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Multiple GBI vehicles were seen Thursday at 350 Liberty Hill Church Road in Hartwell. (Dan Hunt/The Hartwell Sun)
Eleven individuals were arrested in connection to gang-related activity Thursday following an investigation that involved at least 15 law enforcement agencies.
According to Hart County lead investigator Chris Carroll, among the arrests, at least two were made in connection to the shooting death of Mericus Scott, who was found shot to death in a retention pond on Jan. 20, 2020 in Anderson County, S.C.
Jaquavious Marquez Waller and Lendarrius Jaywon Keese, both from Hartwell, were charged by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) with conspiracy to commit a crime (murder) in connection to Scott’s death, Carroll said.
Jarvis Dione Settles was charged with aggravated assault in connection to a drive-by shooting, Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland said, though he did not identify the exact incident.
The rest of the charges were “violation of Street Gang Act”, a Georgia law which states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to cause, encourage, solicit, recruit, or coerce another to become a member or associate of a criminal street gang, to participate in a criminal street gang, or to conduct or participate in criminal gang activity.”
Cleveland said, “Most of these — there are multiple warrants on these individuals but for right now, those are the warrants they were booked in on.”
The full list of individuals and charges is as follows:
•Jarvis Dione Settles - aggravated assault
•Jaquavious Marquez Waller - conspiracy to commit a crime (murder), violation of Street Gang Act (2x)
•Larjarvis O’Neal Rucker - violation of Street Gang Act
•Quentin Devone Simpson - violation of Street Gang Act
•Deandre Zamel Watford - violation of Street Gang Act
•Trenton Shoemaker - violation of Street Gang Act
•Lendarrious Jaywon Keese - conspiracy to commit a crime (murder), violation of Street Gang Act
•Kenothy Leroy Brown - violation of Street Gang Act
•Ayana Toryelle Curry - violation of Street Gang Act
•Tyrickus Miller - violation of Street Gang Act
•Laterrell Alexander - violation of Street Gang Act
Cleveland said 10 of the individuals are being held in Hart County jail. Miller was arrested in Anderson and is expected to be extradited to Hart County.
“On Thursday, Oct. 27, law enforcement agencies executed six simultaneous search warrants in Hart and Franklin County,” a release from Cleveland said. “The search warrants were a culmination of ongoing drug, gang and violent activity investigations.”
When asked if the arrests are tied to other notable incidents in recent months, Cleveland responded, "It may or may not have something to do with some of the crimes that have made headlines in past months and years past, but that will soon be determined. But for right now, we know it has to do with weapons, drugs and gang activity.”
The agencies involved were: Hartwell Police Department, Hart County Sheriff’s Office, Lavonia Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff Office, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia State Patrol S.W.A.T., Department of Community Supervision, Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, North Georgia Multi Offenders Task Force, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Georgia Department of Corrections, Anderson County Sheriff’s Office and Northern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.