ATHENS, Ga. — Three gang members have been convicted in a deadly shootout, that left a rival gang member dead in a popular neighborhood near the University of Georgia campus in Athens.
On Thursday, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced Anthony Brown, Glendarious Tate and X'Zydric Faust were sentenced to 35 years in prison.
The three men were convicted of voluntary manslaughter along with multiple other charges including violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act for the March 5, 2023 homicide of Ja'Vanni McDavid.
Brown, Tate and Faust are members of the Everybody Killa (EBK) gang and McDavid was a member of the rival gang Red Tape Gang (RTG).
Authorities said on March 5, 2023, McDavid and four of his friends left a party in the Five Points neighborhood. As McDavid was driving, a second vehicle approached them at a red light on Northview Drive and Pinecrest Drive.
At some point, Brown, Tate and Faust along with a fourth man jumped out and opened fire. Those in McDavid's car returned fire. During the shootout, McDavid was shot and killed.
During the investigation, authorities were able to determine McDavid was a member of RTG and the other shooters were member of EBK, and when they saw McDavid, they decided to open fire.
However, it was later determined McDavid was actually killed by a bullet from one of his own gang members in his car who shot him while returning fire during the shootout.
The State of Georgia is a Felony Murder State. It was determined because McDavid's death was "the direct result of the defendants unprovoked shooting," each of them was charged with directly causing McDavid's death.
The fourth suspect was identified as Jaden Appling, and his case is still pending.
On Thursday, Attorney General Carr praised his Gang Prosecution Unit for the hard work they're doing to make the streets of Athens safer along with local law enforcement.
"We have to recognize it, we have to be aware of it, we can’t pretend it’s not an issue," Carr said.
As 11Alive has previously reported, this gang war between the RTG, EBK and Everybody Eats (EBE) gangs has been going on since 2021. Much of it is fueled by musical connections.
The attorney general said when they formed the unit in 2022, prosecutors in Athens Clarke County alluded to the fact they didn't have a gang problem; however he said when they reached out to local law enforcement they quickly realized a gang war was underway.
Since the feud started, there have been multiple shootings and at least five homicides. Four of those victims were tied to rival gangs. The fifth victim was a child, Kyron Zarco, considered the first innocent person caught up in this gang war.
"It should never have come to a 3-year-old being murdered watching television with his little brother because there was gang retaliation going on in the community, that’s horrific," Carr said.
The attorney general said they will not stop and explained these hybrid gangs are getting smarter and recruiting younger.
"Gang members recognize if they can go out and get a fourth or fifth grader to carry drugs, guns, or money , they’re probably not going to get arrested or go to jail, these folks are ruthless and they're smart," he said.
The recruiting is even being disguised to appeal to children and be hidden from the community.
“We see recruitment in one of our cases in Barrow County where the gang decided to do kind of a neighborhood festival, brought in bouncy houses and ice cream trucks so we can’t look the other way on that," Carr said.
The Gang Prosecution Unit has a number of pending indictments and convictions. Since the unit formed in 2022, they've indicted nearly 140 people and secured 50 convictions.