Choosing a better life
Letter from nephew inspired ex-gang member to change, help others
FARMINGTON — The gym at the Sycamore Park Community Center was packed as a former gang member related how he had turned his life around after serving time in prison.
Jorge Cuevas was one of those who spoke at the “Choices: An Inspirational Presentation,” presented by the Farmington Police Department.
Last month’s event provided Cuevas an opportunity to talk about his time in a California gang and the toll it took on his life. The large crowd prompted the center staff to set up more seats.
Cuevas, 44, told the crowd how his life has changed since he was a teenage member of a gang living in Cudahy, Calif. Today, Cuevas is enrolled at San Juan College, pursuing a business degree.
Cuevas said his anger at his father for abandoning his family and going to Mexico led him to join a gang. He said that dealing drugs gave him the money to purchase such things as gold chains.
Cuevas said that when he was 17 year old, he was shot and immediately realized that he could no longer feel his legs. The shooting left him paralyzed, and he must use a wheelchair.
Two months later, in September 1991, his brother Jaime Cuevas was shot and killed during a double homicide as part of a gang war.
After his brother’s death, Cuevas said the negative energy pulled him to the dark side. He said he moved to Farmington in 1997 and began dealing drugs again, leading to his arrest in 2003 and an indictment on federal drug charges.
During the question-and-answer session, Cuevas was asked when he realized that he needed to change his life. He said that, while serving a more than six years prison sentence, he received a letter from one of his nephews The nephew wrote that he loved Cuevas and missed him.
Cuevas said the letter made him realize that he wanted to become a role model for his relatives.