To Whom It May Concern:

| would first like to thank you for taking the time out to read this letter. | can’t say
enough good things about Larry Jones and how | am honored to call him my
friend. Mr. Jones is one of the kindest people | have ever met in my life. His heart
is filled with everything this world is missing. | have known Mr. Jones for over 15
years. During that time frame | have watched him help so many people including
myself. Mr. Jones has helped me to get through some of the darkest days of my
life. Mr. Jones is the kind of person that would give you the shirt off of his back
and the shoes off of his feet if someone needs them more.

Mr. Jones is the most selfless, compassionate and caring person | know. He is an
amazing father to his son and husband to his wife. He is extremely family
orientated and they mean the world to him. He is a staple in his community and
has mentored and helped so many people from the same place. | have personally
witnessed him get people jobs through his resources and programs that he is a
part of. He has shown at risk youth and troubled adults that there is a better way
of living.

! would stand in front of the world and tell them that Larry Jones is one of the
best people alive today and | pray that his life is blessed like he has blessed so
many others.

Best and Kindest Regards.

Miguel Santos



Shinesha Houston

July 1, 2023
Dear The Honorable Judge Virginia Kendall,

As | sit and write this letter, | cannot help but to be brought to tears as | constantly replay the events that occurred on
January 18, 2023. | woke up and began to get ready for work as Larry prepared us breakfast.

We laughed and talked as we ate like we did practically every morning. Larry attended court that morning
accompanied by our son. When | was informed only one of them would be returning because Larry was being taken
into custody, my heart dropped. My morning was ordinary and before my evening ended, my whole world was flipped
upside down. Seeing our son break down after returning without his father made me feel angry with Larry. | didn't
know what was to come, | felt lost and hopeless. When Larry received the chance to call me, | could hear the pain
and hurt in his voice. He confided in me about how he cried himself to sleep at night because he was the cause of our
pain and he was no longer home to bring us comfort. It was at this moment | was no longer angry. | just prayed that
God would soon restore our family.

Larry has been my partner for over 21 years and | can't imagine life without him. | met Larry when I was a teenager. |
was in a very dark place in my life, including being in an abusive relationship. Larry became my friend, my protector,
as well as my partner. Day in and day out we would sit and talk for hours. He would tell me about his upbringing and
how he wishes he could escape from his childhood traumas and all the tragedies he had endured. It was so hard to
believe he had endured so much at that age and was still as kind and gentle as he was. We were surrounded by
others who had experienced similar traumas, what we were not surrounded by were people who still had a pure heart
like Larry. | have witnessed Larry give love endlessly in situations that he shouldn't have. | believe he gave love so
freely in an effort to get the love he desired so badly growing up. Growing up without a loving and supportive family
was something Larry opened up to me about often. He immediately claimed me and my mother as his family, so
much so, he moved into the house with us right away. My mother did not mind because he instantly took on the role
as her caretaker due to her paralysis. Larry took on this role welcomingly and without complaint, including constantly
carrying her wherever need be, accompanying her at doctors appointments, and much more! Shortly after, | found out
| was expecting a baby. With us being so young, | was a bit afraid.

Larry was ecstatic with tears because he was excited to finally have a family of his own. The day | told Larry | was
pregnant, he promised me he would always be there for me, my mother and our unborn child.

Larry has yet to fail this promise, after looking after my mother for over 20 years Larry stayed with her until she took
her last breath.

Larry lives by his promise, he has never missed a birthday, appointment, graduation, or anything ever pertaining to
our son and |. In 2021, our son suffered a traumatic brain injury; as a result of a car accident in Dekalb County.
Although Larry was on curfew at this time, he didn't let this change him always being there. Larry faithfully drove an
hour there and back when movement allowed him and always made curfew. Larry is not perfect but he is deserving of
another chance. The mistakes Larry made in his adolescence were caused by a lack of love, knowledge, foundation,
and family. Larry has learned from those mistakes, so much so he has not gotten into any trouble in the past 18
years. Creating a family of his own gave Larry something to live for. He takes the utmost pride in being able to be a
part of something so beautiful despite his past. Along with the lessons learned, having a family back at home has
deterred Larry from trouble and making mistakes as he once did. | truly believe that Larry has learned from all of this
and deserves to be reunited with his family.

Sincerely,

Shinesha Houston



4uInton Beasiey
117 Bellwood ave
3ellwood, Illinois 60104

jankabasketball@gmail.com
708-567-6883

Please accept this letter as confirmation that the proceeding community service
and sponsorship by Larry Jones and his company LLSWorld Investment Corp.

Service : Food preparation and service for charity events, flyer distribution
pertaining to basketball functions, minor cleaning/maintenance (kitchen clean-up,
garbage removal, sweeping and mopping), gym assistant and outing chaperone, as
well as clerical/office duties.

Sponsored events: 3 DBL basketball tournaments at United Center,
Dbl Pro Am and multiple Db! skills clinics.

Locations. Village of Maywood recreation center
200 south Sth ave Maywood Illinois 60153

Hope academy
2641 west Harrison
Chicago Illinois

Dates of services:

Week of 11/02/2016- 09/02/2021

Should there be any questions concerning the information provided, please feel free
to
contact myself, Quinton Beasley at

(708) 506-2089.

(Please leave a message and we will return you call as time allows.)

Sincerely yours,

Quinton Beasley



TWENT Y¥

July 15, 2022
RE: Larry Jones

Honorable Judge Virginia Kendall

| am writing this letter regarding Larry Jones and to share my interactions and professional
relationship with him.

My name is Vanessa Rhodes and | own a small sized Excavating Firm in the Chicagoland area. In
the past 10 years, | have gotten to know Mr. Jones as we fostered a relationship while working
for me asa laborer.

In that capacity, he was dependable, full of respect and displayed leadership where he was
Promoted to a Foreman. | was deeply impressed by his dedication and work ethic. In my

observations he pursued his objectives with integrity and a sense of responsibility. | would
have never associated his actions for which he is convicted of with his character.

| know there are Federal Sentencing Guidelines, although not mandatory, provide the court
with recommendations, and | realize how significant the possible sentence could be. | hope
you will find that the particular circumstance as an isolated event; which does not justify the

action, but it may help you consider mitigating circumstances.

With Good Wishes,

Vanessa Rho

2532 W WARREN BLVD CHICAGO IL 60612| P 312.624.8872 F 312.643.3802 | WWW.TWENTYELEVENCONSTRUCTION.COM



Pho
Church - {7
Res. -

Solomon's Temple
Church of God in Christ

Colossians 3 17

ToThe Judge,

lam Barbara Davis the Pastor wife of Solomon’s Temple Church where Larry
Attends. He is a faithful member. He is on the Deacon Board. He helps with
The cleaning of the church inside and outside. He has a very pleasant spirit. What ever

task him to do he does it. Whatever he sees that needs to be done he does it.

From

Duta Asha

Barbara A. Davis



To the Honorable Judge Virginia Kendall,

My name is David Johnson. | am a Level 3 Industrial Maintenance Technician, NTHS member, currently
in the process of obtaining my Associates degree in Automated Systems Technologies. | own & run
multiple media businesses & a mechanical Repair business. | have two sons that | live & strive to become
the best version of myself for. Other immediately family members being my mother, younger brother, &
younger sister all live within a few minutes of each other. We all take care of one another, regardless of
whatever the issue may be if we are unable to find a solution, we create one.

Growing up | did not have my father in my life. | looked up to my grandfather, my uncles, & most
importantly my older cousin Larry. There's a drawing he made for my mother when | was a baby, that
drawing is still with me to this day no matter where | go in life. If there was one person who never let me
down or lead me astray it was cousin Larry. He always answers when | call, whether it be to provide me
words of encouragement in my times of need, show me how to work on cars, or even just suggestions
about positive approaches to extremely hectic negative situations. Larry has never failed me.

My boys look up to Larry like | do. He has been nothing short of solid as a father, brother, uncle, or
cousin. He has always taught us to prioritize family above all else & if nothing else we always have each
other. | know he didn't have the best upbringing but he never gave up, he made his way out & continues
to do anything in his power to better himself & provide a loving stable environment for his son. He is
truly an inspiration for so many of us who come from nothing. Larry is a staple in my life & so many
others.

Growing up, seeing Larry was like a holiday, everyone always looked forward to it. We all knew the pain
of his childhood was there but he never allowed it to consume him. In spite of his past trauma being the
cause of bad decisions he has made he is still a hero to so many of us. He always greeted everyone with
love & respect, refused to allow outside influences to alter his character, & maintained a positive state
of mind. My baby brother is named after him. You have no idea the magnitude of the impact Larry has
made on so many lives in this journey we call life. A hero we all aspire to be like. Please consider the toll
it is taking on many of us, especially the children, to not have Larry around. | pray you show mercy on
him & allow him to return home not only to continue creating and building better communities, but to
also continue raising his son and keeping the family together.



Felicia C. Sanders
400 W. College St. apt 5
Carbondale, IL, 62901

03/05/2023
To The Honorable Judge Virginia Kendall,

It is an honor to write this letter on the behalf of Larry Jones, my brother. I write this letter in
hopes of giving you a glimpse into how good of a person Larry Jones truly is. With no proper
love, support, or care in his adolescence, Larry Jones unfortunately fell victim to his
environment and made mistakes early on. However, I honestly believe Larry Jones learned
from his past mistakes and has completely reformed as a person.

When I received the news about my brother's arrest I was immediately heart broken. Larry
Jones is more than just a brother to me, he is my best friend, often my sole source of support
(both financially and emotionally), and the glue of our family. I was immediately placed into
foster care after birth, this May I will be graduating with my first bachelor's degree. I can
confidently say that there is no way that this would have been possible without my brother by
my side. Despite my brother's lack of parental guidance growing up, he has been able to
successfully serve as an outstanding one for me. My brother and I both had to grow up without
our mom, which caused us to be able to connect so closely, suffering from similar trauma and
ptsd. The only difference between us is, I had him and he had no one, I wouldn’t have been able
to be the person I am today without my brother.

Outside of our personal relationship, Larry Jones is unquestionably a good person. Larry Jones
is always willing to go above and beyond for those that he loves and just as willing for those he
may not know. Larry Jones is a hard working family man (church and biological) who deserves a
chance to put more good into the world. Larry Jones acknowledged his past mistakes, reflected
upon them, and has learned from them immensely.

I wholeheartedly hope that this letter is taken into consideration at the time of sentencing.
Despite my brother’s previous mistakes, I strongly believe that he has learned from them and
that it causes him to push in the opposite direction every day. Larry Jones is a great: friend, son,
husband, brother, father, a member of his community, and an overall good person.

Sincerely,
Selicia Sanders

Felicia C. Sanders



Bridging
The Gap

Communal Living

July 15, 2022

Honorable Judge Virginia Kendall,

Re: Larry Jones

Bridging The Gap is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing individuals the necessary tools to
move toward self-sufficiency through our work force development program. Our mission is to provide
comprehensive community-based services to our clients and link them to training and employable
opportunities including servitude.

' have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Jones, for 13 years. He has volunteered countless hours with
our organization and we have been able to place him in programs with our workforce development
Partnerships where he was successful in obtaining full time employment. He always showed up and
never complained. Very reliable and determined young man. He was also a mentor in “Present
Brothers” program.

We were shocked to hear of the charges and wanted to shed some light on who he is as a person. This
is not Larry. He made a mistake. Unfortunately, a mistake that has changed the lives of himself and
others. The barriers in which we see young men faced with are unimaginable and unjustifiable and does
not warrant the decisions they make yet we believe it could be a factor.

| ask that the court take into consideration leniency when sentencing. Again this is not who we know
Larry to be and hope that you can consider who he is a person.

Sincerely,

Tanya Lee, Director



Phones
Church « (7731 3

C7739 378.3350)

VIS, Secretar

Solomon's Temple
Church of God in Christ

200 W. ADAMS
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Hi in the nam:
F;

ir by Him’

Colossians 3 i

To Whom it May Concern,

My name is Pastor Solomon Davis Sr. ! am writing this letter in behalf of Brother Larry Jones.
He is a Deacon at the church. He is very helpful. He landscapes the property. He fixes things
That are broken. He gets along well with others. He has a pleasant personality. He is a good person.

Please let this letter be helpful to him. Thank You for reading this letter may it help him in some small
Way.

Sincerely Yours,
Pastor Solomon Davis Sr.

Solomon Temple C.0.G I.C.

4200 W. Adams Street oe)

slam Wars $y

Chicago, Hl. 60624



United States v. Larry Jones, 20 CR 309

Typed version of defendant’s letter to the court and character letters



Dear Your Honor,

| Karen Ward is writing this letter on behalf of my god giving son (| didn’t birth him) Larry Jones. Larry
grew up with children at school age 30 years ago. Larry is well respected as a father, brother, son and
friend. Larry has always put his family first and tried to lead and instill love that he missed from his
childhood life. Larry children are and have always been his first priority. Larry has a teenage son who
has never seen a day without his father his son needs him for support and encouragement. Larry had a
few rough patches as a child and was self taught the definition of Love and Family. Larry embraced and
gave positive feedback to friends and family in many situations. | really hope that this letter
corresponding to Larry Jones case acts as an effective and helpful aspect during the court’s decision
about his case.

Sincerely,

Karen Ward



Solomon's Temple Church of God in Christ
s sae

ilar

€lder Solomon Davis $7. 4200 W. Adams Phones:
Pastor Chicago, Illinois 60624 Church: (773) 378-0849
Res, (773) 378-3591

Joyce L. Davis
Aisst. Sactetary

To Whom it May Concern

Larry Jones is a very good Person. He is a Jr. Deacon at our church.

He cleans up the outside and inside of the church. He also help fix
Things that are broken in the church. He walks the Pastor and the

First Lady to their car. During the winter season he shovels the snow
And during the summer season he rakes the grass and take the garbage

Out. He loves God and he loves Gods people.

Mo Gaye Davin

Ms. Joyce Davis



To Honorable Judge Virginia Kendall,

My name is Jessica Cooper and | am the sister of Larry Jones. | am writing you to
speak on my brother and my own life growing up. We both are products of parents
being absent, abuse and on drugs. We grew up trying to fit in due to lack of guidance
and parental figure in our lives. We both had to rough with not having love and anyone
who really cared for us. My brother had to not only raise himself at a young age but our
brother and other siblings; all while trying to go to school and support them. | can
explain how not having a parent in my life has affected me. | was placed in bad
environments where | was molested at the young age of 5 daily and then rape at the
age of 14. | was beaten when | had to find a place to lay my head. When the abuse.
happened the only thing that kept me going was my brother because we are all we
have. He promise me that it would get better and | would never be hurt again. He was
and always will be my protector and have kept his word and | have not being abused
since then. | look back on that and | can only imagine what he felt like or mentally dealt
with knowing that this was happening to me. We were kids and we could not fight and
win every obstacle that came our way but we cope and did our best. | dealt with this
abuse while trying to finish school and looked for help from our parents; only to steady
be disappointed because they continue to choose drug and the streets over their
children and our safety. The affect that this has had on our adult life is that we always
had a fight or flight mindset due to all trauma we have experience throughout our lives.
This has cause us not to have healthy relationships due to us having a hard time
believing what others say is true due to the trauma and ptsd from our parents. Our
father is constantly tormenting us to the degree of almost 2 years ago we had to buried
our brother, our father sat and laughed throughout the funeral and was just there to
save face. He did not comfort neither of his children that was there or my brother
children. Our brother that passed away also made it his business to be a better father
and man due no love giving by our parents. Our parents is not and have not been
involved in our children lives as well and it hurts. We thought that they would see where
they dropped the ball with us and want to do better but that is not the case and never
willbe. My brother has done the best that he could given the cards he was dealt. My
brother has been the opposite of our parents. He has been involved in the life of my
nephew 1000 percent and attend anything that he has. My brother has attended church
every Sunday and is involved with giving back and helping the community. He has been
a positive role model for my son and have teaching him simple construction tools. We
both made promises that our children will not never feel the way we did growing up. My
brother is an amazing father and man. He has been the only consistent thing in my life
and my children.

Sincerely from a lost sister without her brother,

Jessica .

odper



all of the bad things about me but she forgot to mention: | got her a lot of jobs and encouraged her to go
to school. | also got Red a job at the same place that | worked at but of course he didn’t tell anyone
about that. | got him the job trying to convince him not to sell drugs and that there was a better way.
He’s a career criminal so he made a deal with the government to get this label removed from off of him.
Of course, | did do a couple of transactions with him but nothing like what he said. The only people with
bad things to say about me are those who have something to gain which is their freedom or less time
than me. I ve helped over 30 people get jobs and | have been working full time for the past five years. |
ve never missed a day. | feel like | let my wife and son down because they are the only family that |
have. If | lose my family, there isn’t anything worth living for. | love my freedom and my family. My
family needs me but | need them more than they need me. | lost my brother to a marijuana sale which
ended with him being shot, tied up and robbed and left to die. My brother didn’t have a second chance
at life but | will and | won’t waste it on doing anything to put me in this position again. | am devastated
because when | met my wife, she gave me something to live for and | have let her down. The birth of my
son made me realize, | had so much more to live for and | finally had a real family. My family included
not only my wife and son but also my great-grandmother. | took on the responsibility of taking care of
my great grandmother for three years. Unfortunately, | had to eventually put her ina nursing home
because of her Alzheimer’s disease. My biggest fear is being here and something happens to her. To this
day, she only looks for and asks for me. She was the only one there for me and | was the only there for
her. If the judge were able to run her own investigation and give everybody time for lying, everything
said would change a lot. | ve helped a few people but nothing more than $500 but it was because I was
responsible for putting that money back. Since all of this has happened, | ve found many ways to find
Positive things to do such as: films, acting, and helping young men develop their rap careers. | also have
been teaching myself how to flip cars by buying them at the auction. | also had begun to learn to drive
tow trucks so that | can increase my income. haven’t had fresh air since | ve been here and the food is
terrible. Although | am not able to go church every Sunday as | did while | was out; | will make sure my
wife puts you and your family and everyone else in government on the prayer list to soften everybody’s
heart to see | was just a young boy who had to figure out life alone.



March 23", 2023

lesha S Baines

Ge SuEES
Semin

To the Honorable Judge Virginia M. Kendall
Re: Larry D Jones
Your Honor

My name is lesha, | have known Larry D. Jones for 20 years as someone near and dear. | can
vouch for him and say he has been a person of morals and integrity over the last 20 years that we have
known each other. | can further state that Larry D. Jones was immensely dedicated to his family and
work, and a loving person towards friends too. A lot of people gravitate to him because of his genuine
heart and soul.

Larry D. Jones also takes care of his elderly grandmother, who also raised him. Unfortunately,
since Larry had been dealing with the courts and this case, he had to move his grandmother to a nursing
facility. His grandmother played a vital role in his upbringing due to not having a mother or father
around on a consistent basis. At this point in her life, she suffers from dementia and only remembers
Larry Jones because he has been her sole provider since she got older and sickly. As stated
earlier, | have known Larry Jones for 20 years and he is one of the most considerate people I’ve ever
met. For this reason, | am determined to help Larry D. Jones and write this letter regarding him and his
well-being. | will continue to support him 100 percent through these whole proceedings.

I’ve observed him being polite, hardworking and always willing to help wherever he is needed. It's
always genuine and comes straight from the heart. When you're born with no direction and you're left
to figure things out and how life goes, yes, you're going to bump your head from time to time, as with
many black men in our community, Larry got involved in drugs. The biggest thing is that you learn from it
so you can move forward the correct way. Even while Larry has been locked up these last 92 days, he
has formed a positive circle of friends with the inmates by forming yet another safe place for men to
pray together and give some hope in people's lives. Every single day he reads scriptures, and the men all
gather around and hold hands and pray for one another and their lives. Larry D Jones has learned from
this experience; in the last 3 years he has done everything the courts has asked of him. Meanwhile in
July 2021, Larry lost his brother to being murdered in Milwaukee, WI, that was one of the hardest things
he has ever had to deal with in his life. Larry realizes how drugs cause murders. At one point in time in
his life all he had was his brother. Larry is still dealing with the loss of his brother, and he will deal with
that for the rest of his life. Through this trying time Larry complied with everything the courts needed.
Two months, he woke up on his birthday in September 2021 to learn that his only child had been ina
severe car accident and was flown flight for life to the hospital. His son remained in a coma for 8 days,
once again he was hit with traumatic news and still through it all complying with the courts. There were
many days he wished he could have stayed the night with his son because at any moment anything
could have happened during the night when he could not be there. This is all to say he respects the
courts even though in the past he has violated the law. All this shows growth and change.

We all fall short at times in life, what matters is that we're able to write our wrongs and pick ourselves
back up and move forward the correct way. Yes, whatever Larry D. Jones is being accused of whether it



January 6", 2023

1CITY

UNITED

Honorable Judge Virginia Kendall

My name is Larry Hardimon. I am the President and owner of One City United. My company
has contracts with the City of Chicago to clean up blighted areas on the west and south sides of
the City of Chicago. We employ primarily black people from the community to clear properties
of garbage and vegetation. Larry Jones is one of our workers. He is an excellent worker in every
way. I am aware that Larry Jones has a pending federal criminal case and that he is going to
prison. Mr. Jones is in a supervisory position, and we need him for several more projects. We
are respectfully asking if he could be allowed to remain on bond until May 1, 2023, to help us
complete these projects and meet our contractual obligations, It is difficult for us to find reliable
workers who are familiar with the challenges of the area in which we work. As you are aware,
there is a lot of violent activity, and we must have people who recognize situations developing
and take the appropriate precautions to do the work and avoid being murdered. I am grateful to
have Mr. Jones as a part of our organization. We are attempting to change the lives people in our
community. It is a very difficult task. Since starting with One City United, Mr. Jones has played
a key role in helping the organization grow. I know that Larry Jones may be taken into custody
on January 19, 2023. Mr. Jones has been very transparent with me while he has been on this
journey. I knew eventually the day would come. We have tried our best to prepare for this day by
trying to find someone to fill the important role that Mr. Jones plays in the organization and have
not yet been successful.

We have several new projects for the new year with the City of Chicago and it would really
be beneficial to us and to our community to have Mr. Jones on board to see these projects
through. Most of our contractors and employees have a close relationship with Mr. Jones and are
very comfortable working with him. They are pleased when he is leading their projects because
they know that he will make sure that the project is successfully completed.

An extension of time would enable our organization to start off the year with these new
projects under our belt. We need Mr. Jones’ help to put our organization in a position to obtain
and solidify additional future projects. We are confident that these projects will take
approximately four months to complete. We respectfully and humbly request that Mr. Jones be
allowed to begin his incarceration by surrendering himself on May 1°. 2023.

If there are any questions, anyone can contact me at my office which is located at 5219 W
Lake ST, Chicago IL 60644 or by calling me at 847-370-3217.

Be



The money they gave me didn’t go very far because | was trying to take care of my brother and
myself. My brother and | always needed something because we never had the basic necessities.
Most nights it was a race to food because there were so many of us that needed to eat it was a
first come first serve type deal. Whenever there wasn’t enough food | always made sure my
brother ate whether | was forced to steal from a local store, beg people for money or brought
food from a friend’s house to share with him, | always made sure he ate. Selling drugs wasn’t
something | was proud of, it was something | felt | had to do. | had tried selling drugs in my
neighborhood but the older guys in my neighborhood just wouldn’t allow it. What | didn’t
realize is that they were trying to show me love by not allowing me to sell drugs. | decided to go
to the older guys a few blocks over who actually didn’t care about me as much as | thought. The
first time | ever sold drugs | was terrified of getting caught but that didn’t stop me. | did it
scared because my desire to provide for me and my little brother was greater than any
consequences | could have suffered. | sold my first bag of drugs and selling drugs became a
means for me to take care of my little brother and on occasions my mom. My mom would pop
up frequently to my grandmother’s house to basically steal from me. She would watch me sell
drugs all day, appear at my grandmother’s to act as she really wanted to see us. In actuality she
was coming to eat and steal whatever money | had made for the day. This viscous cycle
continued on for what seemed like forever. In actuality it only lasted for a short time because
shortly after, | was faced with a life changing experience. In February of 1997, | was walking
home from school when | noticed a large crowd approaching myself, my brother and a couple
of my friends. We started to walk backwards because the faster we walked the larger the crowd
grew. After a while a big brawl began with the crowd. One of the guys from the crowd pulled
out a gun and attempted to shoot. We began to wrestle over the gun and eventually the gun
went off hitting one guy in the leg and another one in the arm. Afraid, | ran to a friend’s house
and that’s where the police picked me up from. | spent the next 4 years in jail as a result of
guilty conviction. Being so young, | took a plea deal because it seemed as though it was my only
option. | was navigating this entire process alone so | was trying to get the best possible
outcome. While in jail, a few things played over and over in my head; the elders in the
neighborhood always spoke death over me. They said | would never make it past my teenage
years. Well they wrong because the next four years of my life were slated for me to be behind
bars. Then there was the other set of elders, they said. | was a good kid that smiled through all
of the bad but I was just born into the wrong family. | wrestled with all of these ideas but |
prayed and made the decision to turn my life around. Upon release | met the love my life March
of 2001 Shinesha Houston. Shinesha and her mother Zena were the first two people to ever
show me genuine and unconditional love. Immediately upon meeting her, | moved in the house
with her and her mom. During this time while | looked for a job she and her mom were taking
care of me. In May of 2002, | learned that | was going to be a father. This was the best news
that | could have ever received. | was so happy because | never had a father so | knew this would
be my chance to do everything with him that | longed for in my childhood. I never expected to be away
from my family, in trouble or facing this much time. | regret doing some of the things | have done in my
life due to me not knowing any better. My good heart got me in this situation, Marsha and Red told yall



My name is Larry Jones. | was born on September 13, 1980 to my teenage parents Larry Moore
and Tolesia Jones. | am the oldest of five children by way of my father and the oldest of six
children by way of my mother. My parents split early in my life so | didn’t have a idea of what a
“family” and supportive parents felt like. As a young kid, | realized early on that something
wasn’t right with my mother but | was too young to put it all together. My great grandmother
was my guardian and she did the best she could with raising me and my brother as well as my
five uncles and one aunt in a one-bedroom apartment. The conditions of the apartment were
barely habitable but it was better than being on the streets of Chicago. | never really feel like |
had a home because we were always going from one apartment to another. My great
grandmother did the best she could while raising us but it still wasn’t enough. As a young boy
growing up in the crack epidemic | saw a lot, | heard a lot and | learned a lot. One of the most
hurtful things | ever learned was how the crack epidemic had directly affected my family. As a
small kid, | loved my mom but | realized my mom was getting high off crack very early.
Watching my mom get high angered me to the point where some nights | just cried myself to
sleep. The one thing | wanted was to just be a kid with a mother who cared. Most nights |
stayed out late without anyone even noticing. | was a little kid staying out into the early
morning, it wasn’t because no one cared, it’s because no one noticed. Some nights, I stayed out
hanging with my friends and some nights | stayed out hoping to just run into my mom. On those
rare occasions | would run into my mother it wasn’t quite the reunion | anticipated. She would
be so high many times she didn’t even know who | was. | ve never felt so broken and forgotten;
in those moments, | regretted those reunions. Of course, staying out late and having
experiences like that affected my sleep so most nights | didn’t even sleep. | tossed and turned
all night and missed out on the window of opportunity to fall asleep before having to go to
school the next day. | attended school but it wasn’t anyone there to make sure | actually
attended school. | kind of attended school out of habit. Around 7th grade was when things
began to get even worse for me in the neighborhood. | started getting into fights and it became
so bad that | started having to skip school to avoid rival gangs and being bullied while in school
at Fredrick Douglas Elementary. It was during this period where | realized nobody was ever
going to take care of me and my little brother Donte. We lacked the basic necessities from food
to adequate and appropriate clothing. It was so bad | was always teased and made fun of in
school which caused me to become aggressive and angry. | fought, | fought a lot. Some days, |
didn’t even realize why | had some fights. | just knew | had to fight to protect me and my little
brother. | knew he wasn’t as strong as | was so whenever anyone picked on him, he always
came and got me. We had been this way since we were little, | ve always loved him and wanted
to take care of him because | knew | was responsible for him. Growing up in the era | grew up
in, | didn’t feel like | was supported nor had anyone to support me. The only thing I knew to do
was to turn to my friends who | knew would help me to physically protect me and make money.
We all began to carry guns around 7" grade because we knew it would turn deadly if any of us
were caught outside alone. We continued to fight the rival gangs and started to sell drugs. At
first the older guys in the neighborhood would take our drugs from us and just give us money
not to come around. What they didn’t know is that | was desperate and | wasn’t going to stop.



Cecilia Walker

September 20, 2021
Re: Larry Jones

To: The Honorable Judge

I have known Larry Jones as a good friend for over fifteen years. I was surprised and bothered to
hear about his current situation as I have always known him to be a decent, honest and
upstanding individual. It is for this reason I am happy to write this letter of reference to attest to
the character of Mr. Larry Jones. I do understand the seriousness of this matter however, I hope
that you take in to account the totality of Mr. Jones’ life.

Larry has been an upright person and friend. In our friendship, he has really been there for me
and my daughter, especially when I couldn’t be there for us myself. He made it a point to be
there and show a huge amount of support to both of us. It was a sense of relief to know that I had
the support and love of such a good friend. He has truly been a fantastic friend over the years.

In addition to our friendship, he is a contributing member in the community. He has taken on
multiple calls to clean up debris in our neighborhood. He’s contributed to house/building rehabs
to bring back the value in our neighborhoods. While he is dealing with his current situation, he
has had the time and shown the effort to push others to be contributing members of the
community as well. While I may not know all the details of what is before him now, I am
confident in saying that he is a good person, loyal, loving and kind.

It is my hope that the court takes this letter into consideration when deciding his fate. Despite the
current case, I still believe in the goodness in Larry Jones, I believe him to be an honorable
individual, a valuable member of the community, and an all-around good human.

Sincerely,

Cecilia Walker

Cecilia Walker



happened or not he has taken accountability for it. He has begun to build up his community back up ina
positive light. Everyone deserves a second chance.

| do understand, and Larry D. Jones also understands the seriousness of this matter. | hope you will see
the man standing in front of you is not the man on paper. He has grown so much from all of this. Larry D.
Jones has gotten more in the bible so that he can grow spiritually to help him have some more guidance
in his life. He is a firm believer, and he knows God got him always through it all.

| think this is a solid testimony of how Larry D. Jones has completely changed. I hope you consider this
reference letter when determining the outcome of this case. Thanks for taking the time to hear me out
on Larry D. Jones behalf.

Best Regards
lesha S. Baines

amen nsiectc5
SMM sakes ASTD