By Joe Johnson

An eight-day multi-agency operation to curb violent crime in Athens-Clarke

County and surrounding communities resulted in wanted repeat violent offenders and

documented gang members being 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's 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's Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, and included FBI, ATF, DEA, GBI, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, the Georgia State Patrol, Organized Crime and Gang Unit-Atlanta, the Oconee, Athens-Clarke and Oglethorpe County sheriff’s offices, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and the Western Judicial 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.

Those who were 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,” U.S. Attorney Peter Leary said.”

“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,” Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez said. “We are grateful for the strong work of our partners in the pursuit of creating a safer Athens-Clarke County.”

ACCPD interim Chief Jerry Saulters said, “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,"

David Gabriel, sheriff of Oglethorpe County, Athens-Clarke's western neighbor said, "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."

According to a Justice Department release, the following suspects were taken into custody on state charges as part of Operation Washout Classic City;

Demetrius Bankston, 39, Cocaine

David Bingham, 39, Probation Violation, Ghostface Gangsters gang affiliation

Bradley Blakely, 34, Probation Violation, Ghostface Gangsters affiliation

Larry Bolton, 20, Robbery, 1831 Piru gang affiliation

Eric Brunson, 45, Illegal Drugs

Melvin Bryant, 56, Probation Violation

Delvin Buckles, 35, Aggravated Assault, Gangster Disciples gang affiliation

Jarvis Clark, 22, Probation Violation/Bond Violation, Crips gang affiliation

Denzell Davis, 29, Aggravated Assault, Sex, Money, Murder affiliation (sub-set of the Bloods gang)

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 Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s

violent crime reduction efforts, is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at

reducing violent crime." the DOJ said in its release 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.

The release further stated, "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."