A years-long Cherokee County court case involving murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking and two gangs came to a close this week when the last of 16 defendants pleaded guilty from prison in Florida, officials announced Friday.
Eric Joseph Neal, 38, was the final defendant convicted in a case that began with a man’s murder in Acworth in June 2020, according to Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit District Attorney Susan K. Treadway. Jon-David Russel Johnson, 41, of Newnan, died in the hospital after he was shot at the Hamilton Inn Hotel on Wade Green Road.
The investigation into Johnson’s killing led the Cherokee sheriff’s office to expose a drug trafficking enterprise involving two separate gangs with links to drug cartels. The gangs involved are known as Sureños, or SUR 13, and the Ghost Face Gangsters.
The events leading up to Johnson’s murder began June 13, 2020, when Neal and co-defendant Krystal Dianna Campbell sold fake methamphetamine to a woman named Kayla Leann Kenny. When Kenny realized the drugs were fake, she and Campbell set up a second meeting to replace them. At that meeting, Kenny stole the real drugs from Campbell. Johnson accompanied Kenny at each of these meetings, the DA’s office said.
In order to retaliate against Kenny and Johnson, the Sureños gang organized a crew to rob her at gunpoint, according to the DA’s office. The crew was led by 25-year-old Kevin Saucedo, of Alpharetta, who ultimately shot and killed Johnson.
Saucedo was convicted of three counts of felony murder, as well as gang and racketeering charges, at a trial in October that involved six other co-defendants. He was sentenced to life in prison plus five years.
All seven co-defendants who went to trial were convicted on racketeering charges, the DA’s office said. Individually, they were convicted on charges such as criminal attempt to commit armed robbery and violation of Georgia’s Street Gang Act. Their prison sentences ranged in length from eight years to multiple decades for those considered recidivists.
Prior to the trial, eight others entered negotiated guilty pleas with similar sentencing results.
Neal, who was in jail when Johnson was killed, entered his negotiated guilty plea Thursday, bringing the case to a close.
“While only one person pulled the trigger, every single defendant in this case was involved in murder, from those on the hit crew, to those who conducted surveillance, to those who provided the weapons. And one defendant put the entire enterprise in motion when she demanded vengeance,” Assistant District Attorney Kelly Chavis, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement.
Defendants convicted at trial:
- Jeremiah Glenn Barber, 42, of Trion, incarcerated at the time of the crimes, was convicted of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. He was sentenced to 30 years, with the first 15 in prison and the remainder on probation. Since Barber was sentenced as a recidivist offender, he will be required to serve the entire prison portion of his sentence without parole eligibility.
- Edgar Camacho-Cruz, 23, of Lawrenceville, was convicted of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, violation of the Street Gang Act (2 counts), conspiracy to commit robbery and violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced to 20 years, with the first eight in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Krystal Dianna Campbell, 34, of Gordon County, was convicted of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and violation of the RICO Act. She was sentenced to 30 years, with the first 10 in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Francisco Javier De La Cruz, 28, of Roswell, incarcerated at the time of the crimes, was convicted of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, violation of the Street Gang Act (4 counts), conspiracy to commit robbery and violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced to 30 years, with the first eight in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Jose Lara Jimenez, 33, of Atlanta, incarcerated at the time of the crimes, was convicted of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, violation of the Street Gang Act (3 counts), conspiracy to commit robbery and violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced to 50 years, with the first 20 in prison and the remainder on probation. Since Jimenez was sentenced as a recidivist offender, he will be required to serve the entire prison portion of his sentence without parole eligibility.
- Kevin Saucedo, 25, of Alpharetta, was convicted of felony murder (3 counts), violation of the Street Gang Act (9 counts), criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced to life, plus five years in prison.
- David Solano, 23, of Roswell, was convicted of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, violation of the Street Gang Act (4 counts), conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (2 counts). He was sentenced to 35 years, with the first 20 years in prison and the remainder on probation.
Defendants who entered negotiated guilty pleas:
- Jordan Emilo Arias-Espinoza, 25, of Peachtree Corners, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, violation of the Street Gang Act and violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced Feb. 10, 2023, to 20 years with the first 10 in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Josue David Escobar, 25, of Roswell, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, violation of the Street Gang Act and violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced June 14, 2023, to 20 years with the first eight in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Jose Daniel Gasca-Solis, 21, of Norcross, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a robbery, violation of the Street Gang Act and violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced Aug. 18, 2023, to 30 years with the first 20 in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Jason Brian Graves, 39, of Gainesville, pleaded guilty to violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced March 15, 2023, to 20 years with the first three in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Kala Leeann (Kenny) McClure, 40, of Paulding County, pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine and violation of the RICO Act. She was sentenced Aug. 16, 2022, to 20 years with the first 10 in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Shene Lucretia Kirk, 37, of LaFayette, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and violation of the RICO Act. She was sentenced March 17, 2023, to 20 years, with the first eight in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Katelyn Nicole Middlebrooks, 29, of LaFayette, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and violation of the RICO Act. She was sentenced Feb. 9, 2023, to 20 years, with the first eight in prison and the remainder on probation.
- Eric Joseph Neal, 38, of the Coleman Federal Correctional Institution, Florida, pleaded guilty to violation of the RICO Act during a video conference plea hearing Feb. 22, 2024. He was sentenced to serve three years in prison.
- Gilbert Alexander Rodriguez, 21, of Norcross, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, violation of the Street Gang Act and violation of the RICO Act. He was sentenced Aug. 25, 2023, to 30 years, with the first 20 in prison and the remainder on probation.
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