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Press Release

Indictments Unsealed in Athens-Atlanta FBI Safe Streets Investigation

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Georgia
13 Suspects Arrested in Athens and 60 Firearms, Land Mine, $1 Million Seized During Course of Ongoing Investigation

ATHENS, Ga. – 13 individuals are federally charged resulting from an ongoing FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force investigation into an organization of alleged drug traffickers and violent offenders in Athens-Clarke County with ties to metro Atlanta. An indictment is only an allegation of criminal conduct, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt.

Federal search warrants were executed in Athens on Thursday, Nov. 18, resulting from federal indictments unsealed yesterday charging the following individuals:

  • Reginald Battle, Sr., 46, of Statham, Georgia, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine;
     
  • Quintavious Clark aka Tre Clark, 28, of Athens, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and four counts of distribution of cocaine base and cocaine;
     
  • TaMichael Darden aka T-Mike, 40, of Athens, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, three counts of distribution of cocaine base and one count of distribution of cocaine;
     
  • Mohamed Elnour, 33, of Atlanta, is charged with one count each of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon;
     
  • Daquan Faust aka Cocaine, 29, of Athens, is charged with one count each of illegal possession of a machine gun and one count of possession of a stolen firearm;
     
  • Marqueze Johnson, 25, of Athens, is charged with one count of distribution of cocaine base;
     
  • Tevondous Kinney, 29, of Athens, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of distribution of cocaine base;
     
  • Corey Mitchell aka Murda, 37, of Athens, is charged with one count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and distribution of cocaine;
     
  • Hendrex Nicely aka Hen, 32, of Athens, is charged with two counts of distribution of heroin;
     
  • Danny Sims aka Danny Boy, 57, of Hull, Georgia, is charged with one count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base;
     
  • Miller Sutton, 64, of Winder, Georgia, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine;
     
  • Darren Thrasher, 45, of Athens, is charged with three counts of distribution of cocaine base; and,
     
  • Gregory Wade, Sr., 53, of Athens, is charged with one count of distribution of crack cocaine and cocaine.
     

Initial appearances for the defendants occurred on Thursday, Nov. 18., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles H. Weigle. Their detention hearings were continued until Monday, Nov. 22, in Macon, Georgia, federal court.

Four firearms, 6.9 pounds of marijuana, three ounces of cocaine, 2.3 ounces of heroin and $6,491 were seized during yesterday’s operation in Athens, bringing the total amount of items seized during the course of the investigation in Athens and metro Atlanta to the following (street value estimates of illegal drugs listed):  

  • 60 firearms
  • $1,036,172
  • a land mine
  • 13.22 kilograms of powder cocaine (Street Value: $412,000)
  • 1.32 kilograms of fentanyl (Street Value: $150,000)
  • 12.57 lbs. of crystal methamphetamine (Street Value: $84,000)
  • 1.39 kilos of crack cocaine (Street Value: $71,750)
  • 25.35 lbs. of marijuana (Street Value: $62,500)
  • 11.25 ounces of heroin (Street Value: $28,125)
  • 198 dosages of controlled pharmaceuticals (Street Value: ($2,970)
  • 113 THC cartridges (Street Value: $2,260)
  • 81 packets of THC edibles (Street Value: $405)

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. 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.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Athens Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force, comprised of members from the FBI, the GBI Gang Unit, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD), the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) and the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) in partnership with the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force, the ACCPD Gang Unit, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, the Georgia Department of Community Supervision (GDOC) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. In addition, the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Department of Revenue, the Atlanta Police Department, the Brookhaven Police Department, the DeKalb County Police Department, the Gwinnett County Police Department, the Henry County Police Department, the South Fulton Police Department, the Barrow County Sheriff's Office, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office and the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office are assisting in this investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison is prosecuting the case.

Updated November 23, 2021

Topics
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Drug Trafficking