I Got Shot at 19 & Went to Prison — Then Black Magic Saved My Life | Ledell Johnson

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 743 Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2026

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ledell Johnson grew up in Buffalo, New York, raised by his grandparents in what he describes as a decent upbringing — but the pull of the streets started early. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Ledell shares how he got his first gun at just 13 years old, dropped out of high school, and became deeply involved in street life. At 19, everything nearly ended when he was shot and almost lost his life, a moment that could have changed everything — but instead, he went back to the same environment that put him there. Ledell opens up about the mindset that kept him in the streets, how quickly things can spiral, and the reality of growing up around violence in Buffalo. Eventually, a gun charge caught up with him, leading to a 4-year sentence in the New York State prison system. _____________________________________________ #BuffaloNY #TrueCrime #PrisonStory #StreetLife #GunViolence #ExInmate #CrimeStories #lockedinpodcast _____________________________________________ Thank you to RAYCON for sponsoring this episode: Celebrate the moms in your life! Go to https://buyraycon.com/IANBICKOPEN to get 15% off the Essential Open Earbuds. _____________________________________________ Connect with Ledell Johnson: http://kolyacares.org _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 The Night I Got Shot 00:46 Growing Up in Buffalo, New York 04:43 Role Models & Early Influences 07:07 Getting Pulled Into the Streets 10:46 My First Gun & Street Life Begins 13:41 Family, Pressure & Temptation 16:24 Street Culture & Environment 19:09 The Night of the Shooting (Full Story) 23:19 Surviving Being Shot & Recovery 26:43 Going Back to the Streets 29:44 Arrest, Charges & Prison Sentence 35:03 Life in Prison & Survival Tactics 41:43 Gang Culture & Prison Politics 46:11 Staying Out of Trouble Behind Bars 50:07 Life After Prison & Reentry 54:41 Reflecting on the Past 01:01:41 Premonitions, Spirituality & Change 01:09:07 Finding Purpose After Prison 01:12:44 Giving Back to the Community 01:15:56 Making Amends & Moving Forward 01:16:58 Family, Loss & Legacy 01:18:04 Breaking the Cycle for My Kids 01:19:43 Advice to My Younger Self 01:20:17 Final Thoughts & Closing To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Me, I got shot when I was 19.
0:02.0	Paint us the picture of the day you got shot. We load up, we're looking, trying to find me. The window rolled down, fire coming from inside the truck. Now everybody's scattering, they're running. I lift up my shirt. My intestines fell out. People start dying, left and right. It wasn't fun no more. I'm LaDale Johnson. I got shot at 19 and went to jail at 23. Came home, almost 27.
0:24.0	I just hopeiddell Johnson. I got shot at 19 and went to jail at 23.
0:21.6	Came home, almost 27, and I just hope to see many more.
0:25.6	Liddell Johnson got his first gun at just 13 years old and was fully in the streets by his teens.
0:30.6	After being shot and nearly killed at 19, he still went back until a gun charge sent him to prison.
0:36.6	In this episode, he breaks down how it all happened
0:39.4	and what it really took to survive.
0:45.8	I grew up in Buffalo, New York.
0:47.7	What was your upbringing like?
0:49.6	It was, you know, the average east side.
0:55.7	Upbring, you know, the average East Side upbringing, you know.
1:04.2	I have my grandparents, my aunts, my dad, you know, he was in and out, but he was there for the most part.
1:05.7	He was there, a great man, strong man.
1:07.5	So your parents were split?
1:08.2	Yeah.
1:10.0	And your mom was in the picture.
1:11.8	My mom was in the picture, too, you know, in and out in circumstances, you know, the circumstances of the 80s. Yeah. And your mom was in the picture. My mom was in the picture, too, you know,
1:16.1	in the circumstances, you know, the circumstances of the 80s. Oh, so your grandparents raised you. Yeah. Queen Jeanette and Ulysses the Great. What did your grandparents do for work?
1:22.1	They worked at the wax factory in Bethlehem Still and my granddad went on to do roofing for local 41. Did you have a lot of
1:29.0	siblings or was it just you? It was just me in their house, but I got a lot of siblings, eight sisters
1:33.9	and three brothers. Where did they all live? Different places. My aunts, you know, foster homes.
	...

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