Georgia’s statewide Gang Prosecution Unit has secured more than 140 convictions since it began operating four years ago, Attorney General Chris Carr’s office announced Monday.
The July 13 report from Carr’s office said most of the cases involved fatal or nonfatal shootings, including one with a 3-year-old victim. The unit has investigated and prosecuted cases in 20 Georgia counties, from Athens-Clarke and Fulton to Chatham, Dougherty and Muscogee.
Lawmakers created the unit after House Bill 1134 gave the attorney general concurrent authority with local prosecutors to bring cases involving criminal gang activity. The fiscal 2023 budget provided $1.3 million for a 12-member team. It began with Chief Prosecutor Cara Convery and an Atlanta office, then expanded to Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah and Southeast Georgia.
Carr’s office highlighted convictions of 15 Outcast Motorcycle Gang members following a Bryan County investigation that recovered more than 100 firearms. It cited 16 convictions involving the 1-8 Trey Gangster Bloods, including a prison-based operation involving violent crime, drug trafficking and gang recruitment.
A recent DeKalb County case ended with Darius Scott receiving a 95-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him of gang and weapons offenses. Two co-defendants entered guilty pleas and received prison sentences.
Carr called the unit a tool for building stronger cases with local, state and federal law enforcement. Gov. Brian Kemp said the program has expanded from metro Atlanta to “nearly every corner” of Georgia.
The conviction total and other performance figures were supplied by Carr’s office. Its announcement did not include a case-by-case accounting of all 140-plus convictions, current annual spending or the number of dismissals, acquittals and pending prosecutions.
