One day after the FBI installed wanted billboards across metro Atlanta in an effort to find him, an alleged member of the Gangster Disciples was arrested in Clayton County.
Kevin Rowson, spokesman for the FBI Atlanta office, told Channel 2 Action News that a tip led agents to the Southside Inn on Old Dixie Highway outside Jonesboro on Wednesday morning, where Antariouse Caldwell, 25, was arrested.
He was wanted on an anti-racketeering charge of conspiracy to murder.
The FBI on Monday announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to Caldwell’s arrest.
“We don’t give up trying to find them,” Rowson said.
RELATED: Alleged Gangster Disciple wanted by FBI, considered 'extremely dangerous'
Caldwell had been eluding capture since authorities indicted him in October, attaching his name to a 2016 federal indictment charging 32 alleged Gangster Disciples, including a former DeKalb County police officer. According to the FBI, the notorious DeKalb County gang is accused in 10 deaths and 12 more attempted killings.
He was considered armed and “extremely dangerous,” FBI Special Agent Buddy Early told Channel 2.
RELATED: Feds say they've smashed the Gangster Disciples crime ring
Early said at the height of the group’s activity four years ago, the Gangster Disciples terrorized DeKalb.
"They were responsible for multiple violent acts, multiple murders,” Early said.
In 2016, Caldwell was one of three arrested in connection with a shootout at a Stone Mountain apartment complex that left a 24-year-old man dead. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, and DeKalb prosecutors agreed to drop several charges of murder, records show.
RELATED: Teen arrested on murder charge in brazen shootout near DeKalb schools
Rowson told Channel 2 that publicity surrounding the case contributed to Caldwell’s arrest. According to the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, he surrendered to authorities after deputies set up surveillance at the motel.
The motel’s manager told the news station that the room was registered under someone else’s name 19 days ago. Rowson said a woman recognized the tattoo on Caldwell’s neck and alerted authorities.
“When the sheriff’s office approached the door,” Rowson said, “he came to the door and we arrested him right there on the spot.”
About the Author
