ATLANTA — One of the largest heroin and fentanyl distributors ever prosecuted in Georgia has been sentenced to decades behind bars.
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Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that 51-year-old-old Antonio DaShawn Daniels, also known as “Freckleface Shawn” and “Pecas,” was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for leading a large-scale drug trafficking operation based in Atlanta.
Daniels was convicted by a jury in June 2025 on multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, possession with intent to distribute those drugs, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Daniels ran a drug trafficking organization from at least 2018 until his arrest in 2020. Prosecutors said the operation was supplied by the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, a powerful Mexican cartel and flooded communities across the region with deadly drugs.
Federal investigators uncovered a drug ledger showing Daniels received more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine over 18 months, paying more than $31 million for the drugs. Court-approved wiretaps later helped agents identify key members of the organization and its reach.
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The investigation came to a head on July 27, 2020, when agents arrested Daniels at an Atlanta apartment and carried out record-setting drug seizures. Inside the apartment, agents found 28 kilograms of heroin, much of it mixed with fentanyl, along with cocaine, marijuana, more than $2.1 million in cash, and 40 guns hidden throughout the apartment. Investigators also discovered drug-processing equipment, including kilo presses, scales, and a money counter.
At a second Atlanta home used as a stash house, agents seized more than 142 kilograms of heroin, nearly all of it mixed with fentanyl. At the time, officials said it was the largest heroin seizure in Georgia history.
“This drug trafficking organization devastated hundreds, if not thousands, of lives,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, who called Daniels one of the largest heroin and fentanyl distributors to ever operate in the state.
Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation also praised the collaboration that led to the takedown, noting the case dismantled a network tied to drugs, guns, and violence across the region.
Several members of Daniels’s organization have already been sentenced to federal prison. They are as follows:
Several members of Daniels’s organization have already been sentenced to federal prison. They are as follows:
- Darryl McCrary, Jr., 52, was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment on August 27, 2025. After a trial by jury, McCrary was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
- William Daniels, 41, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment on June 6, 2024. After pleading guilty, Daniels was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- Quinton Oliver, 46, was sentenced to ten years and one month of imprisonment on December 4, 2023. After pleading guilty, Oliver was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
- Michael Peeker, 57, was sentenced to a year and a half of imprisonment on October 24, 2023. After pleading guilty, Peeker was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- Lorene Reeves, 53, was sentenced to four years and nine months of imprisonment on March 16, 2023. After pleading guilty, Reeves was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
- Niteria Patterson, 37, was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment on October 4, 2022. After pleading guilty, Patterson was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Doraville Police Department and the DeKalb County Police Department.
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