Habersham task force involved in botched drug raid disbanded
The task force responsible for supplying information used in the May drug raid that left a toddler disfigured is being disbanded.
The news comes just as a Habersham County grand jury is hearing evidence about the Mountain Judicial Circuit Narcotics Criminal Investigation and Suppression Team’s role in the planning of the raid that left 19-month-old Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanh seriously injured after a stun grenade exploded in his playpen.
“It’s interesting that would happen now,” said Mawuli Davis, the attorney representing the Phonesavanh family.
Drug investigations and prosecutions will now fall under the domain of the Appalachian Drug Task Force, a multi-county drug enforcement agency that covers White, Banks, Lumpkin and Towns counties. The GBI is responsible for supervising and training the newly expanded task force.
Controversy has followed the disbanded Mountain NCIS team since their role in the 2009 fatal shooting of a pastor who inadvertently stepped into the middle of an undercover drug operation involving a suspected drug dealer and admitted prostitute. A grand jury cleared the task force of any wrongdoing but a civil jury awarded the pastor’s widow more than $2 million.
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About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
