A Cobb County grand jury has indicted five men for their involvement in two gang-motivated shootings in Kennesaw, authorities said Monday.
The shootings took place in November and January, and both targeted a residence in the Legacy Park neighborhood of Kennesaw, according to a statement released today by the Office of District Attorney D. Victor Reynolds.
The bullets did not hit anybody at the location.
The Kennesaw police department collaborated with the district attorney’s office and other law enforcement agencies to investigate the incidents, after which the five men were arrested, the DA’s office said.
The shootings reportedly occurred in retaliation for the departure of a member of the Piru Bloods gang, authorities said, and are believed to have been an attempt to raise some of the defendants’ statuses within the gang.
On Thursday, the 36-count indictment was handed down against Christopher Davis, 17, of Acworth; Alexander Market, 18, of Acworth; Brian McCary, 20, of Kennesaw; Timothy Reddie, 21, of Marietta; and Kristian Williams, 18, of Austell.
“This indictment is further proof that the District Attorney’s Office is committed to pursuing and prosecuting gang activity within our county,” Reynolds said in the statement.
Charges include 20 counts of Violation of Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, along with several counts of aggravated assault, criminal damage to property and firearms possession charges. McCary was the only one charged with all counts.
This indictment is the second one connected to a gang-related shooting in recent months. Johannes Lopez, 25, of Marietta, was indicted in March for shooting, at random, at red vehicles near Austell. He has since pleaded not guilty.
Both investigations, according to the DA’s office, involved victimizing non-gang members in public locations. In Lopez’s case, authorities believe red is the color of a rival gang, which possibly serves as a motive in the case.
“By using Georgia’s Street Gang Act as we have in both of these indictments, we can not only bring charges that will convey to the jury exactly what type of gang activity occurred, but we will also be able to provide them with all of the evidence about the gang and its activities, nationally and in Georgia,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Scott Carlson said in the press release.
The defendants are being held at Cobb Jail without bond. Gang convictions typically carry sentences of 10 to 15 years for each count.
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