ATHENS, Ga. –An eight-day multi-agency operation to curb violent crime in the Athens-Clarke County and surrounding communities resulted in wanted repeat violent offenders and documented gang members taken into custody on various state charges. These cases are currently under federal investigation and no federal charges have been filed at this time.
“Operation Washout Classic City” took place between May 18 – 25, amassing federal, state and local law enforcement resources to arrest the most wanted individuals in the area, including repeat violent offenders and gang members, who had eluded police. The operation was led by the U.S. Marshals Service-Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force (USMS SERFTF), and included FBI, ATF, DEA, GBI, Georgia Department of Community Supervision (DCS), Georgia State Patrol (GPS), Organized Crime and Gang Unit-Atlanta (OCAG), Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office, Athens-Clarke County Police Department and Western Circuit District Attorney’s Office with support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
Arrest and search warrants executed during this time period resulted in 49 arrests; 13 are documented gang members of Ghostface Gangsters, Gangster Disciples, Bloods and 1831 Piru. The individuals taken into custody as part of the operation are facing various state charges including probation violations for violent crimes, aggravated assault, rape and robbery. During the operation, law enforcement seized five firearms and a quantity of illegal drugs.
“Reducing violent crime in the Athens-Clarke County region and in every community across the Middle District of Georgia is the highest priority,” said U.S. Attorney Peter Leary. “Partnering directly with community stakeholders and law enforcement through Project Safe Neighborhoods, the U.S. Attorney’s Office aims to direct our resources toward addressing the most significant drivers of violent crime in each community and taking action.”
“Operation Washout Classic City is a great example of federal, state and local law enforcement partners working together to make a significant impact on reducing violent crime in our communities,” said USMS-SERFTF Deputy Commander John Edgar.
“The success of Operation Washout Classic City and initiatives like Project Safe Neighborhoods speak directly to what can be accomplished through collaboration and shared goals. The goal of directing resources to the most violent offenders in our community as a means to reducing violent crime is a strategy we can all unify behind,” stated District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez. “We are grateful for the strong work of our partners in the pursuit of creating a safer Athens-Clarke County.”
“The Athens-Clarke County community will not tolerate violent crime and criminal street gangs. The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is committed to protecting the citizens of Athens-Clarke County and Operation Washout Classic City is an example of what we can achieve when federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies work collaboratively, with a unified goal of removing violent, repeat offenders from our community,” said ACCPD Interim Chief of Police Jerry Saulters. “ACCPD appreciates the hard work of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners and the support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.”
“Crime in our area is a regional problem. Through efforts like this one, we want to ensure those that engage in the criminal lifestyle do not find a comfortable place to stay in Oglethorpe County,” said Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabrielle.
The following individuals were taken into custody on state charges as part of Operation Washout Classic City; those who are documented street gang members are noted below:
Demetrius Bankston, 39, Cocaine
David Bingham, 39, Probation Violation, Ghostface Gangsters affiliation
Bradley Blakely, 34, Probation Violation, Ghostface Gangsters affiliation
Larry Bolton, 20, Robbery, 1831 Piru affiliation
Eric Brunson, 45, Illegal Drugs
Melvin Bryant, 56, Probation Violation
Delvin Buckles, 35, Aggravated Assault, Gangster Disciples affiliation
Jarvis Clark, 22, Probation Violation/Bond Violation, Crips affiliation
Denzell Davis, 29, Aggravated Assault, Sex, Money, Murder affiliation (sub-set of Bloods)
Reginald Dillard, 61, Probation Violation
Trellis Drake, 36, Probation Violation, Gangster Disciples affiliation
Domeeka Dunn, 33, Obstruction
Reco Echols, 45, Probation Violation, Gangster Disciples affiliation
Rodney Edwards, 34, Bond Violation, Gangster Disciples affiliation
Dominque Faust, 33, Probation Violation
Alden Fleming, 31, Failure to Appear
Jeffery Foote, 58, Burglary
Brandy Franklin, 27, Cocaine
Jason Jackson, 36, Rape
Andrew Jackson, 41, Probation Violation, Bloods affiliation
David Jones, 39, Probation Violation
Joshua Kell, 30, Probation Violation, Ghostface Gangsters affiliation
Carey Kimbro, 52, Probation Violation
Roy Dale Kirk , 56, Illegal Drugs
Michael Kiser, 35, Probation Violation, Gangster Disciples affiliation
Quincy Lassiter, 20, Probation Violation
Darious Latimore, 24, Probation Violation
Andrew Lattimore, 59, Probation Violation
Terrance McGuire, 31, Parole Violation
Gregory McIntosh, 65, Aggravated Assault
Joshua Pappe, 29, Probation Violation
Jamie Parker, 37, Probation Violation
Keyron Pass, 29, Aggravated Assault
Bryan Prather, 44, Stalking
Yobani Rico, 31, Methamphetamine
Justin Rogers, 30, Methamphetamine, Ghostface Gangsters affiliation
Shanika Rucker, 31, Aggravated Assault
Johnnty Saylors, 46, Parole Violation
Antoine Stewart, 30, Aggravated Assault
Amber Tatum, 34, Probation Violation
Jerilyn Titus, 44, Methamphetamine
Steven Walls, 40, Illegal Drugs
Derrion Watson, 20, Probation Violation
Rufus Whitfield, 59, Failure to Appear
Steven Williams, 33, Aggravated Assault
Reavco Woodall, 37, Violation Probation
Jose Yanez, 22, Sodomy
In addition, two juveniles were taken into custody for armed robbery charges.
Operation Washout Classic City was conducted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
In addition, Operation Washout Classic City is a response to The Department of Justice’s Comprehensive Violent Crime Reduction Strategy announced on May 26, 2021. The comprehensive strategy supports local communities in preventing, investigating and prosecuting gun violence and other violent crime—and requires U.S. Attorneys’ offices to work with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement, as well as the communities they serve, to address the most significant drivers of violence in their districts.
Criminal charges are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.