He was looking at me like he wanted to kill me. He said, Go ahead, say something, say something. I
didn't look at him no more like the head of the mob or or a killer. Donald was a bad boy. I first
met Donald "Big D" Garcia on a bus going into Donovan State Prison. This was my first time
heading into a level-four yard. I was a visitor, and so was he at the time. But Donald had taken
similar rides for over 31 years. The big difference for him was that this time he was not in shackles.
I interviewed Donald for Risen Magazine a few years later where legendary L.A.
photographer, Estevan Oriol snapped the photos.
Later, Donald appeared in a documentary I directed, D.O.P.E. (Death Or Prison Eventually.
He was living a quiet life with his wife and two pit bulls in
San Fernando Valley, working in gang prevention for the city of Los Angeles.
In this rare footage from the movie D.O.P.E, Big D mentions his involvement in helping found La Eme, the
Mexican Mafia. We started a little prison gang. when we came up with the name Mexican Mafia.
His hand bore the original Mexican Mafia mark until the day he died in June of 2012.
Tell me about your association with Donald Garcia. Yeah, I met Donald at Chaffey College, and we were both on a panel. And Donald there with some other guys, and I was
there with a Christian guy. Donald's a Christian; Don't get me wrong. But Donald was right there
saying how he's doing all this gang working... I I've done a lot of gang work in my life. And he would
say he gets the guys and puts them in by the... and so when it came to me, you know, he was looking at
at me like he wanted to kill me. He said, go on, say something, say something. And I said, You know,
when two of us go to somebody's, one guy's talking and the other guy's praying.
After that day, me and Donald became friends. You know, when Donald was gonna pass he had some of
his closest friends call me, and after I got the third call, I said, I'm on my way. I called a friend
of my mine, and said, Meet me here' we're gonna go to Big D's house and pray for him. And I remember I went in there,
and his stomach was just sticking out. I've seen that before because I in prison I was
a hospice, and when the guys were dying their bellies used to just
get out there, and his was out there. And I say, and I'm looking at him, and all these guys that
are there, and they're looking at me, you know, like Who's this tramp came in here, right? They, would you
could tell, they were crim... at one time criminals. And they're looking at me... I'm in a t-shirt, I'm
Levi's or shorts. You know, I'm not like... I don't get all dressed up. I go do what God will have me do.
And I went there, and he said, Oh, Al man, I'm glad you made it, and I'm in pain. And I said,
Are you taking anything? And he looked me right in the eye, Big D did, and he said, I don't want to take no pills,
I don't wanna lose my victory because I'm loaded, cause I'm dying. I accept the pain
in Jesus name, I accept the pain. And I prayed for Donald. I prayed for him and then I left.
Me my friend left, but every time I would see him or I would call him, it was always
a good, good genuine thing. We used to go together with Bill Glass Ministries into the prison,
and one day Donald, he was sharp, that guy was always sharp, spit shine shoes, every crease
perfect. And I see him walking in, and it was a three-day event, and I see him, so I
went over there, got his shoes, got his clothes and he was carrying his bag. He goes, What are
you doing Al? I said, man helping you to get this to your room. So we put it up there in
this room, and man he just sits everything perfect. And he goes, You know Al, he says,
I'm so grateful
what God has done for me.
And that, I didn't look at him no more like the head of the mob or or a killer. Donald
was a bad boy, right. I didn't look at him like that. I looked at him that he just taught me something.
He just taught me to always be humble, always remember what you were, not who you are,
but who you were. You know, Kilroy, the same thing. I know Kilroy's mom, his brother his
brother was my crime partner for a while. Wonderful guy, wonderful... and his mom... I love Rose.
Man, I'd be all going over there shaking... After we shoot up, she'd bring me something to eat every time.
Al would you like some arroz con leche? Yeah Rose, you she put a lot of sugar. She knew what was a hype. And I,
and I, I loved her. And Roy, we became so close that you know we'd call it brother, how you doing,
brother? You know, those are men of God that never forgot who they were, but not who they are. They
never forgot, they always helped the poor, always, always. I would see guys, and they would just walk
away, and the guy was talking, and I was saying, eh man, why are you so rude? He said, That guy's just lying,
I don't want to hear that, Al. And they would walk away laughing, in there... You have to know one thing;
God, He's worried, He's worried because He's sending people like me and them out.
He had to move the trash can to find me. I became friends with Big Al Aceve after contacting him
on Facebook through that medium. Al agreed to be interviewed for the book that launched this
YouTube channel, God N Gangsters. Donald and Al were always polite to me, my family, and my
friends. While I never had reason to fear them, I couldn't forget the power they once wielded or
that they had once been closer associates to death than with life. They were among the few
who had sparked the great wildfires that became the Mexican Mafia and the Mongols Motorcycle Club.
Most people remain fascinated with the war stories of the days when Al
and Donald helped run the streets. Neither Garcia nor Acevis considered
this the pinnacle of their lives, however. They never dreamed that a life governed by
prayer could be more meaningful and exciting than anything those mean streets had to offer.
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