‘He’s what’s wrong with Macon.’ Prosecutor asks judge to keep ‘gang leader’ locked up
To hear the police and prosecutors tell it, Johntellis Mathis is “a dangerous man,” a Macon gang leader of ill repute.
The charges against him in two cases — a double shooting in 2017 and accusations outlined in a 90-page racketeering and gang-crime indictment in 2019 related to transgressions he allegedly committed while behind bars awaiting trial — fill a computer screen.
According to the authorities, Mathis, 33, is the self-avowed leader of the Blacc Team, a supposed local offshoot of the better-known Gangster Disciples. He has been in the Bibb County jail since his arrest in September 2017 on aggravated assault and gang-crime charges in the shooting and wounding of two men at the Waffle House at the corner of Pio Nono Avenue and Rocky Creek Road.
The coronavirus pandemic has been a factor in delaying his cases. But so has the sheer volume and complexity of the alleged evidence against him — a full digital terabyte, much of it involving some 13,000 wiretapped and recorded telephone calls. Mathis and his co-defendants are accused of using smuggled cellphones in jail to further an alleged criminal enterprise, orchestrating drug deals and intimidating witnesses.
Mathis has been represented by four different lawyers. At least one has asked off the cases due to the massive amount of discovery evidence that must be waded through.
Four years in jail
At a hearing late last week, Mathis’ attorney in the Waffle House case, Lars Anderson, urged Judge Jeffery O. Monroe to set a bond for Mathis.
“He is approaching four years in jail with no trial,” Anderson said, later adding, “that’s a long time to spend waiting for trial.”
Prosecutor Jason Knowles acknowledged the wait but also noted that the state is now and had been prepared to proceed to trial two months before the COVID-19 shutdown.
Knowles, in arguing against a bond for Mathis, told the judge, “This is a dangerous man. He has continued to flout the law while inside (the county jail).”
Knowles went on to mention the racketeering case against Mathis, which investigators dubbed Operation Blueprint and landed 32 people in jail.
“Mr. Mathis is the guy,” Knowles said. “He is the head of the Gangster Disciples’ Blacc Team division here in Macon. He is charged in every single one of the 98 counts. He’s part of every single scheme. ... That includes three counts of RICO, contraband inside the jail, 35 counts of gang violations, seven counts of influencing a witness, multiple counts of attempted murder of witnesses in official proceedings, multiple counts of false statements by witnesses and attempting to continue to sell narcotics while (in jail).”
Knowles said of Mathis, “He’s what’s wrong with Macon. If allowed to be out on bond, the streets of Macon will be even more unsafe than what they are right now.”
Bond denied
The judge denied bond for Mathis but also said the court was “sensitive” to how long Mathis has awaited trial in the Waffle House shooting, and that despite the pandemic delay “that’s too long.” Monroe said efforts should be made to have Mathis’ case moved to the top of the trial calendar.
Anderson, Mathis’ lawyer, was later asked by a Telegraph reporter about the state’s characterization of Mathis as the poster child for what ails Macon.
“I will be surprised if Johntellis is the problem with Macon,” Anderson said. “We will see. But I view that as quite a stretch. ... We sit here in a county that has so many problems. ... But please don’t tell me any one person is the problem.”