Police: Spike in crime ends after arrest of 15 alleged gang members

We first broke this story last week.

Channel 2’s Ryan Young learned Friday how police connected several gang members to the crimes.

A more than 63-count indictment details the charges the 15 alleged gang members face. It states that more than 38 victims say they were confronted by young men with guns and demands.

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Channel 2’s Amy Napier Viteri talked to one victim, who did not want to be identified, about her terrifying experience of being carjacked while leaving a charity event.

“As soon as I opened my driver-side door, I was pretty much bum rushed by three men,” she told Viteri.

Police say the men started robbing homes after their carjacking sprees.

“When they kicked in the door, it sounded like a bomb,” a victim told Channel 2 Action News.

“They hit me several times in the head with this (a rock) and as well as my hand. I was trying to protect my head,” homeowner Brian Riley said.

Some victims told Young they were able to fight back. When victim David Wilson was shot with his own gun during a hold-up, the gang members lived started to unravel.

“Once we recognized their patterns and that there association and that it was this group committing this serious of violent crimes,” Atlanta police Capt. Paul Guerrucci said.

Atlanta police’s gang task force members continue to log hours tracking the gang’s movements  but police say what has become clear to them is that this small group of men cause a large amount of crime.

They say there was a serious spike in crime rates until the suspects were all arrested and booked into the Fulton County Jail, where they remain.

“I think they’re extremely dangerous,” Riley said.

Police say there are 38 victims or more. We’re continuing to follow this story and will bring any new developments on Channel 2 Action News and here in this story.

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