STAFF REPORT :::
In response to the recent increase in drive-by shootings primarily centered in the city of Griffin, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) conducted a special operation that resulted in dozens of arrests.
This operation from May 2 to May 6 followed the Sheriff’s Office’s Operation Zero Tolerance, a nine-day special detail in January 2022 that also aimed to curtail drive-by shootings in the city of Griffin. That initial detail targeted documented violent criminal street gang members and netted 36 arrests, officials said, adding that the shooting incidents were “greatly reduced.”
The most recent increase in drive-by shootings led to the second Zero Tolerance operation in May, again targeting alleged gang members and the areas they frequent in Griffin-Spalding County.
It included personnel from the SCSO Special Operations and S.T.I.N.G. units and Uniform Patrol Division, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Department of Community Supervision.
The five-day operation resulted in 27 arrests, with 17 being either confirmed criminal street gang members or their associates, authorities said.
Officials say the collaborative effort also included the execution of six search warrants that resulted in the seizure of six firearms, four of which were reported stolen, one from as far away as Delaware; drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and various pills; and stolen dirt bikes.
“We believe that the shootings that have occurred recently are related to an unsolved homicide in the city. The groups are fighting each other, and the fighting has escalated to the point we find ourselves at now. It is just a matter of time before another innocent child or adult is going to be shot or killed by some gang banging idiot who decides to shoot at a house. Whether misdemeanors or felonies, arrests were made in this operation. Unfortunately, it is against the law to no-bond a misdemeanor offender, but if they keep breaking the law when they get out, we will keep arresting them, no problem,” said Sheriff Darrell Dix. “The last time I looked at a map the city of Griffin was located in Spalding County, and the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office is going to do all we can to protect the folks who live anywhere in the county. The actions we are taking may not completely stop this from happening, but I’ll be dammed (sic) if we’re going to sit back and do nothing. This is about responding to the areas where these incidents occur and doing all we can to stop it.”
Dix said that attention has recently been focused on illegal narcotics in Spalding County, but that attention has once again been focused on local gangs.
“For the past few months, we have been focusing on the distribution of heroin, methamphetamine, and ecstasy in Spalding County. Now we have turned our attention once again to these violent gang offenders. It does not matter who you are, where you live, or the color of your skin; wrong is wrong, and right is right, no matter who you are. Every single one of us, no matter who we are, what we look like, or where we live, has to start holding the ones who are literally acting like terrorists in our neighborhoods accountable for their choices and actions without excuses. The people who live in these areas are sick of it, and since houses cannot shoot back, sooner or later the people who live in them will,” Dix said. “We want to express our gratitude to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Gang Unit, and Georgia Department of Community Supervision for teaming with us, their continued support, and assistance. We will all continue to target documented gang members of the Bloods, Crips, Ghostface Gangsters, YNKE, and Gangster Disciples, and others who commit acts of violence and intimidate people who just want to be safe in their own homes. To report gang activity or speak with a STING Investigator, please call 770.467.4210.”
The SCSO said a list of names and charges will be provided at a later date.
Publisher’s note: I apologize for being unable to provide timely news reports relative to the concerns of Griffin citizens and business owners. It is a most unfortunate situation.
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