FBI Task Force Makes Six Arrests After Major Drug Investigation
GAINESVILLE, GA—The FBI’s North Georgia Major Offender Task Force arrested six individuals and are looking for two more in connection with a methamphetamine distribution network that sold large amounts of the drug throughout north east Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida.
The arrests were made on Thursday, May 9, 2019, when federal warrants were served in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Cherokee, and Pickens counties.
The following individuals were arrested on federal complaints for conspiracy to distribute methamphtamine:
Teofilo Santana-Medrano, AKA Carlos Santana, 28, of Lawrenceville, Georgia
Lesli Alvarado Arroyo, 27, of Lawrenceville, Georgia
Mitchell Lingerfelt, 44, of Ball Ground, Georgia
Michael Davis, 56, of Canton, Georgia
Maria Maldonado, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia
Salome Urieta-Jamies, 38, of Marietta, Georgia
The following individuals are still at large:
Javier Eras, 22, of Atlanta, Georgia
Tim Barnes, 52, of Jasper, Georgia
In November of 2017, the North Georgia Major Offender Task Force began investigating the case, which was initiated by the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office. Through cooperation with assisting agencies, the task force identified a drug trafficking network that Teofilo Santana-Medrano was using to traffic and sell kilos of methamphetamine in Metro Atlanta, the North Georgia mountains, North Carolina, and Florida.
On May 9, 2019, the task force with the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Georgia, the GBI’s Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Corrections, Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police Department, Zell Miller Task Force, and Homeland Security executed nine search warrants and 10 arrest warrants throughout Atlanta and North Georgia.
We are asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of Javier Eras and Tim Barnes to call the FBI Atlanta Field Office at 770-216-3000 or submit a tip online at www.tips.gbi.gov.