Gang member-turned-entrepreneur charged in Georgia killing, was key part of mayor's Violence Reduction Initiative

Times Free Press reports:

A former gang member whose unlikely journey from violent criminal to successful entrepreneur made him a widely celebrated success story has been charged with killing a Georgia woman.

The charges against Charmane Goins, if borne out, would represent a stunning fall from grace for a man who was often recruited as a motivational speaker and even asked by city officials to share his turnaround story with gang members in the city's Violence Reduction Initiative.

City Hall records show that Goins was a key part of the VRI script, and when he spoke to gang members at the second call-in in July he talked about his time in prison, all that he lost and how he learned that gangs and violence lead nowhere.

Being a gang member is an apprenticeship for looting taxpayers.