Dual FBI raids Thursday of motorcycle clubs in southwest Atlanta and Buford netted 23 arrests on drug and weapons charges, federal prosecutors said.
Members of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club and its affiliates, Hoodlums Motorcycle Club , Southern Knights and Black Pistons, were charged in federal court with selling cocaine and methamphetamines, illegal possession of guns and, for several suspects, trying to make bombs.
Federal agents were seen just after dawn crashing down the gates of the Outlaw club in the 3900 block of Campbellton Road, witnesses said. Authorities also raided a club on the 2500 block of South Waterworks Drive in Buford.
The Thursday take-down was the culmination of a two-year FBI investigation, federal officials said.
"The charges unsealed today allege that these motorcycle club members engaged in substantial drug trafficking and weapons offenses," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement. "This case is a big step forward in making sure that these groups don't threaten the safety of our North Georgia communities."
Among those arrested were George Norwood of Cumming and Raymond Sellers of Dawsonville. Norwood, 48, and Sellers, 65, were accused of trying to make a bomb, federal prosecutors said.
Sellers gave an undercover agent a list of ingredients to get to build a bomb that Norwood described was "strong enough to destroy a house," according to court officials.
Larry McDaniel, president of the Outlaw's Silver Region comprising Georgia and Alabama, and Milledgeville's Howard Brown, the Georgia president of the Black Pistons, were both arrested on federal obstruction charges for telling bike club members throughout Georgia about an FBI informant at the Cleveland, Ga., chapter, according to federal indictments.
Others indicted include Howard Haney, 41, of Alpharetta, charged with methamphetamine conspiracy and distribution, and Davey Honeycutt, 41, of Gainesville, charged with cocaine conspiracy and possession as well as being a convicted felon in possession of a gun.
Phillip Alexander, 49, and Benny Leverett, 46, both of Buford, were charged with aiding and abetting the possession of either cocaine or methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and Reynol Castronjon, 21, of Gainesville was charged with conspiracy and methamphetamine possession.
Other men arrested and charged in connection with Thursday's sting, including one man arrested in Fort Worth, Texas, were from outside the eight-county Metro Atlanta region.
About the Author
