Anthony 'Elmo' Cole Positively Reclaims His Life After Prison and Mayhem

Anthony "Elmo" Cole was extremely transparent while reflecting on his younger life and some of its infamy. After years of self-discovery, he's resurfaced to share his truths about how he fared after the harrowing events that cost him his freedom and disrupted several lives in his hometown of Waterloo, Iowa.

In several conversations, Anthony reminisced about being in his prime as a young, "street popular" loner who sold heavy narcotics in Waterloo—something he said he doesn't miss.

His connections to Chicago's well-advanced drug industry gave him a special notoriety as a bigger distributor in his small hometown of roughly 70,000 people. Anthony's notoriety afforded him a 'big' lifestyle and substantial income; "Sometimes I'd spend $20,000 on a single shopping trip in Chicago." "I owned several properties; we were all well off." He said his motto was "ball until you fall."

Elmo (circa 2000)

While many of our conversations centered around Elmo's faith in God, fatherhood, and his efforts to reestablish himself in his community as an entrepreneur, our talks typically circled back to his life-changing events from the early 2000s.

In October 2002, Elmo and his then-girlfriend were kidnapped at gunpoint by three masked men. The following year, he faced two counts of attempted murder after shooting two men during an altercation outside a nightclub.

As he recounted the kidnapping, Elmo paused and said, "The home invasion stemmed from 'jealousy' and 'greed'—I'm glad her son wasn't there...My daughter could have been there." Explaining the events that led to the dual shootings, the 53-year-old said, "The whole thing behind it was that I was emotionally hurt and angry about my situation."

There were other home invasions. Following Elmo's incident, another innocent person was victimized in their home and brutally assaulted while young children were present.

 Also in October, Cole's friend, Alonzo Quinn, and his girlfriend, Rhiannon Olsen, were reportedly robbed. Then, months later, in January 2003, the couple was murdered in their home (Rhiannon was 9 months pregnant). Although local authorities connected all of the home invasions, Quinn and Olsen's murders remain cold cases.

Looking back on all that was lost, the father of four now pays sincere homage to God despite the mayhem that once took over his life: "I thought about everything I have done; after everything I've been through, all I have to say is this, "still here!" 

After his lengthy incarceration, Cole had no desire to return to his Waterloo roots. Not wanting to deal with the remnants of his past, he explained, "You can't run from it; God ain't gonna allow you to run from something that you said you wanted to clean up." While there are many choices he wishes he could take back, he's found peace and wants his story to be a lesson to others.

Now, a husband, father, and grandfather, Cole lives a simple life. He owns a janitorial company and has softly launched a clothing line, 'Real Life.' During his incarceration, he released two books, The Effects Of Being In The Game and its sequel, The Effects Of Being In The Game: Game Maneuver.

He dedicates this story and his evolution to his wife, Ruth, his mother, Ida, and children: Mattea, Areyon, Kayla, Tobias, and everyone else searching for a better way.

Click the YouTube links below for the complete story and Elmo's podcast episodes.

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