Jeremy’s mother Katherine Angier has spoken to a UK newspaper about her son’s predicament and his soaring popularity following his ‘hot’ mug shot.

The 60-year-old defended her son over his arrest, revealing that he had been trying to keep ‘straight’ after leaving the notorious Crips gang.

‘He got away from the gangs when he met his wife and they got married six years ago… He moved. He started a family. This is a nightmare for him. He doesn’t want any of this. He is having a hard time in jail.’

‘He told me today was the first time he woke without crying.’

‘He was trying to go straight… We just want his life to be normal. Who knows what this is going to do to his life. This could mess it all up.’

Jeremy’s wife is choosing to remain anonymous as her husband’s fame increases, but the 30-year-old felon’s mother admits that she is struggling to cope following his arrest.

‘She’s the main breadwinner… She has trained for five years to get this job. She just wants him back. She knows he’s innocent. But she’s worried this could lose her job.’

Behind bars, Jeremy is not immune to being targeted by gang members.

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‘He is going through a terrible ordeal from the guards and some of the gang members… We just want his life to be normal. Who knows what this is going to do to his life. This could mess it all up.’

‘The police just see the tattoos and think gangster… This idea that he is an active and violent gang leader is not a picture I recognise,' she said.

According to Katherine, Jeremy has tried his best to stay away from his former lifestyle, focusing on raising his young son.

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'It’s just not true. He lives in a good neighbourhood. Runs a kids’ baseball team. He was in a gang but not anymore. He was not in the Northside Crips like the police say. He was in the Northern Crips but he left the area to start again.’

Katherine claims that Jeremy has a right to keep a gun in his car to defend himself from gang members after he found it difficult to escape the fold.

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'He was not on gang related activities… All he is guilty of is having a gun in his trunk. In this area that is not unusual.’

Jeremy’s mother has set up a fundraising page.

‘We are trying to raise enough money to retain a lawyer… We are trying to get a $6,000 down payment so that he gets a fair trial and is not railroaded by the police.’

Do you think Jeremy is being treated fairly?