eligible for camp mind you I had put in clemency for clemency like three times And got denied Thinking like man was supposed to give me my freedom. It was never man It was never man. So when he told me I was camp eligible now camp on the other hand Coming from an environment where you got bars and bob wire and you're not going nowhere period Camp is open. There is no fence. The road is right there and when I got to camp My world caved in again and i'm like I can't do this. I had nine years still to go What was I doing in a camp? What was I doing in the camp?

Omar: 1:42:37

No, you said, I can't do this. No, no. Why is that? I

Dionne: 1:42:41

was institutionalized. I was used to being confined behind bars, behind staff, you know. And in a camp, there is no staff. You're not going to see a guard. You're only going to see the kitchen guards when you go to the eat. There is no guards Everything goes in a camp when I tell you I thought prison was bad. I I couldn't believe it in the camp, but that was just me because I had already Matured spiritually and so now I was able to see With my spiritual eyes and live in an environment like now I knew I was being convicted for The things that

Omar: 1:43:23

That at

Dionne: 1:43:23

one time I probably was even a part of. And now.

Omar: 1:43:28

So in a camp, is something, certain things are more accessible? Is that what you're saying? Like, allowed there? Everything is

Dionne: 1:43:35

allowed there.

Omar: 1:43:37

In a camp,

Dionne: 1:43:37

everything is allowed there.

Omar: 1:43:38

But now, you say, now you're feeling conviction, like, to be around those things, I guess? Yes, because it was

Dionne: 1:43:43

easy. I could have fallen into the same mindset of a lot of the things that was taking place there. And I'm talking about, uh, you know, drugs going to prisons, yeah, but here, in a camp, I mean, what wasn't happening? Everything was happening. Right underneath your nose and you, you, you can't talk about it and you can't go tell about it or you got it. That's the environment you're living in and you got to deal with it, whether it be fights, whether it be relationships, whether it be, you know, uh, you know, staff. abuse, uh, the shakedowns, lockdowns, just everything, you know, it's, it's just being in prison is, is, is, is hell. Yeah.

Omar: 1:44:19

It's

Dionne: 1:44:20

bad.

Omar: 1:44:20

Yeah. Yeah. That definitely does.

Dionne: 1:44:22

You have no control over nothing that goes on in your environment. You can't say nothing. You just got to deal with it. And when you're thinking, I have to be here for nine years. How am I going to get through this? But I also knew that God put me there for a reason.

Omar: 1:44:38

Now what, what do you feel was the reason as you maybe get, uh, established or situated there? How does your life begin to look during that time?

Dionne: 1:44:47

So I want to say what really did it that, um, again, I got on my bunk and I was like, Lord, I don't know why you brought me here. I don't know why you brought me here. I, I mean, I'm camp eligible now, but I still got nine years. What am I going to do here in a camp? It's a campus. Like one of my case managers says the camp settings are like a revolving door. They're for people that are coming in and going out. They're not, they weren't built to take people over 10 years, you know, because there's nothing to do there. When I say nothing to do like it's very rare You're going to get any type of education behind there or for you because they're not going to invest and fund a Setting where people are not going to stay long. And so for me to have those years and be there I I didn't understand it, but I just remember I I told I I asked god, you know gave me purpose here. What am I supposed to do in my experience? um of getting there while while during um A holiday I didn't get my property when I got there, so it was like two weeks I didn't have my property and pride. I learned right there, like, I'm gonna break that pride from you because you don't like to ask. If you need to ask, you're gonna ask, and we're not really supposed to ask for any help, you know. When you're locked up, that's one thing they say don't borrow nothing Nothing because it's gonna come back somehow some way and you're gonna have to pay for it Whether it be with sexual events or money or your life And so at that time, I remember how am I gonna get through these these days with not a shower shoe? Not a not a soap or anything. And so I have to be able to mention this because those those viewers that that that That may have been there during the time that I was there. They know uh What I brought and it was inspired by god because when I asked him to give me a purpose And and and and to make a difference there came my experience and that was Going without what are you going to do to make a difference there? And that's when I just Opened up my bible and I said lord wherever you wherever my eyes land just speak to me on what i'm supposed to do What is my calling? What is my purpose here? I landed to second corinthians nine six And it's talking about we sowing and reaping and um God loves the cheerful giver.

Omar: 1:47:11

Okay

Dionne: 1:47:12

and so that inspired me to Make a ministry on welcoming bags that had a shower shoe shampoo conditioner. Um So a toothbrush when I went to go see the commissary list and I seen it was cheap, you know, a shower, she was a dollar, um, you know, a soap, 75 cents VO five shampoo, one Oh five. And so the bag in itself wasn't going to be no more than 10 bucks.

Omar: 1:47:45

Okay.

Dionne: 1:47:45

Use your talent. What was my talent art? So I started to use my talent in my art and then I started to as I got there I started to see other ladies had talents. They were crocheting some were beating some were Painting and and so then I brought together the ladies and said What if we do this in a way of sense of tying back? We can't tithe to the streets or we can't tithe to the churches But how about if we tithe and pay it forward here with the ladies that come in? and so that Ended up being The ministry there, uh, at Greenville, uh,"Cheerful Givers".

Omar: 1:48:23

Look at that. So from your moment of lack, I was essentially birthed out a ministry.

Dionne: 1:48:29

Yes,

Omar: 1:48:30

man. And through the word of God

Dionne: 1:48:32

and through the word of God. And from there, um, man's when I tell you, I felt like Joseph there. Um, by the time I left there to be, to, to be a lead and to, and to run a dorm, For the for the staff to allow you to to run a dorm In the cleaning and you know now i'm saying like I I I was a lead Uh orderly running the ladies teaching them training them how to clean and whatnot But we prayed all these ladies that I ended up getting in in, you know together in in the with the work That were getting hired in as orderlies. They were part of the bible study They were part of we did a monthly Jericho walk out there And it consisted of the last seven days of the month. We got together every day and we walked that camp in prayer every day on the seventh day. You know, if you read in the, the fall of Jericho

Omar: 1:49:32

judges, I just read that I'm in the book. Oh, Joshua. Yeah. Yeah.

Dionne: 1:49:36

Joshua. And so when he sends them out and I mean, the only way that I could describe it is that if he's, he's sending Joshua out and telling them, you're going to go. You're not gonna use your because you know your arms. Yeah.

Omar: 1:49:48

Yeah,

Dionne: 1:49:49

none of that. You're just gonna go and you're gonna You march

Omar: 1:49:52

right

Dionne: 1:49:53

for seven days and on the seventh day you blow your horns and the wall comes down well, that's what we Brought to the camp in faith.

Omar: 1:50:01

Amen

Dionne: 1:50:01

uh that that whatever we prayed for and as long as we did this inspired by his word and we were um Incorporating that in our life in our freedom and what we prayed for that on the seventh day Uh Those walls were going to come down, whether it be breakthrough, whether it'd been addictions, there was ladies in there that were still battling addictions in prison. Um, just everything. I mean, there's, there's not, when I tell you that, if I thought I had it worse, somebody always had it worster. And so to be able to minister to these ladies in Bible studies and doing this, Sacred Jericho walk, um, the ministry and the, and the cheerful givers, like there was a lot of favor. The hand of God was there. Um, he was opening doors. And when I tell you every time I let a Bible study and I would pray, you know, it was the last one that we did was Exodus. And that was because, uh,

Omar: 1:50:55

Moses. But

Dionne: 1:50:58

that was because I had received, um, in touch. It was like a, What is it called?

Omar: 1:51:05

Tablet. No. Um, magazine. Oh, I

Dionne: 1:51:08

forgot what the tract, a tract, a

Omar: 1:51:10

Bible tract. Yeah. Yeah. And it was,

Dionne: 1:51:13

it was Moses holding his staff up in the, in the, and the, and it was divided. The red seat was divided.

Omar: 1:51:18

Yeah.

Dionne: 1:51:19

And so I remember praying and I said, if this is what you're telling me, you want me to bring to the ladies. I studied it by myself and I started to, um, Fast And I said by the time I finished this study lord each and every person that that that gets in in in this bible study Uh, we're gonna declare that you're gonna Let us go home Exodus means exit. Yeah.

Omar: 1:51:44

Yeah exit. Yeah,

Dionne: 1:51:45

and so Um, it was happening one by one ladies We're I mean I if I started off with 25 30 women by the time we ended up there was only eight of us Um And, um, and I was one of them when I finished that Bible study, I had already gotten through the first step act that was law that President Trump had passed, obviously, um,

Omar: 1:52:10

what year was this? The dip. Um, That'll be 20. I want to say in

Dionne: 1:52:16

2022, but but that that um, That specific law was allowing you to go back all the way to 2018 That if you had any edge in educational programming from that time, you would be able to get a year off your sentence And so given that I had done so many years. I had so many programs and so many credits That again, I found favor and when I tell you something god was always with me because I lost a lot of good time I should have never been out. I should have never even been out when I got out I lost a lot of good time and I got it all back when I You

Omar: 1:52:54

lost good time by getting in trouble right or breaking the rules. Okay, so then this comes and so basically

Dionne: 1:53:01

He blessed me through that because I got not only did I get the year off But I got two additional years of halfway house time and by me being the longest serving woman there at greenville at the time Um, they didn't know how to implement the that first step the that Program. Yeah, and so I sat there nine months after my two years that I was supposed to already been at the halfway house I sat there nine months Uh freely just I'm not gonna say freely because I was I was in the word and I was still ministering I said Lord until you have me here and and I've been blessed with the with the credit but I don't know when I'm gonna leave and then when the time came I was called in and It was November 24th

Omar: 1:53:48

of what year

Dionne: 1:53:49

of 22

Omar: 1:53:51

or 22

Dionne: 1:53:51

and I was writing a lot of people. That's one thing I love to write. I've been writing for years. Uh, my main desire, my main goal is to, um, Write my memoir. I'll get my memoir published With everything that I've written throughout the years if it happens it happens and if it doesn't just this alone is is is a way of telling my story, but I've been writing for a lot of years and and again, you know I was I was writing all kind of people. I even wrote kamala harris at that time I wrote I was writing everybody from the general the attorney general to the sentencing commission Uh the senator dick durbin. I was writing people. I don't know which letter got to who that they moved But god orchestrated all of that and when it finally Hit to my case manager and she called me. She said call your kids You got a date you leave on the 30th and my kids didn't believe it like They didn't believe it. How

Omar: 1:54:52

how early did you get out? I guess um

Dionne: 1:54:55

I was sentenced to 16 years and eight months and I served 12 years and i've served 12 years and uh 30 days. So So take a year so my year that I got on my programming would have been the 13 years 14 15 with the two years halfway house. They gave me

Omar: 1:55:13

okay So my good

Dionne: 1:55:15

time

Omar: 1:55:15

That's that's a big difference there.

Dionne: 1:55:17

Yeah

Omar: 1:55:17

to to get out now. Okay, they give you the date. Tell you call your kids Take us to the day where? You really like are free. I know it seems like you were slowly freed But how did it feel when you finally like left there, I guess,

Dionne: 1:55:31

you know, I cried a lot when I left. Um, You know, I was having a lot of sleepless nights when I left there my kids came to get me Immediately when I got in the vehicle, you know, I I felt nauseous. I felt very nauseous. Um the trip again I thought that I was gonna come out and go home, but that wasn't part of because I lost nine months there, you know I thought okay, they're gonna Reimburse me now I get to go home, but that didn't happen I had to go to the halfway house and then before I knew it I never got The covid vaccine So, I had to um, what is it called? Isolate?

Omar: 1:56:10

Oh yeah, isolation. Quarantine. I had to

Dionne: 1:56:13

quarantine for some time at the halfway house, which was more time by myself.

Omar: 1:56:19

That's like, so they free you in a sense. Yes. They put you in prison by yourself now, like back in the shoe in a sense. Yes, so now

Dionne: 1:56:26

I'm quarantined at the halfway house, which is the Salvation Army. On the north side and um, and before you know it, you know, I I was like, well, why am I still here?

Omar: 1:56:36

How long were you quarantined for a month or what? I was quarantined

Dionne: 1:56:39

for what five days I think by then It wasn't even 14 days anymore. Yeah. Yeah, I got you still when you're getting out of prison I'm thinking i'm going home to my kids. Yeah, and now i'm in this room and I did have my own room, you know, uh, they're they're little little rooms you you open and close your door with your bed and whatnot and so, um, You You know, that's where I was at for eight months so You know, even though I got out in november of 22, I was still confined Because it was part of the program to be confined those additional two years But I lost nine months sitting still in greenville and so The additional 14 months I had to do at the halfway house. And so I did Eight months at the halfway house when I was finally home confinement eligible

Omar: 1:57:25

So

Dionne: 1:57:28

now I'm home confinement eligible, get the monitor on me and now I'm able to go home. I just got off my monitor in January. I'm, I'm not, I'm short in my freedom moving around without conditions. So. When I say like I just got out of prison prison, it's because I just got out of prison Just because I got out in the 22. I got out of the prison, but being in prison under confinement or authority um having Limited movement having a sin sign in and out. Um, I'm I was still under that. Yeah,

Omar: 1:58:10

it's it's it's I mean and not really free you you It's not really the taste of freedom. It's almost like

Dionne: 1:58:19

Freedom

Omar: 1:58:19

with restrictions. I don't know like it's

Dionne: 1:58:21

right now that you mentioned. How did I feel? Um, I have to say that this is the only way that I could describe that I still don't feel a place of belonging because for a lot of years I wasn't I didn't get arrested in chicago and went and did my time I left chicago and I had another identity in another country Where I raised my kids and now that country became a part of my my life And so Having to pick up the pieces of my life back home Has not been easy Um, just like I told you earlier, you know yeah, i'm driving but I drive to certain areas and then like outside of chicago, whether i'm crossing cicero like I have to put the gps and i'm learning that at the same time. Um i'm not comfortable with leaving the area because I feel like i'm doing something wrong It's crazy and and you know, I I know that people that get out of prison can relate You know call it institutionalized um, i'm working i'm working progress and allowing God to help me cope with that because I wouldn't be sitting here doing this if if I wasn't if he wasn't working in me already because I wasn't socializing with anybody um you know, I have a a I want to say a handful of people besides my kids at the beginning. It was just my kids But because of the lord, uh, he's putting people in my path that have been supportive encouragers Pastor mark jobe My previous case manager her husband You your wife and these are people that i'm grateful for because that's what we need Literally, that's what we need. I I can go back and probably find Maybe a handful of people from back in the days, but what good are they going to do for me? They're probably in worse in a worse place. Um,

Omar: 2:00:19

yeah,

Dionne: 2:00:19

I mean I can do something for them.

Omar: 2:00:21

Yes But what

Dionne: 2:00:22

could they do for me? I'm not trying to live Go back to the past or get involved in anything. That's gonna land me where I where I was because I've come a long way.

Omar: 2:00:32

Yeah, you you got purpose but but you know going back to you were talking about about I want to say it's not just institutionalized. It's trauma. I had two two brothers here recently. They were talking about triggers Things that that trigger them. Uh, one of them was mentioning. Um, uh, what do you call it? A walkie talkies He said because they did so much time in prison They were in walmart target, whatever. Yeah, do

Dionne: 2:00:57

you hear the walkie talkies and they go off

Omar: 2:00:59

and they go off and it triggers We're okay. So something's going down on the deck. That's the only time the walkie talkies go off Yeah Something bad is gonna happen and uh, it's crazy because I was talking to them and the next day I had to go to Cook County Jail to get my ID My my visitors, but yeah, I'm a no my volunteer because I volunteer I was telling you in Cook County So I went and I and I'm there with the sheriff. So I give him my ID and I'm standing there He's sitting on the desk, you know doing his paperwork I see the the badge. I see his bulletproof vest. I see his gun Why do I start getting nervous while i'm standing in front of him? And you mentioned feeling guilty. I started feeling guilty like I did something wrong because that's the only time i'm in I mean Back then the only time you encountered law enforcement It's not you were doing something. Yeah, so i'm but but the funny thing is i'm i'm standing there and now i'm i'm talking to myself in my head like You I was telling myself You're being triggered right now because it's funny because just uh the night before I had these brothers So i'm i'm okay. What's what what's triggering you? It's the badge the bulletproof vest the gun Uh, the machine for fingerprinting is right there And it's almost like like I said trauma like

Dionne: 2:02:15

reliving the moment. Yeah, so

Omar: 2:02:17

but then I I know it's god helping me and uh, One thing that that I remember too, but when I got out, I didn't realize it but I had anxiety You And it's crazy because that's something that, that, that, that like as a man, like you would think, man, cause you tell you an anxiety with fear and as a man, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're not going to admit that I'm scared.

Dionne: 2:02:35

What, what do I fear?

Omar: 2:02:37

But when I got out, I actually got an anxiety medicine for a while and that's something that I didn't think about, but I was on it for like a few months cause like I couldn't, I don't know, physically, like things were happening, you know, right

Dionne: 2:02:50

now that you mentioned that, um, Um, I was diagnosed in, um, from the time that I got sentenced, I had to go through a psychiatric evaluation, um, and I was diagnosed with a lot of mental disorders, um, from bipolar to, um, you know, multiple personality disorder, anxiety, you know, all kind of disorders, and through the judge, I, I was, uh, recommended it. Through my sentencing, not only to take the drug program, but to go through mental health services, um, treatment. And, a lot of times when I did these programs, they helped me cope with my trauma, um, to find the root of what it was. But, when, when they tried to put me on medication, um, You know, obviously, you know, you don't want to get sanctioned for everything that you weren't doing under authority that you had to do Um, you would get sanctioned again. And so Instead of me getting sanctioned I would go and get those pills

Omar: 2:03:53

You

Dionne: 2:03:54

know, I want to say When I got sentenced I started off on medication But I had to face that and tell myself that I was not going to allow myself to be under any influence of any medication because I knew that the only healing that I had and needed was God's word, fasting. And so when I released, to this day, um, I probably could be prescribed, you know, if I have whatever and I don't I refuse the only medication I take for is for my, you know, my, my personal thyroid disorder. But aside from that, I had went cold. Um, because in the prison system, that's what they want you to be all zombied out and continue to have you under this like a like a spell, you know. Um, Because the longer they have you remember they what they want to do is really keep you there So the more you mess up the longer you are there. That's their job.

Omar: 2:04:51

Yeah

Dionne: 2:04:52

Unless you're doing what you have to do and I will say again with favor Over me a lot of the staff that's seen my walk that's seen You know, I mean I did everything I had to do. I'm not i'm not out just because You know, I mean i'm out by the you know, god's glory and god's grace But he found that in me that you know what you're ready You're ready it took it took over a decade, but I had I had to listen and obey and be obedient um With anybody that he put over me And so those those people that were over me that were able to see that change and they were able to see you know She's doing what she's supposed to be doing and it's still you know You know in prison running when she's running and you know, that doesn't happen in any prison They don't allow you to to be giving people stuff and you know whole ministries going on. There was Greenville I I can tell you that the hand of the lord was there because it wasn't just me But there was other women that were leading other ministries You And so, um, and I, and I'm going to say that in, in even where I was at in other places, you got, you know, your prayer circles, you've got your prayer warriors your sisters, your brothers, you know, and, um, you know, faith in there in, in a lot of times I've heard, you know, oh, it's just a real, uh, jail religion, jail religion. When you get out, you're not going to follow. Well, I'll tell you one thing I've, my faith has never seized because I know that God has carried me through when I laid the very first time in Cal in the California County. Or in arizona county and I laid there crying because I didn't have my youngest son next to me And I don't know when again I was gonna see him I needed god to comfort me to to fill me and comfort me in that space that I was lonely and he did um for all them years, um You know I took care of his sheep and he took care of mine

Omar: 2:06:40

Praise god now speaking of the kids How they doing now? How how has it been for you now that you truly have freedom to I guess Or reacclimate or get reconnected with your your children, I guess.

Dionne: 2:06:54

Um, you know, so at the beginning you know, um, it was hard because coming home to adult children, like I was still seeing them as the kids that I left. Um,

Omar: 2:07:06

how, how, how, how old was your youngest when you, when you My

Dionne: 2:07:09

youngest was four years old when I went to prison. He'll be 19 this year. Wow. Um, my oldest is 32. I have a 25-year-old, a 24-year-old, and a 22. So they're all adults. I mean except for my youngest son. My youngest son mind you was born in mexico Again, god's hand being there born of two u. s. Citizens. He was able to have get uh, you know, come come Okay across that same week, you know Um has his dual citizenship. He's a united states citizen through two.

Omar: 2:07:40

Yeah

Dionne: 2:07:40

born citizens And so again, you know, there was always favor with my kids I have to say that You know, it's you know as parents. We're we're the ones that set the examples for our kids and even though The examples that we set for our kids at that time, even though they were small eventually they they had to grow to read media and obviously america's most wanted and the papers and you know, what do you say to your classmates like Where's your mom and where's your dad? Oh, well, they're locked up but the example of Of what we did and and where we were at Push them more to be better than we were because that was something that I instilled in them at an early age And then when I was in prison, I my me being a mother didn't stop just because I was locked up I use every resources from writing to the video sessions because they installed that 2015 they had that zoom. Yes zoom and then You know phone calls and so in every which way You You know, I I stayed communicated with my children through birthdays through every day checking on them So when I finally came home given that they're they're not six seven eight and twelve Uh, they're adults. Uh, it was challenging. I had to learn to accept Um, and I say it this way, uh meeting them where they're meeting me I don't want to cause my kids any more hurt. I've hurt them enough. Um, they have their own trauma One thing I did take up in in prison also I started to to take courses I took several courses in psychology social work I did I you know I educated myself in the areas that I felt That I was going to be able to use when I came home with my children To be able to understand or to be able to see in them, you know And I have i've been able to pick up their individual personalities um Their trauma and it hurts me because I was a part of it I was a part of their trauma

Omar: 2:09:40

You could also be part of the healing now, just the same way. I know you mentioned how God healed you of all these things. I believe God's healing you to bring healing there. I believe it.

Dionne: 2:09:50

Yes. And so, um, you know, I've always prayed, you know, just like in Joshua, where he says, as for my house,

Omar: 2:10:00

yeah, we will serve the Lord. Yeah. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. And

Dionne: 2:10:05

so, It's going to happen.

Omar: 2:10:07

Amen. Where

Dionne: 2:10:08

they will all serve.

Omar: 2:10:09

Speaking of that, I know while you were having your faith journey, uh, your kids were going to church.

Dionne: 2:10:17

Yes.

Omar: 2:10:17

Do you want to share that? Yes.

Dionne: 2:10:19

Um, so, you know, when I, when I got captured and obviously started to serve my time, my kids went through like probably three different home settings. Three different home settings and mind you my kids did not know their family like they came to They came to their home in chicago meeting complete strangers because They only had their mom and their dad while we was gone So having to come out here and I and I could just imagine, you know, I I think to myself I have my times where I sit and I think you know What could they have? I could just imagine what they went through if I was lonely inside and hurting for them They were babies. They were kids.

Omar: 2:11:02

They lost not just mom. Yeah at the same parents

Dionne: 2:11:05

um, and so at the end of the day You know, i'm grateful that when they finally end up with their grandma with their grandparents She was already part of the new life congregation And so given that She had a daughter with uh more other kids. Uh, that was their their sunday outing. And so there went my kids Uh, I have two of my daughters Who one, uh was part of the new life choir and then one that had gotten baptized there so If people were to listen to the other interview with the"Bold Steps" interview They'll they'll get the spiritual side interview of my story. And so You There was a divine connection there. The grandmother was already part of the new life Congregation she was taking my kids to church and so By the time I came home, we all went to the church and met Pastor Jobe and

Omar: 2:12:00

you were actually listening I know in the interview you were talking about you were listening to"Bold Steps", which is Pastor Mark Jobes Show I was a radio right? It was on the radio radio broadcast

Dionne: 2:12:11

that was something that I started to incorporate with the ladies because I used to listen in every morning and And how I came across it again, it just, you know, God was speaking to me. I just happened to be on, on that, on that station. The pastor happened to say where he was from. He talked about his books. I had the book sent in and it opened up a line of communication for me to say, Hey, this is gonna be my pastor. He's out of Chicago. This is a church. I'm gonna go to because again You're preparing to go home. Like even though I shouldn't have been planning I still in some sense had to think about what am I gonna do when I come home? Yeah, who's gonna be my my support system?

Omar: 2:12:50

Yeah,

Dionne: 2:12:50

you know and so I started off with I gotta find a church and that church ended up being The radio broadcast the pastor he's president of Moody Institute Um You know New Life Centers, New Life Churches And that's where"Bold Steps" the radio broadcast was ministering. He was ministering to me over The radio broadcast and

Omar: 2:13:13

through the radio to you and in person for your children and their grandma That's it's crazy. There's only something that the God could do, you know to to orchestrate it to work that way like You see God's hand throughout it all so and

Dionne: 2:13:25

you know What's crazy is and I mentioned it as well in the interview if i'd have been listening You Back then in 2010, when I got apprehended and extradited back, the grandmother had already told me, I'm taking the kids to church, to a church new life. The pastor is awesome. You know, I take on my prayer requests. Um, I've given them your name. We're praying for you. Um, I'm going to give you his address if you want to go ahead and contact him. 2010 I'm just starting my time. I wasn't thinking about calling nobody. And I was not thinking about, you know, I wasn't thinking about nothing but that sentence that I'm going to die in prison. I'm not coming home. I'm not coming home. Like, you know,

Omar: 2:14:07

thank God for the, for the hope, you know, that, and eventually here you're here. Now I'm going to make it, change it a little bit. Like, is there anything that you have experienced? Since being free that maybe you had on a list like man This is something that I want to do I don't know just like for yourself person that something is gonna give you joy or something you miss I don't know. Maybe something as simple as a food. I don't know like something

Dionne: 2:14:30

something I miss from prison.

Omar: 2:14:31

No, no That when you came out that you wanted to do you know I'm saying like When I get out of prison, I'm going to do this, you know, I'm going to eat this, one of the

Dionne: 2:14:40

things that I did want to do, and I didn't know, you know, that it was going to open up the door to that, to that interview was to actually meet Pastor Job and be a part of that church. You know, unfortunately, I've, I've, I've been blessed to, to, to be led to other, other churches and three different churches have been part of my spiritual growth in, in, in, in ministering to me. One is new life. Another one is city church, because that's the church that I started to attend while I was at the halfway house. That was one straight shot down to green Chicago and green. And that's Mainly where I go. Okay. Um, but whenever i'm at home by my my children's house, they stay up south There's a church probably like maybe from here upstairs and um It's ashburn church. Okay, and so that's my local home. Yeah, if i'm over there, that's where I go um, so You know these pastors that they're they're part of my journey right now, you know my transition Um a great support system a lot of the ladies in in the church It's themselves that you know every day, you know, they stay in tune with me as well as uh, as well as staff I still have I just before I came I had I had my own, uh, my old therapist reach me, you know, who does that? Why should they care about me?

Omar: 2:16:03

Yeah

Dionne: 2:16:05

You know, but they got To view the interview and they seen One thing I wanted to do I want to make a difference I want to be able to tell my story I want to be able to touch somebody's life that may be going through a woman that may have There's nothing that I haven't gone through whether it be, you know again gangs, uh relationships uh broken family, um You know, you name it prison You know being on the run. I'm a mother, you know a lot of You you know, people that might be in prison in their own state of mind, like I mentioned earlier, uh, I want to be able to make a difference in the city. And I say this because I was a cause of, of at that time, the poison that I was bringing to the streets of Chicago. Um, I didn't look at what I was doing then, uh, thinking about the person that was bringing me their link and I was taking it in exchange and causing those addictions because at the end of the day, I was, Oh, if they don't get it from me, they're going to go get it from someone else. How am I going to make a difference now? How can I pay that forward by saying, you know, this is who I am today. That's who I was. But now. This is who I am. And I want to be able to make a difference, whether it be with a woman or a man, you know, I was always asked and told like, well, obviously my kid's father would always tell me now that I'm out, you know, you've done a lot more than what any man would do. Most men I've seen in here, they can't even handle five years. And, you know, I have to, you know, applaud a lot of women that we don't know no better, you know, we, we're broken, we're broken, you know, um, and we land in those places like prison. And then when we come out, you know, we think that we can't do anything like we're just nobody, but we are, if we can make a difference and do something different. And bring some type of message to

Omar: 2:18:15

yeah,

Dionne: 2:18:15

either the youths women, you know,

Omar: 2:18:18

yeah Definitely. I mean, I believe that What you were doing in there was like training ground for what God will use you to do out here You know the ministries the prayers, uh, the jericho walks like people need Right

Dionne: 2:18:31

now that you're saying that I wrote a lot of I was in I was in In communication with a lot of women, um Ministers from kate souza To joyce myers, um Pastor joel olsteen when I tell you I write I write so every book that I read mark batterson every book that I read I wrote them and I told them how those books encouraged me and inspired me and and you know Memoirs are my favorite books because and a lot of those a lot of memories that i've read They all end with some type of spiritual impact where you know They found God or they found their relationship or their faith and, and, and that's me and I tell myself if, if there's anything that I want to do, I want to be able to tell my story. And you asked me, is there something that you wanted to do? I'm doing it already sitting here right now. That's, that's, that's a blessing.

Omar: 2:19:34

Praise God. Oh man, it's it's only, I believe it's only God that does that. And, and like this, it's like I said, to give God glory and to encourage those, you know, like what, what, what message would you have like for anybody who hasn't seen you in a long time, like remembers the, the old Dionne, you know, and now, now what, what word, what message, how, how could they experience the joy, the peace, the The restoration the healing that that you have now like

Dionne: 2:20:05

Well, I would hate to say that you know You'd have to go to prison to get where i'm at. But that's that was my fate there that god You know took me through and um and brought me to be who I am today You know i've I want to say i've i've probably came up came across like three people and um, You know from from my past um They're not where i'm at But I genuinely care and I love them to, to tell and talk what God has done for me. And when I say, or I said, no, I'm going to church, you know, you know, people tend to push back, you know, when they think or hear you talk about church, if all you're going to preach to me or who here you go again, it's okay. It's okay. Um, you plant, we plant,

Omar: 2:20:56

plant seeds and the Bible says one plants, One waters, but God eventually brings that growth. I interviewed a guy that uh, he said for 22 years He was being ministered to and it took 22 years for him to come to faith and he shared don't ever stop Sharing because you never know when when when that moment's gonna come when they're finally You know like seek them so even Well, you know what i've seen in my own life When I got saved obviously my old friends when I would go minister, they don't want to hang out with me no more You know, I was the party pooper now The holy roller or whatever you want to call it, but years later these same people that will reject me. They don't want none They're the ones Hey, you know, can you pray for me? Hey, can you pray for my son? You know i'm going through this and now the the amazing thing is now seeing them come to faith and it's almost like 17 18 years later, whatever it is, but

Dionne: 2:21:49

You know, I always tend to Say because I've seen it. Um, but I had to mention this to a group of my family members like We don't know what tomorrow will bring It's going to bring. We don't know if we're going to wake up tomorrow. Why do we have to wait for a crisis or for something to happen for us to call out to God? We should be doing that every day. Unfortunately, some of us didn't have anybody to guide us in, in, in, in, in the spiritual walk. Um, A lot of times that's that's basically what it is, you know, oh, yeah, you know, i'm catholic or my mom goes to church But for you to have a relationship Um, it's the most beautiful this thing like I'm, not ashamed. I'm a sinner I'm a sinner. That's that's what god sent his son to save the sinners. Not that To save the sick.

Omar: 2:22:52

Yeah

Dionne: 2:22:53

And so i'm not perfect It's But there's not one day that I don't wake up every morning faithfully, and I get in my worship and in my prayer. And from there, I have a group of women on my contacts, and I send them. However I'm led to send them the word of what I'm getting, I send them. I'm ministering right now. Just doing that.

Omar: 2:23:20

Yeah.

Dionne: 2:23:21

Um, and as far as my family, I just, I pray for my family. I pray, you know, when I say my family, not just my children, but I'm talking about my immediate outside family because they don't know.

Omar: 2:23:32

Yeah.

Dionne: 2:23:32

You know, and I tend to say, I thank God for allowing me to go through what I went through to maybe be that one person in my family to save them. Because then

Omar: 2:23:43

God could save them through you. Yeah. And especially when they know the history what you've been through and When you come with the witness With his witness with his testimony

Dionne: 2:23:53

or like what you said a lot of times people don't want to be around you that you know Uh, she's she's all into god and she's she's going to church. She's goody too No, i'm not ashamed and i'm gonna keep walking my walk.

Omar: 2:24:07

Amen

Dionne: 2:24:08

I'm gonna keep walking my walk

Omar: 2:24:09

Wherever

Dionne: 2:24:10

he leads me

Omar: 2:24:11

right now, you mentioned about you know, what you desire for the family I think this would be a perfect time for you to pray If you want to say a prayer for your family, friends, whoever God places on your heart Of what you will want To see like God do in in their lives

Dionne: 2:24:29

Yes Heavenly father lord. Um I just want to thank you for this moment for allowing me to come before Whoever is going to watch this and listen father I mainly want to uplift my family my children right now lord They've been through so much just as I've been through so much, but I know that the same way you carried me, you carried them, Lord. And now that I'm home, my most desire, Lord, is for them to understand and to, to accept and to know who you are and what you did for me, Father, for our family, even though they may not see it and know it. I thank you ahead of time, Father God, for, for, for what you're doing in my life. I want to pray for my extended family as well. I want to pray for my mother and my father my siblings For all the family members that I've yet still have not reunited with Lord. I just pray Lord that as Each day passes Lord and and what you're doing in me that they see that light that they see Who you are father? Not who I am, but what you've done how you live in me and and that You That somehow, someway, Lord Jesus, they, they will come to know you, uh, to accept you. I want to thank you ahead of time, Father, for, for all those that, that have supported me during my, my, my transition home here out in Chicago. Um, so grateful for, for the pastors that ministered to me. Pastor Mark Jobe, and Pastor Josh, Pastor Kent, and Allie. I thank you for those churches, Father God, that embrace and welcome, you know, your people. Um, I thank you Father God for, for every staff member that made a difference in my life that's seen something in me, that you, you found favor through them, Father, in allowing me to be free. Uh out here Most importantly, I thank you for my freedom that I found in you despite the journey I always say it was well worth it Father God because I can look back and see The difference that you made in me who I was to who I am today And I just want to thank you ahead of time father podcast bless, um omar His wife, um, his family father, um, and every person Lord that, that you bring to, to, to To him father god that uh, you you just enlarge his territory father god with this podcast lord I I had always prayed that you would enlarge my territory father and you're showing me each and every day that you are And when I called upon you father god to show me great and mighty things You're showing me great and mighty things and I know that you're not done Father God because your word has always said and you your word is Uh, it's true That you know the plans that you have for me Plans to prosper me and not to harm me, but to give me hope father. And so my hope is in you. My faith is in you. I believe in you and I trust that this is just the beginning. So with that, I end this prayer, thanking you father for, for this evening and just continue to bless us, Lord. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Omar: 2:27:59

Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Is there anything that, that we didn't get a chance to talk about? That you want to share before we get ready to sign off anything I guess any final words thoughts, you know, like

Dionne: 2:28:13

I just you know, I I want to And I might get emotional with this, but I think that it's important for me um for whoever of my family listens to this that um, even though there may be um, Differences And how you may view me I stand firm in my faith and in my, my belief. And, um, you know, I, I want to ask for your forgiveness if, if in any way I might've offended you or maybe even hurt you. Um, it's important for me to, to, to make that public, um, especially to my children.

Omar: 2:28:59

Thanks for sharing that. That's I mean that's that's deep, you know to to say that and They they they need to to hear that, you know, like like the the peace and the forgiveness, you know, it's like it's a lot i'm sure it's a lot, you know, and with you with them and I pray that god will bring restoration there And I know you mentioned like growing up in a broken home. I just pray that god begin to to mend you know to heal to restore whatever relationships need to be restored and May he be glorified through each and every relationship, you know, like in situation But uh, I thank you for sharing your story sharing your heart And uh, if there's nothing else I think Ready to close out. Okay. Thank you so

Dionne: 2:29:46

much.

Omar: 2:29:46

I don't know. Thank you for being here. And um, One one thing I do want to share. I had a a brother call me earlier and his name is Bill Fay And he's like man make sure You share the gospel He's like make sure he's told he challenged me to end each podcast with sharing And then I was thinking about you mentioned a little while ago. You were talking about you know, I'm I'm I'm a sinner You know, I'm a sinner. I'm not oh, I don't got it all together. And I think that's the first step For us and and coming to christ and having I know you mentioned having a relationship with God.

Dionne: 2:30:19

Yes

Omar: 2:30:20

It's it's an admitting the to put it simply. It's an admitting that god's right and that we're wrong And according to the bible, it's sin. It's missing the mark. It's uh Breaking his commandments that separates us. It's sin that that has this great divide you could say Between us and god the father And what jesus did he came he lived a sinless life And he took upon himself our sins Or the punishment that we deserved The the death that we deserve he took it upon himself and it was nailed to the cross and he died He was buried, but he resurrected on the third day And the book of romans it says that if you believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth that jesus is lord That you will be saved And I just want to challenge you in the book of Jeremiah. It also says that you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. Maybe you're watching this and you're saying, man, you know, I called out to God before, you know, nothing happened. Seek him with all your heart, you know, repent, confess, just say a simple prayer. Say, God, I come before you a sinner in need of a savior. I've broken your commandments. I trespass against your law. And I'm separated. There's nothing that we could do in our own strength. There's no good deeds that you could do, no helping old ladies cross the street, no lighting so many candles that's going to make you right with God. The only way, according to scripture, it says that nobody comes to the Father except through the Son, through Jesus Christ. Accept what he did on the cross and not only did he take upon our sins upon himself But what jesus did he imputed? Or transferred to us his righteousness So now when god the father sees us, he doesn't sinner see us as we are as sinners But he sees the righteousness. He sees the blood of jesus. He he paid Basically, he paid the price for us And that's the only thing that gets us right with god. So call on to jesus You Ask Him to become Lord and Savior of your life Ask Him to send the Holy Spirit To fill you to change you from the inside out And you will experience the peace the joy that our sister uh, that Dionne has shared that i've that i've experienced And that every guest that has been in this chair has experienced I pray that you will experience it for yourself God is real. He loves you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life and he can redeem your life Whether 13, 14, 15, I've had guys on here 42 years behind bars. He could still use you. God loves you. And with that, I'm going to get ready to sign off. Matthew 4, 16 reads the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned alongside my guest, Dionne Garcia. I'm Omar Calvillo and we are wrong too strong.