Gwinnett cops arrest 22 in months-long gang investigation

Gwinnett County police are looking for a man they say posed as a lawyer and scammed clients out of $36,000.

Gwinnett County police are looking for a man they say posed as a lawyer and scammed clients out of $36,000.

Gwinnett County police on Tuesday announced 22 arrests from a two-month-long gang investigation that also involved state and federal agencies.

The investigation, called “Operation Water Hazard,” started after a man was shot in the chest at a duplex in Lawrenceville. The man survived and is now out of the hospital, police said in the news release.

On Feb. 9, the Club Drive duplex was searched by local police and deputies, along with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Georgia Army National Guard.

Officers seized seven guns as well as cocaine, Xanax, marijuana, hydrocodone and tramadol. Thirty felony arrest warrants have been obtained and gang charges are pending for multiple of the 22 people arrested, police said.

One man arrested was reportedly found to be a sex offender who had failed to register after absconding from Michigan.

“We believe that this operation sends a clear message to would be offenders that this type of criminal activity will not be tolerated in Gwinnett County because we strongly value the safety and quality of life of our citizens,” said Police Chief Butch Ayers in a statement.

The people arrested are:

  • Christopher Ausmer, 25, charged with possession of more than an ounce of marijuana
  • Damion Bolden, 43, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
  • Tonquiron Borthern, 20, charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute a schedule IV drug (alprazolam)
  • Robert Carter, 22, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana
  • Yoabeit Cebrian-Gomez, 28, charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
  • Donald Corley, 48, charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
  • Valentina Espinosa, 32, charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
  • Trevon Ferdinand, 34, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute a schedule IV drug (alprazolam)
  • Dominick Fincher, 25, charged with public indecency (details weren't released)
  • Clarence Hart, 57, charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana
  • Eddie Hobbs, 42, charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, possession of cocaine and obstruction of law enforcement officer
  • Eric Lewis, 24, charged with possession of cocaine
  • Delanor Lovejoy, 43, charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
  • Diego Millan, 44, charged with possession of cocaine and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
  • Cornelius Price, 29, charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute a schedule IV drug (alprazolam)
  • Courtney Robinson, 38, charged with loitering and prowling and failure to register as a sex offender
  • Kendrick Richardson, 31, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a schedule IV drug (alprazolam), possession of a schedule IV drug (tramadol), possession of a schedule III drug (hydrocodone) and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony
  • Kimberly Richardson, 51, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a schedule IV drug (alprazolam), possession of a schedule IV drug (tramadol) and possession of a schedule III drug (hydrocodone)
  • James Smith, 34, charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
  • Aleyah Swope, 22, charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana
  • Michael Tate, 24, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute a schedule IV drug (alprazolam) and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony
  • Demetria Womack, 32, charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana

Like Gwinnett County News on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and Instagram