Metro Atlanta

Gwinnett cops arrest 22 in months-long gang investigation

Gwinnett County police are looking for a man they say posed as a lawyer and scammed clients out of $36,000.
Gwinnett County police are looking for a man they say posed as a lawyer and scammed clients out of $36,000.
By Amanda C. Coyne
Feb 21, 2017

Gwinnett County police on Tuesday announced 22 arrests from a two-month-long gang investigation that also involved state and federal agencies.

The investigation, called “Operation Water Hazard,” started after a man was shot in the chest at a duplex in Lawrenceville. The man survived and is now out of the hospital, police said in the news release.

On Feb. 9, the Club Drive duplex was searched by local police and deputies, along with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Georgia Army National Guard.

Officers seized seven guns as well as cocaine, Xanax, marijuana, hydrocodone and tramadol. Thirty felony arrest warrants have been obtained and gang charges are pending for multiple of the 22 people arrested, police said.

One man arrested was reportedly found to be a sex offender who had failed to register after absconding from Michigan.

“We believe that this operation sends a clear message to would be offenders that this type of criminal activity will not be tolerated in Gwinnett County because we strongly value the safety and quality of life of our citizens,” said Police Chief Butch Ayers in a statement.

The people arrested are:

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About the Author

Amanda Coyne is a hyperlocal reporter for the AJC, covering Gwinnett County.

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