News

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Federal authorities and law enforcement today announced the sweeping takedown of the Zohannon Gang and its associates in Columbus, the result of Operation Sweet Silence, a campaign targeting violent crime and drug trafficking tied to criminal organizations, including Mexican cartels, in the region.

MACON, Ga. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced today that it has come to a resolution with Askar Management Group, QSR Group Holdings, LLC, and QSR Southern Group, LLC (collectively, QSR, the owners and operators of Church’s Chicken #749 at 1801 Watson Boulevard, Warner Robins, Georgia), involving an allegation that it improperly excluded an individual with a disability accompanied by a service animal.

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Fernando Brown, also known as “Nino,” 33 of Columbus, a repeat offender, was convicted today by a federal jury of distributing methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana while armed. A total of 30 defendants has now either been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty to drug charges resulting from Operation Sweet Silence, a multi-agency law enforcement effort in and around Columbus as part of Operation Take Back America, the Department of Justice’s nationwide effort cracking down on criminal organizations and cartels.

ALBANY, Ga. – A South Georgia man with a prior conviction for rape and kidnapping who was wanted for a north Florida bank robbery and captured in Georgia after attempting to run from deputies while carrying a firearm is facing a maximum of 15 years in prison on a federal gun charge. Jonathan Lamar Wooten, aka “Chico,” 53, of Thomasville, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon before Senior U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands on April 9. Wooten faces a maximum of 15 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

ALBANY, Ga. – A South Georgia resident with three prior felony convictions for drug distribution is facing up to life in prison after he pointed a loaded gun at a Southwest Georgia police officer as he attempted to flee arrest. Quentin Hall, 30, of Valdosta, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime before Senior U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands on April 8, 2026. Hall faces a maximum imprisonment of life. A sentencing date will be determined by the Court. There is no

MACON, Ga. – A Jamaican man who illegally reentered the U.S. after a federal conviction and stole another’s identity to remain in the country now faces up to ten years in prison following a U.S. Department of State investigation. Roan Lynch, 54, a citizen of Jamaica and a resident of Forsyth, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement in an application for a passport, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of illegal reentry before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on April 6. Lynch faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for the false statement in

MACON, Ga. – A South Carolina Man who admitted in federal court today that he maliciously set fire to the Byron United Methodist Church in 2024 is facing up to 20 years in prison for his crime.

Luke Andrew Westefeld, 34, of North Augusta, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to one count of malicious use of fire before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on April 6. Westefeld faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date will be determined by the Court. There is no parole in the federal system.

MACON, Ga. – A key member of an armed drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing kilograms of cocaine in the Macon community was sentenced to serve more than 20 years in prison resulting from Operation Mobile Order, a collaborative multi-agency investigation led by FBI and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office. Antonyo Daniels, aka “Tony,” 31, of Warner Robins, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 250 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on April 2, after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to

ALBANY, Ga. – A Tifton, Georgia, man who sold heroin mixed with fentanyl from an outdoor table—maintaining a burn barrel to quickly destroy drugs if needed and offering discounts or trades for wood pallets to keep the fire burning—has been sentenced to prison for armed fentanyl distribution. Kabryen Sharrod Ross, aka “Juice,” 33, of Tifton, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release by Senior U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands on April 2, after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl and one count of possession

MACON, Ga. – The final of 20 defendants, a Georgia man described as the second-in-command to a Mexican national leading an illegal drug pipeline in the state, was sentenced to prison for supplying kilograms of methamphetamine and heroin resulting from a multi-agency investigation into a drug trafficking ring centered in Milledgeville, Georgia.

ATHENS, Ga. – Two men are facing a maximum of life in prison for trafficking fentanyl and a new synthetic designer drug from China into Georgia, one of whom was an inmate directing the operation from behind bars.

ATLANTA, Ga. – The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into an agreement with 42 Georgia state licensing boards (“Georgia Boards”) to resolve allegations that the Georgia Boards failed to recognize the out-of-state professional licenses of servicemembers and their spouses, in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”).