Gwinnett County Police say 49 gang members have been arrested in connection with an 8-month-long investigation into two loosely affiliated violent street gangs that have committed a series of robberies, thefts, burglaries and one murder.
Much of the "9th Ward" gang's activities were concentrated in the Bradford Gwinnett apartment complex in unincorporated Norcross, a community that the gangsters had turned into "a veritable rat's nest of thieves," said Scott Sweetow, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the ATF.
The gang members also claimed at various times to be affiliated the larger "Ganster Disciples" organization, a street gang that Sweetow said started in Chicago. Investigators said the gang is often identified by symbols such as the black bandana, the six-pointed star and the pitchfork.
Working with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, police observed and documented numerous instances where two gangs were working together in committing burglaries and drug sales. The investigation culminated in a Dec. 14 coordinated warrant sweep in which authorities served 109 felony and 10 misdemeanor arrest warrants and arrested 31 individuals.
The suspects are charged in connection with 16 burglaries and may be responsible in up to 50 more, according to Gwinnett County Police Chief Charles Walters.
Seventeen of the gang members were jailed on drug-related charges.
One of the suspected gang members, Daryl Fuller, 20, was shot and killed April 6 when he drew a firearm on police who were approaching him and two other men near the intersection of Singleton Road and Sarah Court in unincorporated Norcross.
Another two suspects -- Brandon Mosely and Hunter Davis -- are charged with murder and aggravated assault in connection with the June 28 shooting of Angelo Larocca at Paxton Apartments in unincorporated Lilburn. .
The investigation started small in February with an anonymous tip from someone in the apartment complex, Walters said.
Gwinnett Police Investigator James Evans said that the gangsters were able to monitor the coming and going of apartment complex visitors because there was only one unsecured entrance to the complex.
"It was common knowledge that if police showed up, they would tell [the residents] ‘if you ever do that again we're going to rob your house, we're going to shoot you,'" Evans said. "They just kept the community in fear."
Detectives were able to use social media to track the gang's activities because the members "like to brag about what they do," said Sweetow. He said some of the affiliates had moved to the Atlanta area from the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina.
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