- Just exposed to drugs,exposed to the violence,

and just seeing this every single day.

(serene music)

- [Reporter] JermaineWilson knew all too well

the lifestyle of drug dealers.

Growing up in the streets

of a poor Leavenworth,Kansas neighborhood,

with little hope of a future,

he even dreamed of becoming one.

- I would see thesedrug dealers, you know,

they pulling out wads of money.

Exciting, it lookedthrilling, and I said, "Man,

"I want what he got."

- [Reporter] To Jermaine, that also meant

having the respect of others,something he never had.

- People always made fun of me,

and I ended up getting aname Too Short, Too Fat,

Too Ugly, and I always wanted to fit in.

- [Reporter] But there was one person

who made Jermaine feel safe and accepted.

- My brother was, he was my protector,

he was my role model, and I felt like

he could not do any wrong in my life.

And I wanted to be just like him.

- [Reporter] Which not only meant

hanging out with isbrother and his friends,

but also doing drugs, andcommitting small crimes.

- 'Cause my brother wasconstantly doing it,

everybody else was doing it,

I didn't wanna be like theoutcast, and not do it.

- [Reporter] Eventually,his brother wound up

in juvenile detention for theft.

But 12 year old Jermaine continued on,

spending the next three years doing drugs,

getting into fights, and stealing.

Then at 15, he also landedin juvenile detention.

What started as a two yearsentence turned into four,

after the angry teenager tried to escape.

- I felt like the system had played me,

and I truly felt like that Iwas going to have to make up

for lost time.

I learned more aboutdrugs, being incarcerated,

than I've ever had, and I told myself,

I said, "You know what,when I get outta here,

"I know how to make money,and I'm gonna make it quickly,

"and everybody's gonnaknow exactly who I am."

- [Reporter] Once released and back home,

Jermaine set his plan in motion,

using the skills andconnections he made in prison,

he quickly became

one of the leading drugdealers in his area.

- I seen how quickly the money came,

and I seen, you know, how thecustomers would come back,

and just the level ofrespect that they showed me.

And that yes it did giveme a sense of power.

- [Reporter] But there were some things

that came with money andstatus he didn't count on.

- Over a period of time,paranoia really, really

was setting in on me,so I started, you know,

heavily using ecstasy pills

to help me cope withwhat I was going through.

I worried, not knowing ifI was going to get robbed,

and not knowing if I wasgonna get busted by the cops.

- [Reporter] Those feelings only got worse

after his long time girlfriend

gave birth to his son, Jermaine Junior.

- And I felt like it wasjust a matter of time

before I end up gettingcaught, and losing everything.

So I was just trying todrown out this feeling,

I would just talk to myself, I'd say,

"Man, I need something different,like this is killing me."

- [Reporter] In 2008, only twoyears after being released,

he was back in prison,arrested for drug possession.

Jermaine realized the status and power

he thought he enjoyed had been a lie.

- I knew deep down inside of my heart

that, you know, peopledidn't care about me,

they cared about thematerial things that I had.

I felt like these were thethings that defined who I was,

but once I lost all of those things,

I was broken.

- [Reporter] Nine monthsinto his sentence,

Jermaine was consideringtaking his own life,

when he remembered atime in his childhood.

- And I remember, you know,

my mom used to make us go to church,

and we were sitting in Sunday school,

and I always would sit andhear about a man named Jesus,

how he forgives, how hegives second chances,

how he restores and give hope,

and these stories startedcoming to my mind,

as I'm sitting on my prison floor, crying,

bawling out, not knowingwhat's gonna happen for me.

I want something different, I need help.

And I say, "God, likeif you truly are real,

"please, please forgive me of my sins.

"Give me another chance forme to be with my family.

"Help me to become me, helpme to become fulfilled,

"because I don't wanna continue

"to live this lifestyle anymore,"

that when I cried out to God, that's when,

the first time in my life, I felt free.

That's when I started feeling peace,

and I just felt the loveand the compassion that came

from Jesus, just being inside of my heart,

and that's when I knew that, you know,

life was gonna be different for me.

- [Reporter] Since his release in 2010,

Jermaine has been ministering to inmates,

and people in his community,as an ordained pastor.

Now married to his girlfriend Jessica,

this one time drug dealer and convict

has risen to new heights,

as the mayor in Leavenworth, Kansas.

- So as I was going through my journey,

searching throughout life, you know,

I was looking for happinessand joy and peace, you know,

through all these material things.

The fulfillment that Ineeded, Christ gave to me.

The acceptance that Ineeded, Christ gave to me.

The joy, the hope, the peace,

and most of all, the forgiveness,

Christ gave to me, andthat's why I'm here today.