By Demetrius Carrington
The year was 1984, and Patrick Edwards had just graduated from high school. His future already had been mapped out for him; as an only son expected to take over his father’s successful family business. Patrick was somewhat of a prodigy, capable of operating heavy machinery at a very young age. As a result, he used his unique skills to help his father with various construction jobs for the family business.
Patrick came from a great family with two successful parents. His father founded and built a great business, and his mother worked for the Department of Corrections for 34 years. He also has three sisters, all of whom are successful as well.
Patrick was an exceptional and kindhearted young man who inherited his father’s savvy business skills. When he spoke, you could trust the words coming out of his mouth because Patrick was very credible. No one ever doubted anything he had to say.
Because he didn’t have any brothers, Patrick spent much of his time with his older male cousins. However, one of his cousins had a reputation for being an inspiring gangster. Since this cousin already had a criminal record and a lot of money to throw around, Patrick looked up to him as a protector who wasn’t afraid to go the extra mile to defend his family.
In 1985, the crack cocaine epidemic was in full swing. The drug money came rolling in, along with the carnage that followed it. Then, on a Saturday afternoon, Patrick received a call from his cousin, who told him he wanted to show him something. Patrick wasn’t sure what his cousin wanted to show him, but he went along with it anyway. As it turned out, his cousin took him to a drug house and taught him how to process cocaine into crack cocaine and then package it for sale.
At first, Patrick didn’t want anything to do with the drug trade. But unfortunately, Patrick gradually became seduced by the massive amounts of money pouring into the operation over time. It wasn’t long before he went from being a crack dealer to a major drug dealer.
Patrick wasn’t content with just being successful, though. He figured if he were going to risk his life and freedom for money, he would make it count by selling tons of cocaine and making millions of dollars from it.
Of course, Patrick enjoyed the luxuries of being a successful drug dealer, such as fancy cars, exotic travel, and expensive jewelry. Meanwhile, he never took on the persona of a drug dealer because it was just business for him. You would often see Patrick driving a modest vehicle, despite having sports cars and luxury vehicles in his auto inventory. However, fashion was Patrick’s only vice that he couldn’t resist embracing. That was why he always dressed impeccably.
Back then, life was good, and cash was abundant. Patrick decided to plan his exit strategy for getting out of the drug business while things were still good.
Patrick had always been a wise investor with the money he made from the drug trade. He had amassed an impressive real estate portfolio with properties in Michigan, Illinois, California, and Georgia. In addition, he successfully ventured into the entertainment business and fashion industry too.
The one thing about making illegal money is that it’s difficult to spend because you don’t want it to get traced back to you. For this reason, mostly everything Patrick owned was in someone else’s name. That was how he was able to dodge the authorities for several years. But he knew his luck would eventually run out, so he wanted to leave the drug business before getting caught.
Patrick had one deal left before he was going to quit the drug business for good. But, unfortunately for Patrick, the FBI infiltrated his final deal before he could retire. An undercover FBI agent posed as a drug buyer on the deal and ended up arresting Patrick and another participant. However, the FBI didn’t have anything to connect Patrick to this deal directly. Instead, the evidence implicated the second participant, who later plea-bargained with the prosecution for a lighter sentence in exchange for exposing Patrick’s involvement in the drug deal.
Patrick was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to nearly ten years in prison. While incarcerated, he enrolled in a drug program in an effort to earn early release credits. This program is intended to treat drug abusers, so Patrick used marijuana as his excuse for entry into the program.
While in the class, something started to happen to Patrick. First, he realized the sheer carnage that drugs had caused him and the people who used them. He always knew that drugs were bad, but he didn’t usually interact with the end users and never witnessed the reality of the damage that his dealings caused them. In his mind, Patrick only thought of himself as a business person and nothing else.
This class forced him to take accountability for his actions for the first time, and the guilt he felt was enormous. Patrick decided to use his time in prison to better himself, so he began taking college classes. His commitment to education would eventually earn him an Associate’s Degree. That was when he realized that he had a larger purpose in life to fulfill.
Things were going as well as they could for Patrick in prison. He had a positive mindset and seemed to be on the road to recovery. Then, one day, Patrick got some devastating news about how his oldest son had drowned while swimming. The pain he felt from this news was unbearable, especially since he couldn’t attend his son’s funeral while incarcerated.
Patrick doubled down even more on his vow to change himself for the better. He vowed to be the best person he could be by being a better parent to his remaining children and making his mother proud of him. Most importantly, he vowed to atone for all the harm his drug dealing had caused other people.
Patrick focused 100% on his goals of living healthier and improving himself in every way possible. First, he continued his education at Eastern Michigan University and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Social Work. Then, last year, he graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master’s degree in Social Work.
Patrick kept his promise by surprising his mother and children with his degree. From that point forward, his relationship with his children couldn’t be any better. In fact, he now has a two-year son that’s the apple of his eye and keeps him busy.
In his day job, Patrick is a mental health therapist and life coach, where he counsels co-occurring people on the perils of drug use and mental health care management. He also works with youths on dealing with trauma and how to engage in proper decision-making. He even advises high-stress businesspeople, professional athletes, famous entertainers, and anyone else who needs help.
After making millions of dollars and losing it, you would think Patrick would be a bitter man, but he wasn’t. I recently asked him about that, and he said, “I don’t even think about those days anymore. I’m now focused on my family and helping as many people as possible.”
You can reach Patrick Edwards:
313-744-2764
Patrick Edwards has indeed been redeemed
Posted on 09/30/2022 at 11:30 AM
