Middle Georgia crackdown on gun violence puts nearly a dozen behind bars

Middle Georgia law enforcement and prosecutors have relaunched an initiative to identify, arrest and federally prosecute violent offenders.

Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative, has been in existence since 2001 but is being “reinvigorated," Charles Peeler, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, said at a news conference Thursday on the steps of the federal courthouse.

The initiative resulted in recent federal indictments against 11 people on gun-related and other charges, Peeler said. Ten were arrested Thursday, with one man still at-large.

"This is just the beginning .... of a concerted effort between federal, state and local law enforcement to identify those violent individuals who are causing gun crimes in Macon-Bibb," Peeler said. "To me, it's a moral issue.

"Citizens deserve to live in safe neighborhoods. But it's also an economic issue. Businesses locate in safe neighborhoods. Businesses expand in safe neighborhoods. Safe neighborhoods grow jobs," Peeler said.

Peeler had a message for violent offenders.

"If you're a felon, or if you have a domestic abuse charge, or if you're under indictment, or if you're a drug user, do not possess a gun. Do not pick up a weapon, do not engage in gun violence and do not pull the trigger, because if you do, we're coming. All of us. We're coming and we're gonna find you and we're gonna arrest you and we're going to put you away for as long as we can by whatever means we can," Peeler said.

When prosecuted federally, those convicted have no parole options under federal sentencing guidelines, Peeler noted.

Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said several of those indicted are multiple offenders.

Arthur Peralta, special agent in charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, noted that one of the tragedies of gun violence is that innocent bystanders many times are the victims. Such was the case in two weekend homicides in Macon-Bibb.

District Attorney David Cooke of the Macon Judicial Circuit noted that a new Bibb County school-juvenile justice partnership is in the works based on a successful program in Clayton County. Clayton County’s reforms are aimed at addressing the root cause for why a juvenile offender broke the law and offers diversion programs as an alternative to incarceration for low-level offenders. The idea is to reach Macon's youth before they begin committing violent crimes, Cooke said.

Here are those indicted in the sweep:

• Justin Elliott, 24, Macon, charged with possession of an unregistered firearm. If convicted, Elliott faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, a maximum $10,000 fine, or both.
  
  
• Joshua Scott, 28, of Macon, charged with felon in possession of a firearm. Scott faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, a maximum fine of $250,000, or both, if convicted.
  
  
• Nathaniel Gordy, 30, of Macon, charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted, Gordy faces a maximum sentence of five years, a maximum $250,000 fine, or both, for the first charge; a maximum sentence of 10 years, a $250,000 fine, or both, for the second charge; and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a maximum $250,000 fine, or both, for the third charge.
  
  
• Willie C. Johnson, 47, of Warner Robins, charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. If convicted, Johnson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, or both, on the first two charges; and a maximum of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both, on the third charge.
  
  
• Milton Searcy, 28, of Macon, charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. If convicted, Searcy faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, on each of the charges.
  
  
• Marcus Veal, 33, of Macon, charged with felon in possession of a firearm and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, if convicted.
  
  
• John Randall, 32, of Macon, charged with felon in possession of a firearm and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, if convicted.
  
  
• Titus Keyon Sandifer, 38, of Macon, remained at-large Thursday. He was indicted March 14 on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of a firearm with obliterated serial number. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, on the first two charges , and a maximum five years, a $250,000 fine, or both, on the third charge.
  
  
• Aasim McCoy, 38, of Macon, charged with felon in possession of a firearm, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, if convicted.
  
  
• Shanterio Wooten, 29, of Macon, charged with illegal receipt of a firearm. Wooten was sentenced under the first offender act on Aug. 24, 2015 in Bibb County Superior Court to six years probation for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, driving under the influence, misdemeanor obstruction, criminal trespass, false name, and driving with a suspended license. Wooten faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, if convicted of the current charges.
  
  
• Oscar Abram, 60, of Macon, charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone, possession with intent to distribute buprenorphine and possession of marijuana. If convicted, Abram faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, on the first charge; life, a $250,000 fine, or both, on the second charge; 20 years, a $1 million fine, or both, on the third charge ; 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both, on the fourth charge, and one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both, on the fifth charge.
  
  

Not all of the arrest and booking photographs were made available to the news media.

Those participating in this joint operation include the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office; Bibb County District Attorney’s Office; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Probation; Georgia Department of Community Supervision and Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.

Peeler held a similar news conference in Columbus on Monday.

This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Middle Georgia crackdown on gun violence puts nearly a dozen behind bars."