Several men with criminal histories now face federal charges following a joint operation aimed at curbing gun violence in Atlanta.
The recent federal indictments are the result of an initiative launched in the summer of 2020 targeting those “responsible for driving violence” in the city, the Department of Justice said Tuesday in a news release. The six recently indicted men — all of whom have previous felony convictions — are charged with illegally possessing firearms as felons, officials said.
The crackdown, dubbed “Operation Phoenix,” was launched in August 2020 as a collaboration between federal law enforcement agencies, local police and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. Investigators targeted “repeat violent offenders” amid Atlanta’s recent crime surge, according to Kurt Erskine, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
“These partnerships helped to ensure that the individuals federally charged as part of this operation will remain in custody pending trial and be prevented from continuing to pose a danger to members of our community,” Erskine said Tuesday afternoon in a statement.
Among those charged is Deuntrae Colley, 38, who was wanted in connection with a July 11 shooting that left one man injured along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, officials said. Prosecutors said he attempted to run from police during his arrest last month. Authorities said they found a .22-caliber revolver inside his backpack and a spent shell casing.
Dexter Hancock, 35, was arrested in connection with a July road-rage incident in which he’s accused of pointing a loaded gun at a driver and their family in the parking lot of Lenox Square. According to prosecutors, Hancock nearly collided with the other vehicle before pulling out a gun and aiming it at the family. Hancock was already on supervised release on a federal fraud charge and had previously been convicted of burglary and possessing a weapon during the commission of a crime, authorities said.
In August, 22-year-old Daeqwan Jackson of Lithonia accidentally shot himself with a loaded .45-caliber Glock that he was carrying, federal prosecutors said. Atlanta police and Georgia State Patrol troopers responded to the scene along Cleveland Avenue in south Atlanta and found the man with at least one gunshot wound. During their investigation, police discovered Jackson had been convicted of two counts of robbery by snatching in 2019 and wasn’t allowed to possess guns.
Another suspect, 36-year-old Donald Johnson, is accused of beating a woman and pointing a gun at her at an Atlanta apartment complex July 22. According to police, the woman had injuries to her eye and a broken jaw when officers arrived at the building on Center Street. Prosecutors said the woman told police Johnson hit her in the face before pointing a gun at her and threatening to kill her. When Atlanta police arrested Johnson, they found a Smith and Wesson revolver hidden in the woods near the apartment where the attack allegedly occurred. Johnson, who has an Atlanta address, had previously been convicted of nine felonies and a misdemeanor domestic violence offense, officials said.
In August, a federal grand jury indicted him on one count of possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony offense.
“Getting criminals off of our streets is a priority for the Atlanta Police Department,” police Chief Rodney Bryant said in a statement. “Just knowing that these repeat offenders will be held accountable for their actions sends a strong message that we will find you and we will not tolerate criminal activity in our city.”
One man, 26-year-old Drawshawn Mitchell, also faces federal drug trafficking charges after officials discovered cocaine and heroin during his May arrest, authorities said. Police encountered Mitchell on May 12 while patrolling a neighborhood in southeast Atlanta, according to the news release. Mitchell, who already had a warrant charging him with committing a burglary while on probation, allegedly had a loaded handgun and an extended magazine inside his vehicle when officers searched the car. He was indicted last month on federal charges that include drug trafficking, possessing a firearm in furtherance of that offense, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
The sixth person charged in the recent crackdown tried to hide his gun near an ATM in an Atlanta supermarket after being approached by a police officer last November, authorities said. Investigators said Antonio Cooper, 35, had been convicted months earlier of charges that included aggravated battery, aggravated assault and drug trafficking offenses. A federal grand jury indicted the Atlanta man two weeks ago on one count of possessing a gun as a convicted felon.
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