12:00 pm UTC Mar. 17, 2021
PEORIA Melvin Sanders Sr. seeks hometown redemption.
As a gang chief during the 1980s and 1990s, Sanders beleaguered Peoria with drugs and violence. Awash in booze and drugs, he left town about two decades ago to chase a woman, but instead found Jesus.
But even amid his spiritual salvation, old sins exacted a heavy price. Two adult sons were shot to death in Peoria, while a third recently was charged in a gunshot slaying. In the aftermath, Sanders readily recognizes the role he played in breeding mayhem on the streets of Peoria.
“God told me I’m reaping what I’ve sewn,” the 53-year-old Sanders says. “ … I’m getting what I’ve done to other people.”