Gangbangers Struggle to Leave 'the Life'

Job-hunting and laser tattoo removal are painful parts of leaving an LA street gang, but nothing compared to the lure of going back, Newsweek reports. Gabriel, 29, wandered into a gang rehabilitation center to leave "the life," but only stopped getting "G'd up" with his homeys when cops nearly arrested him. It would have been his third strike. "The devil was pulling," says his wife Sandra.

Gabriel relates to the temptations of David, 18, who just got out of juvie. Also at the rehabilitation center, called Homeboy Industries, David misses "pulling out the gun on people. It's a high." The problem, says a Homeboy adviser, is that gang members will shame and beat him to return. "Misery loves company," she says. "They don't want to see you succeed because they're still in misery." (More gangs stories.)