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Ronnie had been a member of one of the street gangs in Chicago. A rival gang had beaten up his brother, so Ronnie decided that he was going to get even. One night, he had gotten a pistol and waited for Gary, the guy who had been responsible for his brother’s beating. When Gary came out of the building with a few other gang members, Ronnie came up behind them, yelled his gang name, and pulled the trigger. The gun just clicked. The gang members turned around, and Ronnie pulled the trigger again. This time a shot was fired into the air. The members of the gang began to run off in different directions. Ronnie ran off in hot pursuit of Gary. He shot another shot that caught Gary in the back. And Ronnie walked up to Gary, turned him over, and putting the gun to his head, pulled the trigger once more. This time the gun locked up. He dropped the gun and ran.

Ronnie knew now he had to get out of town. So he packed up his girlfriend and they left that night for Portland, Oregon. In Portland, Ronnie got a job, where several contagious Christians surrounded him, and over time he made a commitment to Christ. And Ronnie began to transform. Ronnie became a model member of his church. He became a model member of the community. But something deep inside continued to gnaw at his soul. Ronnie knew that although he had been restored in his relationship with God, he had not yet been restored to society. There was still a warrant out for his arrest for attempted murder. And although the Chicago Police had discontinued looking for Ron Bronski a long time ago, and were probably glad that he was out of town, where he could have stayed and lived without ever being caught, he knew what he had to do. He kissed his wife and children. He took a little bit of hard-earned money, and hopped on a train to Chicago, to turn himself in. He knew that he was looking at a very good possibility of jail time for up to 20 years.
Lee Strobel, still an atheist at the time, was assigned to the criminal courts building by the Chicago Tribune. He was used to hearing people who were obviously guilty trying to exploit the system, trying to find any loophole to get out of responsibility for the crime they committed. And into that scene walks Ronnie. And he tells the judge, "I did it. I’m guilty because not only did I shoot him, I was trying to kill him. But I have become a Christian since, and now I realize that what I did was wrong. I’m sorry for what I did."

Lee Strobel’s assessment was "this sacrifice drew me towards Christ." To see someone so convinced of their faith that they were willing to be faithful even when it meant up to 20 years in prison made a remarkable impact, and showed him that Ronnie’s faith was for real.