Locked In with Ian Bick

Rhaja Rose grew up in Arizona — raised by his mom and stepfather without his father in the picture. Despite a passion for football that could have taken him somewhere, he dropped out of high school and joined the Crips. A home invasion led to a murder charge that sent him to Arizona's prison system for 12 years. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Rhaja opens up about surviving some of Arizona's most violent prisons — the gangs the politics and the daily violence that defines life behind bars. But halfway through his sentence something shifted. He dialed in, earned a college degree from inside his cell, turned his life completely around and came home with a new purpose — becoming a tattoo artist and building a life nobody saw coming.

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#gang #TrueCrime #prison

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Thank You To CASH APP For Sponsoring This Episode:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/6pao71et #CashAppPod
Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.

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Connect with Rahja Rose:
https://www.instagram.com/rahjarose/

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:
00:00 Growing Up Broke: Raja Rose's Story Begins
03:00 The Family Struggles That Shaped Him
06:00 Big Dreams as a Kid
08:00 How Football Fell Apart
11:00 Too Much Pressure, Too Young
13:00 First Signs of Trouble
15:00 High School, Drugs, and Growing Up Fast
17:00 Pulled Deeper Into the Streets
20:00 Gang Life and a Family Falling Apart
24:00 The Home Invasion That Changed Everything
28:00 Arrested: The Interrogation Room
34:00 On the Run Before Prison
38:00 Inside Juvenile Detention and Prison Politics
46:00 The Plea Deal and Facing the Sentence
01:00:00 Surviving Prison: Fights, Politics, Transformation
01:08:00 The Books That Changed His Mind
01:16:00 Learning to Tattoo Behind Bars
01:26:00 Grief, Loss, and College in Prison
01:31:00 Finally Free: Life After Release
01:40:00 Relationships and Advice for Young People
01:46:00 Why He Left the Gang Life Behind
01:50:00 How to Break the Cycle for Good

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
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Keith O'Palick spent 24 years with the NYPD — rising from beat cop to plain clothes officer in Chinatown to detective handling murder investigations and high profile cases. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Keith pulls back the curtain on what it really looks like inside the NYPD — from stopping robberies undercover in Chinatown to working homicide investigations in Midtown before transitioning to the DA's office where he worked protective detail during the Trump trial. He breaks down the truth about New York City safety, why cops do perp walks and whether that will ever change, how detectives manage massive caseloads, and why Rikers Island will never close no matter what politicians say.

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#NYPD #TrueCrime #newyorkcity

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Connect with Keith O'Palick:
Website: https://www.kopinvestigations.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keith.opalick/
Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FLNM7RCG?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_2P37RZCM562NNWMBXTPZ&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_2P37RZCM562NNWMBXTPZ&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_2P37RZCM562NNWMBXTPZ&bestFormat=true&csmig=1&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGn63jIRsGPGC4zobZdkhXB-SHKDcjFTYKdqG3saWzaiQ25l7-mRZ5W9bxxfAo_aem_eQi9Wpvz6EQIYg2i5R6Wrw&utm_content=link_in_bio&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ig

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:
00:00 Meet Keith Opalik: 20+ Years NYPD
00:24 Growing Up in NYC & The Road to Policing
01:21 Why He Chose the NYPD
03:20 Family, Roots & Early Influences
04:44 What Pulled Him Into Law Enforcement
07:12 How His Parents Reacted to "I'm Becoming a Cop"
08:55 Should Future Cops Go to College?
10:26 Day One: His First Assignment on the Force
12:48 Going Plainclothes
15:00 Undercover: The Taxi Cab Sting Tactics
19:13 Policing a City That Never Stops Changing
22:01 The Admin Battles Nobody Warns You About
26:13 Promotions, Politics & Internal Affairs
29:36 First Detective Case (And the Media Circus)
32:01 Working the Media as a Detective
34:38 Leaks, Pressure & High-Profile Cases
38:08 Why Some Cases Go Viral
42:22 Midtown vs. Every Other Precinct
45:57 The Crimes That Made Headlines
51:39 Perp Walks: The Truth Behind the Cameras
01:00:04 Caseloads, Staffing & Cop Burnout
01:09:43 Can a Cop Actually Have a Family Life?
01:14:54 Leaving for the DA's Office & Executive Protection
01:21:50 Inside Trump Trial Security
01:25:12 America's Political Divide From the Inside
01:28:57 Is NYC Still Safe? The Post-COVID Reality
01:36:39 Rikers Island & What's Broken in US Prisons
01:44:46 Retirement & Life After the Badge
01:49:37 Hard Lessons, Mental Health & Moving Forward

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
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Angel "Julito" Diaz grew up on Creston Avenue in the North Bronx — the youngest of six kids, watching his mother run the block before he ever touched a drug. By the time he was 12 he was selling crack after school. By the time he was a young man he was running his own operation — hundreds of pounds of their signature Mango Piña weed a week — eventually becoming the shot caller of the infamous Creston Avenue Crew whose takedown became one of the most notorious drug cases in Bronx history. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Julito tells the complete story — the story that Reggaeton star De La Ghetto portrayed on Netflix's El Ganador. Nicky Jam and Daddy Yankee were part of his Bronx operation before they were famous. He opens up about the betrayal from his own childhood friend who put out a murder contract on his life, the robbery case that sent him to state prison, and the federal case that gave him 17 years total. When 22 people around him cooperated with the government — Angel kept his mouth shut. He served 11 years and never snitched on anyone.

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#prisonlife #BronxStory #TrueCrime

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Thank You To CASH APP For Sponsoring This Episode:
Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/6pao71et #CashAppPod
Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures.

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Connect with Angel "Julito" Diaz:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bx_julito/
Buy His Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D63JX8GX?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_CQ6DFDAZ3FRHK8SBHY35&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_CQ6DFDAZ3FRHK8SBHY35&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_CQ6DFDAZ3FRHK8SBHY35&bestFormat=true

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Timestamps:
00:00 Bronx Shot Caller Who Never Snitched — Julito's Full Story
02:00 Growing Up in the Bronx and the Family Background That Started Everything
05:00 Watching His Family Run the Block — His First Exposure to Street Life
09:00 Growing Up Surrounded by Addiction and the Drug Trade From Day One
13:00 The Early Hustles and How He Built Trust on Creston Avenue
16:00 His First Real Steps Into the Drug Game and What That Felt Like
19:00 Balancing School and Street Life — The Choice That Defined Everything
22:00 His Mother's Influence and the Family Dynamics Nobody Talks About
25:00 The Block Loyalty and What Survival Really Looked Like on Creston Avenue
28:00 Moving Up — From Runner to Hustler and What That Transition Cost Him
31:00 Master Splinter and the Crew Dynamics That Would Later Destroy Everything
35:00 Learning the Unwritten Rules and Hierarchies of the Drug Game
38:00 How Daddy Yankee and Nicky Jam Came Up on His Block Before They Were Famous
42:00 The Power Shifts on the Block That Changed Who Was Running Everything
46:00 Becoming the Shot Caller of the Creston Avenue Crew
50:00 Block Rivalries Internal Conflicts and the Tensions Nobody Could Control
54:00 The Friendship Breakdowns and Betrayals That Changed His Life Forever
58:00 When It Escalated — Violence and the Murder Contract Taken Out on His Own Life
01:03:00 Block Wars Arrests and the Beginning of the End
01:07:00 The Robbery That Set Everything in Motion and What Came After
01:11:00 The Day the Feds Came for Him and What That Felt Like
01:17:00 Life in Federal Custody and the Legal Battle He Fought From Inside
01:23:00 Snitches Street Codes and What It Really Means to Do Your Time
01:29:00 Master Splinter's Betrayal and the Fallout That Defined Everything
01:34:00 The Aftermath — Who Betrayed Who and the Consequences That Followed
01:40:00 Route 35 Cooperation and How People Around Him Got Life Sentences
01:46:00 Surviving and Hustling Inside Federal Prison — How He Did His Time
01:53:00 The Brothers He Lost the Loyalty That Held and the Losses That Broke Him
01:59:00 Coming Home to a Different World — How the Street Game Changed
02:07:00 Family Forgiveness and the Healing Nobody Warned Him About
02:13:00 Finishing His Time and What Walking Out Actually Felt Like
02:19:00 The Sins of the Father and How He's Breaking the Cycle for His Kids
02:24:00 What He Would Tell the Kid He Was on Creston Avenue
02:27:00 The Lessons From a Life Lived on the Edge — His Final Message

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
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Cody Boden grew up in Grand Junction Colorado, the son of an alcoholic father in a coal mining town. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Cody shares how he found his purpose in the U.S. Army — becoming a sniper with the 1st 40th Cavalry, earning two Purple Hearts from a bombing and a VBIED attack, and witnessing horrors overseas that would follow him home forever. When he returned from war the military forced him into medical retirement — leaving him without the only life he'd ever known. What followed was a bar altercation, drug dealing, a 15 year sentence he served 5 years of, and a battle with opiate addiction he finally won in June 2017. Now he faces his greatest fight yet — terminal liver failure connected to an illness contracted during deployment, waiting for a donor since May 2023.This is a story of war, trauma, addiction, prison, redemption, fatherhood and faith — and a man the system tried to throw away who refused to give up.

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#PurpleHeart #VeteranStory #TrueCrime

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Connect with Cody Boden:
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@onemoremission
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cody.boden/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCtFo-QFNRfa-_c4uZh0WKyg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580807506052
Donation: livingdonorreg.upmc.com

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Shop Locked In Merch:
http://www.ianbick.com/shop

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Timestamps:
00:00 Purple Heart Army Sniper to Federal Prison — Cody's Full Story
00:21 Growing Up in a Coal Mining Family and the Childhood That Shaped Everything
04:13 High School Struggles and the First Time Drugs Entered His Life
07:07 The Family Coal Mining Business and How Everything Started to Change
11:28 His Father His Grandfather and the Discipline That Defined His Childhood
16:01 Losing His Grandfather and the Moment He Turned to Drugs to Cope
18:59 Joining the Army to Escape — The Decision That Changed Everything
21:31 Army Training and How He Fought His Way Through Early Addiction
28:35 Making It to Army Sniper School and What Life in Alaska Really Looked Like
37:18 Preparing for Deployment and Adapting to the Most Extreme Environments Imaginable
41:01 Life in Alaska — Brutal Weather Brutal Training and What It Built in Him
45:00 Deploying to Iraq — His First Combat Experience and What He Wasn't Ready For
51:40 The Toughest Missions and the Friends He Lost in Battle
54:00 Survivor's Guilt — What It Does to You When the People Next to You Don't Make It
01:00:43 Heavy Combat Devastating Losses and What Leadership in War Really Looks Like
01:11:04 Coming Home — Injuries Forced Retirement and the Painkillers That Started Everything
01:18:50 A Bar Fight An Arrest and His First Real Taste of Jail
01:27:49 How Addiction Took Over and What It Did to His Family
01:30:47 Fighting for Custody of His Kids While Fighting His Own Demons
01:39:10 Prison — The Legal Troubles the Politics and What Survival Really Looks Like Inside
01:46:35 Prison Life Racism and the Mental Health Programs That Started to Help
01:58:03 Therapy Childhood Trauma and the First Real Steps Toward Recovery
02:05:00 Life After Prison Meeting Katherine and Then the Hepatitis C Diagnosis
02:12:42 Building a New Life Staying Clean and Finding Professional Purpose
02:18:11 The Terminal Liver Disease Diagnosis and the Transplant Journey Nobody Prepares You For
02:26:26 Medical Hardships Finding Hope and the Faith That Kept Him Going
02:32:23 The Delays the Donors and the Nightmare of Navigating the Medical System
02:36:09 What His Family and Legacy Give Him the Will to Survive
02:43:17 Reflection Gratitude and What Moving Forward Really Looks Like

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To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka
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Rob Fessock served as a military officer before becoming a DC police officer — one of the most violent postings in American law enforcement. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Rob breaks down what it was really like policing Washington DC, the gangs that made it one of the most dangerous cities in the country, and the calls he'll never forget. Then in 2011 he was deployed to Afghanistan where he worked alongside the Kabul City Police — responding to terrorist attacks, gathering evidence at bombing scenes and witnessing violence that changed him forever. When he came home the PTSD caught up with him — forcing him into retirement as a cop and pushing him into drug addiction. He opens up about hitting rock bottom and how he found his way back.

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#VeteranPTSD #DCPolice #Afghanistan

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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/

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Shop Locked In Merch:
http://www.ianbick.com/shop

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Timestamps:
00:00 DC Cop War Veteran and PTSD Survivor — Rob Fessock's Full Story
02:00 Growing Up and the Family Influences That Shaped Who He Became
05:00 Military Ambitions and the College Years That Changed His Direction
10:00 The Leadership Lessons That Prepared Him for Everything That Came Next
15:00 Deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan — What He Signed Up For vs What He Found
22:00 The Combat Experiences in Afghanistan That Will Never Leave Him
30:00 Coming Home and Becoming a DC Police Officer — A Different Kind of War Zone
36:00 Policing Washington DC — The Violence the Community and the Reality Nobody Shows You
44:00 The Challenges of Police Work and the Coping Mechanisms That Almost Destroyed Him
50:00 How PTSD and Addiction Took Everything He Had Built
55:00 How Teaching Himself Piano Pulled Him Back From the Edge
01:00:00 Recovery Reflection and What Life Finally Looks Like on the Other Side

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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