Faith
Brother Gabriel Chavoya - Part 2
From the Streets to the Altar
Editor's Note: In our last issue, we introduced Brother Gabriel Chavoya who was born in Santa Clara, California, and was raised just south in the large metropolis of San Jose. When he was a young child, he saw his brother go to prison as an accessory to a gang murder. He promised himself that he would not get involved with that life style, but coming into junior high in East San Jose he was lured by drugs into becoming a gang member. He admits that the mentality of being part of the gang is twisted, almost brainwashed to believe that your "homies" are family, and criminal activities, including injuring rival gang members or robbing the innocent, are necessary to protect the gang's turf and securing respect for his gang. Gabriel knew this was against what was taught in his mother's pentecostal church, but he grew up into adulthood never really committing his life at the altar. He was baptized with the Holy Ghost in his early twenties, but he hesitated to be baptized in water for the remission of his sins. The lure of the gang life was too strong for him to resist. We left off in Part 1 where he reaches rock bottom. He has never returned a rental car, he has been involved in a police chase from which he escaped, but now he is about to be arrested as a suspect of a string of Subway robberies at the eatery...
THE ARREST aught, shaken and told to put his hands up, Gabriel came out of the rental car - the very car he had driven a week before in a high-speed chase with the police. That chase had cost the car its back bumper. He left the engine still running when he got out, for there was no use in trying to speed off surrounded by a score of agents from the Merge Unit, San Jose's SWAT team, with guns drawn. He still was confused why there were so many arresting officers. Just seeing those guns made him frantically call out, "Jesus! Jesus,! Jesus!" Somewhere in his memory he remembered being taught in his mother's church that anyone who called on the name of the Lord Jesus would be saved. Fortunately he was not in possession of his gun, but he knew after he was searched they would find him in possession of something else. After being handcuffed he was put in the front seat of an unmarked luxury SUV. This was a first, for in previous arrests he was always thrown into the back seat of a squad car covered in plastic. This seat was leather and very comfortable. It was the only nice thing he remembered on that fateful day. While spending over eight hours in the holding cell for processing, all he could think about was wanting to go to sleep, for he was high on methamphetamine, and he had been awake for 48 hours. Since it was a Friday, he knew he was stuck to spend the entire weekend in jail until Monday or even Tuesday before he was brought before a judge. He still had no idea what crimes he was being charged with. “But honestly,” he admits, “I didn’t
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even care that they found the stolen rental car or the drugs that were on me. It didn't bother me that I was under the influence, or even that they found the baseball card folder full of stolen credit cards. All I wanted was for them to assign me a jail cell with a bed so I could sleep.” Late that night he was issued his county jail clothes and slippers and was taken to his cell where he could finally crash. On the following Monday, he was brought before the judge with his public defender and charged with two felonies and a list of misdemeanors with bail denied. He also discovered why he was arrested by the Merge Unit but was relieved he was no longer a suspect in the Subway robberies. Nevertheless, it was bad timing that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and all his past crimes he thought he got away with had caught up with him. He spent almost a month in jail before he was sentenced. During that time he called his mom who was now faithfully attending church. She told him she was praying earnestly for him for Gabriel feared he would be given a stiff sentence because of his previous record of offenses. He agonized what the judge would do. It was a long three weeks. The prayers worked! The judge was going to sentence him for at least three years in state prison, but he made available to Gabriel a drug rehab program under Proposition 36 passed by the voters of California to curb recidivism. His sentence would be commuted to a few months with a three year probation period of keeping a clean record under the stipulation that he partici-
SPRING NEWSVINE 2020 • 23
