Support Destiny's Fight for Her Mom's Justice

Help My Mom, Dr. Gwendolyn, Fight for Justice & Keep Our Family Together.

From Her Daughter, Destini:

Hi, my name is Destini, and I am writing this for my mother, Dr. Gwendolyn—a woman who has always put others before herself. She has sacrificed everything to help people, but now, she is the one who needs help.

My mom is a pastor, a leader, and the most selfless person I know. No matter what, she always puts me, my little brother Zachariah, and others first. Even when she barely has anything, she still finds a way to give, uplift, and encourage those around her. I’ve watched her pour into

people’s lives, believing in them and pushing them to be better—even when she’s struggling herself. But now, she is the one who needs help. My mom told me that everything she’s been through has made her think about others facing the same injustice—how many parents have lost their children, how many people are sitting in jail because they couldn’t afford to bond out or fight back.

That’s the kind of person she is. Even while hurting, she’s thinking about others.

How This All Started



This whole nightmare began over something as small as a traffic ticket.

On January 28, 2025, my mom went to court because she received a $150 ticket for driving through a red light that was stuck. She had waited at the light for ten whole minutes before finally deciding to go forward. There was even a witness who saw it happen. She had a public defender who told her they could pull the traffic light footage to prove she was innocent. She trusted them—she even had an email from the public defender confirming that they would do it.

But when she got to court, everything changed. The public defender suddenly started lying. She said she couldn’t pull the light footage after all.

She completely went back on her word. It was like she had switched sides and was working with the prosecutor instead of defending my mom. Then, the public defender admitted something shocking—she told my mom that if she lost the case, she wouldn’t get paid. So, my mom lost the case, even though she had proof the light was stuck. And instead of just paying a fine, they put her on probation, assigned her community service, and charged her extra fees. The worst part? All my mom wanted was to prove the light was broken so it could be fixed and

wouldn’t cause problems for other people. Instead, she ended up on probation.

Then, Things Got Even Worse

On February 28, 2025, I told my mom that I wanted to go to the Beauty Supply Store. I wanted to walk and get a little exercise, and I was also going with a visitor—my mom’s spiritual daughter—who had come to see her. My mom has always helped her whenever she needed

anything, so she was visiting us.

At first, my mom suggested that we get a ride instead of walking. She asked me, “Are you sure you want to walk?” I told her, “Yes, we just want to get out of the house.”

What I didn’t realize was that my little brother overheard our conversation. Normally, if I mention going to the store, he asks to go too—he loves going to Dollar General and Dollar Tree.

Those are his favorite stores. But this time, he didn’t say anything. Maybe he was distracted, maybe he was watching TV , but he heard us.

How My Brother Ended Up at Dollar General

What we didn’t know at first was that my brother was behind us.

He doesn’t usually go anywhere alone, so what really happened was that he was secretly following me and my mom’s spiritual daughter while we were walking. But the whole time, he was hiding as he followed us.

We didn’t realize it, and by the time we got to Dollar General, he was still trailing behind us, staying out of sight.

Since the Beauty Supply Store is across the street from Dollar General, we walked past Dollar General without going inside.

Because my brother was hiding behind the building, he didn’t see us walk past the store to go to the Beauty Supply store was all connected in a plaza. He had been waiting on the side of the Dollar General building, thinking we went inside. But when he finally went in, we weren’t there. At that moment, he got scared and confused. He had expected to find us, but we weren’t inside. Not knowing what to do, he walked outside, looking for us. He didn’t know his way back home.

Dollar General is right next to Papa John’s. The workers at Papa John’s noticed that he was by himself. Seeing that he was alone, they asked if he needed help. My brother told them that he couldn’t find his sister and that he didn’t know how to get back home. The workers at Papa John’s told him they would call the police to help him find his family.

While waiting for the police, they gave him food and something to drink.

When the police arrived, they began asking him questions.

Because he was eating, the police assumed he hadn’t eaten all day. My brother later told us that he did say he was hungry, but he never said he hadn’t eaten all day. The police also claimed that he looked malnourished and dirty, which was completely untrue.

At some point, my brother mentioned that his stomach hurt. But he didn’t mean it in a medical way—he was scared, confused, and had butterflies in his stomach from being nervous. The police took that as a sign that he was weak, sick, or starving. They called an ambulance to check on him. The EMTs checked his vitals, and everything was

normal. He was fine. He wasn’t malnourished. He wasn’t dehydrated. He wasn’t sick. But because of how small he is and the fact that he has ADHD, they assumed otherwise.

What they didn’t understand is that because of his ADHD, he eats differently. My mom constantly tries to get him to eat more, but he eats in small portions—he will take a few bites, get up and move around, and then come back later for more food. He’s always active, and that’s just how he is. But the police didn’t care. They took his nervousness, his ADHD, and the fact that he was eating as proof that he was

neglected.

Please Help Us Fight for Justice

Please help me free my mom, save my brother, and get the justice we deserve.