Macon’s Former King of Cocaine, Jerry Anderson, Encourages Inmates In The Bibb County Jail
Jerry Anderson and Herbert Dennard
Jerry Anderson, Macon’s former “King of Cocaine,” entered the Bibb County Jail with Leon Jones, the Coroner of Bibb County and Herbert Dennard of Changing Mindsets, Inc. encourage the inmates to walk away from violence. Anderson, who was convicted and spent 26 years in prison returned to Macon where he had run his million dollar a week drug empire. He entered the Bibb County Jail this time as a changed man and encouraged inmates to not make the same mistakes he did and to do the right thing. He stated “you are never going to win selling drugs.” Since he has been released he has been speaking at different locations encouraging others to not make the same mistakes he did.
Almost all of the inmates had heard of him and they listened attentively as he spoke. He told them that he was supposed to spend the rest of his life in prison for the wrongs that he had done selling drugs. He mentioned that the only reason he was pardoned and released from jail was that the President of the United States at the time, Barack Obama pardoned him. Anderson told the group how he talked to President Obama on the phone while he was in jail. He stated that the President told him that a number of judges and people in law enforcement told him not to pardon him. The President asked Anderson why he thought he should be pardoned. Anderson told the President that he had not gotten in to any trouble while he was in jail, had a clean record in jail and avoided any violence. He told the President that he would sleep under a bridge as a last resort rather than get back into the drug business. According to Anderson, the President told him that he was a President who believes in second chances. He told Anderson, do NOT let me down. He told the inmates that all the amount of money he made selling drugs was not at all worth the 26 years he spent in jail and that he would never get those years back. He encouraged the inmates to get a job when they get out. He also told them to not hang out with the same people they hung out with prior to them going to jail. Most of the time they will lead you in the wrong direction. He encouraged them to get along with the officials in the jail. If he had done anything wrong while he served he never would have been released.
Leon Jones, the Coroner of Bibb County, gave the inmates the statistics of violent crimes in Macon. He stated that 70 people died in 2022 in Bibb County as a result of violence. A high percentage died as a result of anger issues and some because of gang violence and domestic issues.
Herbert Dennard talked to the inmates about the Walk Away initiative. He stated “walking away from a fight doesn’t make you weak. It proves that you are in control of your emotions.”
