First of all I want to say
good afternoon to you all.
Thank you all for coming out.
Wanna acknowledge the DA
and Fulton County sheriff.
We're here today to speak to on the
arrest of Jeffrey Williams that,
in collaboration with Fulton
County DA's office and the Fulton
County Sheriff on yesterday.
This collaboration is representative
of the partnership with the Atlanta
Police Department in the DA's
office on our our aggressiveness
and going after gang members.
The mayor.
I'm sorry the mayor as well as the
DA gave a a interview on last week
expressing their concerns about
what we were seeing in our city and
how we would go after any offender
and at the direction of the DA
taking the lead on us yesterday,
making sure that we were able to
get one of our top offenders off
of the street in partnership with
them utilizing our tactical teams,
we were able to go out to the
individual's location and arrest
him without any significant.
Consequences to him or any
other parties at the House,
and so with that I'll turn it over to the DA.
Thank you, Chief Bryant.
Today I'm joined by the Atlanta
Police Chief Chief Rodney Bryant,
as well as my sheriff and our Sheriff,
Sheriff Patrick Labott.
We are here today about a grand jury
indictment that was returned on that
included not just Jeffrey Williams,
which is of some notoriety
and media attention,
but about 28 defendants that operated
within our community between the
time period of 2012 and 2022.
It is our allegation that they
operated as a criminal St gang and
commenced to do havoc in our community.
That havoc includes crimes of violence,
crimes of thefts, crimes involving drugs.
I've made no secret about it,
nor any apology that as the
District Attorney of Fulton County,
my number one focus is targeting gangs.
And there's a reason for that.
They are committing conservatively.
75 to 80% of all of the violent crime
that we are seeing within our community,
and so they have to be rooted
out of our community.
I said just a week or two ago.
It does not matter what your notoriety is,
what your fame is.
If you come to Fulton County,
Georgia and you commit crimes,
and certainly if those crimes
are in furtherance of a street
gang that you are going to become
a target and a focus focus of
this district attorney's office.
And we are going to prosecute you
to the fullest extent of the law.
I agree with Chief Bryant.
What you see yesterday and what you
will see in the upcoming months
and years is the result of a lot
of hard work by both the Atlanta
Police Department and this office.
We are proud to bring forth this
indictment and hopefully to bring
justice to a lot of the community
who was victimized through the
course you see in this indictment.
But more importantly,
the most important thing that
we are here to do.
Is to keep this community safe
and we believe we're moving.
These 28 defendants will keep
Fulton County safer.
Yes, Sir.
The indictments got Young Thug
and a bunch of other rappers.
There was one name I was actually
expecting to see there that I
didn't and that's Jack Harlow.
Can you speak to that?
What I'll tell you is that as
large as this indictment is,
the I told my team that let's not be sexy.
Now, let's not overreach.
Let's be conservative in our approach,
which is always the approach that I take,
and in taking that approach,
28 defendants were indicted,
and they were indicted for
the crimes that I believe were
appropriate for this Rico indictment.
And so I won't speak to any
person that is not named.
Serious significant charges.
I would imagine you're going
to see some pretty serious sentencing here.
I know it's early, but can you
talk a little bit about the type
of sentences they might be facing?
We'll ask on the different charges
for the maximum penalties,
and there's obviously many
people that are looking at
life under this indictment.
You're absolutely right,
these are serious times.
They're serious allegations,
and it is my opinion that
violence in our community
deserves maximum penalties.
That in the coming weeks and
months to expect indictments,
regal charges getting charges.
We see that with fear.
But this is only focus on the YSL game.
At that time you use plural indictments.
Should we expect more indictments
against singular gains in the
coming weeks and months that we
were meeting with that book?
Yeah, and if you're already aware we
dropped an indictment not that long ago,
against, why offend it is certainly a tool
that I believe in which is using Rico.
I believe the reason that I believe
in it as a tool is it allows
juries and the communities.
To see the complete picture of a crime so
they can truly be educated and have facts
to weigh when they're making decisions.
And so if you're asking,
should you expect to see other Rico
indictments against under other
street gang organizations, absolutely.
So with the 20 some people arrested
here or name, how big is this gang?
Is that a good portion of the gang
you're operating in Atlanta and how
long were you investigating them?
If you look at the indictment,
the crimes that are alleged within it
go all the way back from 2012 to 2022.
I wouldn't say that it contains every
act of crime that YSL committed.
It is a significant gang that
operates here in Atlanta, GA and.
Not every member became a
defendant within this indictment,
but certainly in a significant amount did,
and certainly some of the leadership,
which is what's most important.
We're not going to just target the
children that are running out at the
direction of leaders and target leaders.
How much social media music
play a role in bringing?
Social media is a wonderful
tool for prosecutors and every
indictment we bring nowadays.
Obviously why I sell there the territories
that Cleveland Ave is no secret.
We've seen a ton of violence and
it's and bystanders get hit.
So you guys believe that by getting
them off the streets that people in that
neighborhood who are living in fear
can actually have some some peace. Now
I believe that people in that
neighborhood and at every corner of
Fulton County deserve to be safe,
even if it is financially lower socially,
economically. You know,
I don't think that that belief,
part of the community should be left
behind me, and the mayor and the.
Police chief have talked about the
fact that Cleveland and our community
is referred to as believeland that
it is somewhere where just violence
occurs where they're marking up
territory is blood territory.
It's horrible and you're absolutely right,
that community deserves to be
safe and we are hoping that this
helps to keep them safe.
You know these gang
members are going to be housed or
brought in at the same time? How are you
in a terrible
blot? Working to keep them
away from each other in the
gel? Especially with why you being
targeted as they came out.
Well, I won't step outside of my lane.
I am the District Attorney of Fulton County.
I am not the sheriff.
I have great confidence in the sheriff.
He knew that this was coming as
a law enforcement partner and I
believe that he is well prepared.
But you'd have to speak to
him to make sure that everyone
was in his facility is safe.
Indictment.
It's not just social media posts,
but songs that have been released
by Young Gods and others where it
goes through the lyrics as evidence
supporting the reconciliation.
To speak to the First Amendment
issues that that long.
This issue's been rolled on by the courts.
I knew that that question was coming.
I believe in the First Amendment it's one
of our most precious rights, however.
The First Amendment does not protect people
from prosecutors using it as evidence.
If it is such in this case we put it as overt
and predicate acts within the Rico count,
because we believe that's exactly what it is.
Let's allow share provides.
One more.
What's the last thing you prosecuted?
A Rico kiss? What's that APS case?
This office now since I've been
here as the District Attorney,
I think we've indicted probably
four or five records at this point.
So it's a tool I use.
First of all, good afternoon.
I believe both Madam Dia and
and Chief Brian are.
Really raising the level of
consciousness and what we're
doing within Fulton County.
And certainly they they deserve our
appreciation with respect to the
specific question as to safety and
so many people being brought in,
we are housing them accordingly
to include other facilities.
So I encourage everyone to really
download the sheriff's app if you
want to know specifically where
individuals are and we will,
you'll be accommodated according.
But like I said, dug into the indictment,
there was there was an element of it where
they were talking about Montavious career,
communicating with an inmate where the
inmate had a cell phone that was contraband.
But it was clear from the indictment
that you had been or that all of you
had been monitoring that conversation.
But it leads me to ask the question.
You're probably not going to answer.
Was that cell phone deliberately
given to an inmate so that those
conversations could be monitored?
So I did have an opportunity to
read your editorial and that
you posted in in the Buckhead.
Dog or whatever it was
from that perspective.
And so you're right,
I'm not going to answer that. To
we'll leave that to Madam DA.
How many have been arrested
and how many are large?
How many were already in custody?
You know, and I do not
have that exact number.
I can tell you approximately
10 were already in custody.
I believe as of last night we had
arrested at least three as of last night,
I expect to see more arrests
today and in the upcoming weeks,
but I'm realistic.
It's probably going to take the next
two weeks to get everyone in custody.
Maybe this is better for
the sheriff. In custody.
Short answer, Michael. He's not in custody.
Is there been arrangements for any surrender?
Is he considered a fugitive right now? Well,
that that we're making arrangements
as much as he had representatives
call me last night directly.
So we'll we'll muddle through
that piece and and let you know.
And again, download the sheriff's app.
Make sure, yes, Sir.
In light of high profile you mentioned
people being house differently but just
safety for your corrections officers
and with what kind of have you ever
reveal some of the things I've had to do
and and that's a great question
and and I appreciate you taking
the time to come visit us a couple
weeks ago to that extent based on
some of the things that we found,
we've already begun new procedures and
so the opportunity for us to maintain
safety is is paramount. Thank you
David. Being out there now aren't any of
the individuals considered fugitives?
Is there a worry that some of
them are on the rundown that
they know that they're indicted?
In this business, I'm certain that
there will be some people that won't
volunteer to come into custody on.
There is no concern that somebody
will escape being arrested.
One last question, I'm sorry.
How is it significant?
Was the arrest of Christian Eppinger with
regard to the timeline of this indictment?
Like I have been looking at it where
that arrest set off this 90 day clock.
But the reason we certainly were looking
at why I said before all of this did
that create a sort of a time situation
where you wanted to get this done.
No, there was long ago, a time sensitive.
Importance or significance to this
particular case, I was a prosecutor,
as you know, for 16 years,
four months and four days in this office,
the murder of Donovan Thomas in 2015 created.
Violence like Atlanta has never seen.
It was a goal of my predecessor
and any person or prosecutor in
this office to make sure that that
family received a justice because
everyone is entitled to justice.
It was a commitment I made from the
first day I walked into this office
very shortly after me becoming the DA.
I sat down with Mr.
Thomas's mother and I made her a
promise that her son was as valuable
as any other person within our
community and that I would put
resources on this case and that I
would do everything I could to make
sure that her son had justice and
yesterday was a proud day for me.
There wasn't any connection
between the. Killing our young Thug's
children's mother, and this this gang.
I don't believe any.
Thank you.