Federally charged Gangster Disciples member arrested after being fugitive for three months

ATLANTA – Federal agents arrested the last of seven, recently indicted members and associates of a national gang —the Gangster Disciples — on federal racketeering charges stemming from a superseding indictment returned on October 25, 2018 by a federal grand jury.  The newly arrested defendant, Antarious Caldwell, had been on the run since October.  Caldwell was arrested in Clayton County on January 9, 2019 based on a tip after media attention and billboards alerted the public to Caldwell’s wanted status.  Caldwell is now being held without bond. 

The superseding indictment added seven defendants, most of whom were high-ranking Gangster Disciples leaders, who resided across the United States, and charged them with a variety of federal offenses, including conspiracy to violate the federal racketeering statute (RICO conspiracy), narcotics trafficking, fraud and other offenses.

“This defendant was on the run since October, including allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase with an infant in his car before once-again escaping,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “The FBI caught up with Caldwell, showing that trying to hide from arrest is useless.  The superseding indictment adds to what the grand jury already found against the Gangster Disciples — that members allegedly commit numerous types of crimes, including murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and large-dollar fraud.”

"The FBI would like to thank the media and the Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia (OAAG) for helping us with a publicity campaign that directly led to the arrest of Caldwell," said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "We would also like to thank the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office for assisting us in his arrest. The main objective of the FBI's Safe Streets Gang Task Force investigation is to dismantle the Gangster Disciples and we feel we have made significant progress toward that goal with an extensive series of federal indictments and arrests."

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court:  Forty-one defendants were named in the indictments. The initial indictment, which included 34 defendants, was returned by the grand jury in April 2016. Since then nine defendants have entered guilty pleas in district court. The 2016 indictment alleged that defendants named in a RICO conspiracy charge committed murder, attempted murder, robbery, extortion, arson, firearm crimes, drug trafficking, wire fraud, bank fraud, credit card fraud, prostitution and obstruction of justice and other crimes in furtherance of the Gangster Disciples enterprise and to raise funds for the gang.  It also alleged that the Gangster Disciples were organized into different positions, including board members, who were national leaders, governors, assistant governors, chief enforcers, and chief of security for each state where Gangster Disciples were active; and coordinators and leaders within each local group. To enforce discipline among Gangster Disciples and adherence to the strict rules and structure, members and associates were routinely fined, beaten, and even murdered, for failing to follow rules.

The October 2018 superseding indictment maintained all those allegations, and added allegations of murder, robbery, drugs and fraud involving the seven new defendants.   The seven newly-indicted defendants, each named in the RICO conspiracy, were:

• Roy Farrell, 59, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, held the rank of Gangster Disciples “Board Member.
   
• Mario Jackson, 38, of Jacksonville, Florida, held the rank of the Gangster Disciples “governor” of Florida and a national enforcer for the gang.
   
• Damien Madison, 32, of Denver, Colorado, was the Gangster Disciples “governor” for Colorado.
   
• Lawrence Grice, 32, of Houston, Texas, held the rank of a Gangster Disciples “governor” for Texas.
   
• Anthony Blaine, 36, of Smyrna, Georgia, was a recent Gangster Disciples “governor’ for Georgia.
   
• Antarious Caldwell, 25, of DeKalb County, Georgia, was a member of “HATE Committee,” an enforcement team for the Gangster Disciples.
   
• Condelay Abbitt, 34, of Birmingham, Alabama, was the personal assistant to a Gangster Disciples “board member.”

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  Each defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Cobb County Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, and DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim S. Dammers, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gang Section for the Northern District of Georgia, and Ryan K. Buchanan, Deputy Chief of the Violent Crime & National Security Section for the Northern District of Georgia, along with Conor Mulroe, Trial Attorney, of the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Organized Crime and Gang Section, are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.