RICO STATUTE BEING USED TO PROSECUTE DRUG DEALING OPERATIONS
When most people hear the phrase “organized crime,” their mind goes straight to the mafia and New York City.
Around here, however, “organized crime” almost exclusively deals with drug dealers and drug dealing networks. The Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit currently is using Georgia’s organized crime statute, or RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), in its prosecution of two different drug dealing operations.
The first case involves 18 defendants, and the illegal substances listed in court filings are fentanyl, cocaine, hydrocodone, benzimidazole, and marijuana.
In the court filings, the defendants are listed in tiers, starting at the top with Alouise Miguel “Toby” Harris, listed as the “main seller.”
In Tier Two, meanwhile, are Tommie Lee Wilson, Jr., Akito LaJuan Brezial, Cornelius Goodman, and Bobby Dewberry, who are “associates of the Tier One defendant who facilitated delivery.”
The Tier Three defendants are listed as Quarries Damond Haynes, Anthony Williiam Baxley, Tom “Spunk” Burgess, III, Dominique Cannie, Eric Dixon, Cedeki Latredd Harris, Joseph Allen Harrison, Tyree Deshun “Turbo” Taylor, Deane Morris, Nikia Pinkston, Stacey Lynn Spires, Kadarius “Tiny” Wilson, Tony Alphonso Write, and Debra Kitchens. Those in Tier Three are described as “end users/direct purchasers.”
Harris primarily operated out of his home on Ramona Drive, according to court filings, which added that Harris would then deliver the drugs to the Tier Two defendants, including Wilson, who would sell out of his home on Fox Hill Road.
Braxley, Burgess, Cannie, Dewberry, Dixon, Harris, Harrison, Havior, Morris, Pinkson, Spires, Wilson, Wright, and Kitchens have been indicted on four counts of RICO, and none of those defendants are actually facing any direct drug charges.
Then, there’s a separate RICO investigation involving nine defendants.
In this one, the Tier One ring leader is identified as Martavious Jamale Moore of Macon.
The Tier Two defendants are listed as Quiontreze Delarius Collins, Kenall Terrill Saulsbury, Derrick Tyrone Taylor, Jermaine Maurice Oliver and Tyron Lamar Thomas.
Meanwhile, Carlos Jones, and Jessica Jones are listed in Tier Three.
The drugs listed are methamphetamine, cocaine, promethazine, and marijuana.
The RICO statute is a useful tool for district attorneys for several reasons, including the fact that RICO sentences tend to be harsher than drug possession charges.