KENTWOOD, Mich. — FOX 17 has covered stories about young people and stolen cars plenty of times in the last year.
Now, a FOX 17 first as part of A Path Forward. We're sharing the story of a young man who used to steal cars and got caught up in the juvenile justice system. Jaellen Kendricks says he's ready to make a change.
At one point, Jaellen Kendricks was a teenager charged with multiple felonies. His bond was initially set at $200,000 after he got arrested in July of 2022. Jaellen is no stranger to the consequences of gun violence— he's already lost more than one friend in 2023 to gun violence.
He says after all he's been through, sharing his story and his journey is part of what he hopes will inspire others to make a change in their lives.
Because for Jaellen Kendricks, life is a series of small choices and little moments that lead to big decisions with huge consequences.
Jaellen prefers to keep busy by going fishing along the Grand River or spending time with his family at home.
“We can go fishing or something. We don’t always gotta be in stolen cars, have guns and that stuff. We can do normal people stuff,” Jaellen said.
Jaellen knows— at 15 years old— more about the justice system than most will learn in their lifetime.
“Right now, I got a prison number over my head. If I do anything between now or when I’m 21, I’m going to prison,” Jaellen said.
And Jaellen is working to make sure that never happens, by choosing differently after paying for the choices he made in what he calls his "younger years."
“I was 14 on probation, stolen car— gun— all types. We just were like, I don’t know. I was doing a lot of stuff I didn’t need to be doing,” Jaellen said.
Probation, for a case that made FOX 17 headlines when it happened.
Jaellen got caught up in the thrill of the act of stealing cars, part of the group that became known as the "Kia Boys."
Now, Jaellen works daily to undo the past, saying he's changed his ways after four months in a juvenile placement program in Kent County. The program, along with becoming a young father in November, are his biggest motivators to make a change.
“My baby. That’s it. And that I can help people. It’s me being somebody I wish I would have had. Especially all the people that have helped me. It make me feel like not like a father figure, but the big brother,” Jaellen said.
Big brother is a title Jaellen is no stranger to. It's the loss of his little brother that spurred the downward spiral that led to his arrest in the first place.
“When he died, I really didn’t care no more,” Jaellen said.
The death of Jaellen's little brother was another case that made FOX 17 headlines: The death of Jamarion McCuller, a 13-year-old middle schooler, who was shot and killed in Kentwood.
“That’s when everything started crumbling from there,” Jaellen said.
Jamarion died in March of 2022. By July, Jaellen was arrested and charged with multiple felonies.
“That just pushed me to the edge I’d say,” Jaellen said.
On Christmas Day, Jaellen says he was released from juvenile placement programming, ready to make a change.
“I had counseling. I ain’t gonna lie, that helped a lot. The little counseling. My counseling girl, she was really cool. She would sit there and listen. That’s all I needed, like, for real, for real. Was someone to listen, and that’s what she did. That helped me cope with a lot of stuff, and get a lot of stuff off my chest when I was in there,” Jaellen said.
Jamarion, is just one of the lives lost in Jaellen's circle to gun violence. During his interview with FOX 17, Jaellen could count on both hands the number of people he's lost due to shootings.
But now, Jaellen prefers healthier coping mechanisms, like fishing.
“Ain’t y'all tired of going to jail? You can’t see no women. You can’t get no money. You can’t do nothing in there. Aint y’all tired of that? I know I am,” Jaellen said.
Jaellen, saying he's been given the chance to make better choices, and that chance isn't one he takes for granted.
“I already have my mind set, on changing,” Jaellen said.
People who have helped Jaellen along the way include the folks over at the Michigan Street Tropical Smoothie, where he works— keeping busy is his way of keeping out of trouble. Community members, like Jermar Sterling, who works with local nonprofit Community Kids, mentor Jaellen through the process— and Jaellen says his memories of how difficult and not fun juvi was keep him from ever wanting to go back.
Check out our list of community resources available to help in West Michigan.