CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson The home of a former detention officer was burglarized hours after he was arrested for alleged gang activity while on duty at the county jail. Derwin Johnson, a purported member of the Bloods street gang, was arrested on September 25th for allegedly allowing jailed gang members to use his phone so they could communicate with associates outside of the Lexington Road facility. Later that night two masked and hooded males were seen inside of Johnson’s St. Andrew’

By Joe Johnson Derwin T. Johnson, 27, of St. Andrew’s Court, was arrested last week for alleged gang activity while employed as a detention officer at the county jail in Athens. An alleged member of the Bloods street gang, he reportedly allowed incarcerated gang members to use his phone to communicate with associates outside of the Lexington Road facility. Following an internal investigation by the sheriff’s office, Johnson was fired on September 25th and subsequently arreste

By Joe Johnson Jockeyvise Zimare Banks, 19, of Hickman Drive, has been charged with allegedly intimidating a witness in an Athens murder case. According to his arrest warrant. Banks intimidated a witness in the case of 22-year-old Antonio Jewell, who fell to his death last year at The View at NoDa apartment complex. He reportedly fell from an upper floor balcony while fleeing from members of the Sex, Murder, Money street gang who had pistol whipped and robbed him and another

The following was released today by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department On June 26, 2026, the ACCPD Gang Unit, with the assistance of the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force, along with ACCPD’s Strategic Response Team and K-9 Unit, executed search warrants in the 200 block of Rocksprings Court and the 100 block of Madison Avenue. As a result, officers seized seven firearms, approximately 1.5 pounds of marijuana, and $17,339 in U.S. currency. Jaylen Brown (22), T

By Joe Johnson A member of an Athens gang has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a 2024 drive-by shooting that killed a child at the Hallmark Estates mobile home park. Julian Omar Cubillos, a member of the Everybody Eats street gang last week pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for his involvement in the shooting that took the life of 3-year-old Kyron Zarco Smith. Cubillos had been in a car with three other EBE gangsters when they opened fire on a riv

By Joe Johnson Three members of the street gang known as Sex, Murder, Money have been indicted for an armed robbery earlier this year at a westside Athens apartment complex. Bobby Skii Coleman, 19, Tyshawn Matthew Chatman, 19, and Jaden Orion Wise, 18, were each charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, and criminal street gang activity, according to the indictment filed in Superior Court on Tuesday, Chatman was additionally charged with possession of a firearm during t

By Joe Johnson Kevin Adonay Castro, a ranking member of the 18th Street gang in Athens, has been sentenced to 10 straight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine. The plea was made in Superior Court last month as part of a negotiated agreement with the District Attorney’s Office. In return for pleading guilty to the trafficking charge and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, the DA’s office dismissed felony po

Elder (r) and Smith The following was released today by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office Defendants sentenced to life in prison ATHENS, GA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that Shamon Elder, Jr. and Jaquavious Smith have been convicted for the murder of 19-year-old Brynarius Smith, who was shot and killed on April 16, 2022, while sitting on his front porch at Nellie B. Homes in Athens. Both men were found guilty by an Athens-Clarke County Jury on May

By Joe Johnson A Superior Court jury in Athens has convicted a pair of street gang members for the murder of a rival in the Nellie B community four years ago. Brynarius Smith, 19, was shot to death by a trio of gunmen in April 2022 while sitting in front of his home on Cone Drive. Police identified three suspects, two of whom were arrested in April 2024: Ja ‘Quavious Smith and Shamon Elder, both affiliated with the Red Tape Gang. The victim had belonged to a rival gang. They

Jewell By Joe Johnson On the night he fell to his death from an apartment building last year Antonio Jewelll had been attending a gambling party where members of an Athens street gang tried to rob him and other attendees. After the gangsters pistol-whipped him, the 22-year-old victim either fell or jumped to his death from a balcony trying to escape his attackers. Details of that tragic night are found in recently filled search warrants for gang member social media accounts

Thomas By Joe Johnson A member of an Athens street gang has been arrested for an armed robbery last year at University Oaks apartments. Kasten Jamaal Thomas, 24, of Freeman Drive, had been indicted for the robbery in December along with his alleged accomplice, 21-year-old Jordan Xavier Gresham, who was already in custody. Thomas eluded capture until he was arrested io on March 13th. Gresham Although the armed robbery was not indicted as a gang-related crime, both defendants

By Joe Johnson The victim of an alleged murder last year at an Athens apartment complex fell to his death while escaping from gang members who were trying to rob him, according a recent court filing, On the night of November 6th, members of the Sex Money Murder street gang were attempting to steal cash at gunpoint from Antonio Jewell at The View at NoDa apartment complex, according to an indictment filed last Tuesday in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court. The 22-year-old vi

Antonio Jewell By Joe Johnson The victim of an alleged murder last year at an Athens apartment complex fell to his death while escaping from gang members who were trying to rob him, according a recent court filing, On the night of November 6th, members of the Sex Money Murder street gang were attempting to steal cash at gunpoint from Antonio Jewell at The View at NoDa apartment complex, according to an indictment filed last Tuesday in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court. The

Kyron Zarco’-Smith Released today by the Georgia Attorney General’ Office ATHENS, GA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that Desmontrez Mathis, (aka “Ten”), 24, of Athens, has been sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, plus 30 years in prison, followed by 10 years of strict probation, for the murder of three-year-old Kyron Santino Zarco Smith. A Western Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge sentenced the defendant on Feb. 6, 2026. ORIGINAL RELEA

Kyron Zarco Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office has released the following: ATHENS, GA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that Desmontrez Mathis, Jayden Brown, and Dakious Echols have been convicted for the murder of three-year-old Kyron Santino Zarco Smith, who was shot and killed in a drive-by in Athens on March 8, 2024. Smith was watching tv on his couch at Hallmark Mobile Home Park when he sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. A nine-ye

By Joe Johnson A 15-year-old student was recently arrested on gang-related charges at Cedar Shoals High School. Police said they went to the school on December 10th to serve warrants on Jamarion Shemeir Gutierrez that charged him aggravated assault, false imprisonment, terroristic threats, and criminal street gang activity. According to the warrants, the charges stem an incident last month in which gang members forced an 18-year-old male victim to strip naked at gunpoint. Tho

By Joe Johnson A pair of Athens street gang members have been indicted for an armed robbery at the University Oaks apartment complex last summer. Kasten Jammal Thomas, 24, and Jordan Xavier Gresham, 22, were each charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the indictment filed Tuesday in Superior Court. Gresham was additionally charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Although th

By Joe Johnson The Ahens-Clarke County Police Department is investigating the aggravated assault of a 15-year-old boy by armed street gang members who made him strip naked ACCPD said the gangsters were juveniles, though one adult was arrested. Ry’ Male McGuire, 18, of Coleridge Court, was charged with aggravated assault, false imprisonment, terroristic threats and acts, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and participation in criminal street gang activi

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has announced that the state's Gang Prosecution Unit has secured convictions against 16 members of the 1-8 Trey Gangster Bloods after a sweeping, multi-year investigation that prosecutors say unraveled violent crimes, drug trafficking operations, and gang recruitment efforts coordinated from both inside and outside state prisons. Among those convicted in Barrow County Superior Court is Jamar Ramsay, identified by prosecutors as statewide l

Antonio Jewell By Joe Johnson The police department on Wednesday announced that three more arrests have been made for the November 6th murder of Antonio Jewell, bringing to six the number of gangsters charged for the death of the 22-year-old Clarke Central High School graduate. Police say that Jewell was killed during an armed robbery by members of the Sex Money Murder street gang at The View at NoDa apartment complex. On Wednesday police announced the arrests of Dermetris A