Carr announces expansion of Macon’s gang enforcement unit

Attorney General Chris Carr, joined by Senate President Pro Tempore John F. Kennedy and Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Chris Hosey, announced this week the hiring of veteran prosecutor Ashton Jordan and veteran investigator Nathan Shoate as part of the upcoming expansion of the Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit. Beginning July 1, 2024, Jordan and Shoate will oversee the unit’s regional operations in Macon-Bibb County using funding provided in the state’s fiscal 2025 budget, signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in May 2024. Jordan serves as Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Griffin Circuit Court and Shoate is a Senior Investigator in the Major Crimes Unit of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. In addition to Macon, the Attorney General will expand its Gang Prosecution Unit to include new prosecutors and investigators in Columbus and southeast Georgia. The unit currently has offices in Atlanta, Albany and Augusta.

“Since the creation of our Gang Enforcement Unit nearly two years ago, we have had unprecedented success in apprehending some of the most dangerous criminals in Georgia,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “We are now expanding our efforts to include a new regional team in Macon-Bibb County so that we can work more closely and effectively with all levels of law enforcement to combat violent crime and keep Georgians safe. We are grateful to Governor Brian Kemp, President Pro Tempore John Kennedy and our partners in the General Assembly for supporting our efforts from day one and continuing to prioritize combating gang activity in our state.”

In July 2022, with the support of Governor Brian Kemp, Senate President Pro Tempore John F. Kennedy and other General Assembly leaders, Attorney General Chris Carr established Georgia’s first statewide gang enforcement unit. Over the course of nearly two years, the unit has secured more than 40 convictions and indicted nearly 140 individuals in Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Bryan, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Dougherty, Fulton, Gwinnett, Laurens, Muscogee, Richmond and Thomas counties.

“Macon’s Gang Prosecution Unit will follow the example of other cities across the state to combat criminal street gangs,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “With hundreds of arrests, we know these units are an important part of our work to keep all our communities safe. That is why we have made funding this unit in Macon a priority, and we will continue to work with partners like Attorney General Carr and the Legislature to further strengthen public safety.”

“Violent crime and gang activity threaten the safety, well-being and quality of life of all Georgians. No matter where they live, every Georgian deserves to feel safe in their community,” said Interim Senate President John F. Kennedy. “In 2022, I was honored to introduce legislation to create a gang enforcement unit in the Senate. This week, I was honored to witness the expansion of this critical task force to Macon, thanks to an allocation of nearly $1 million from the General Assembly. I extend my sincerest thanks to Governor Kemp, Lt. Governor Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr, Chairman Jon Burns, Sheriff Davis and other local leaders for their unwavering commitment to keeping the residents of Middle Georgia safe. Together, we stand united in the fight against gang violence in our state.”

“The success of the investigations in Macon, Middle Georgia and across the state was the result of our incredible local, state and federal partnerships,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. “We stand shoulder to shoulder to address gangs and their illegal activities across the state. Together, we will continue to aggressively pursue those who commit these acts of violence to keep Georgia and its citizens safe.”

One of Governor Brian Kemp’s first priorities in office is to have the GBI Gang Task Force work with local, state and federal law enforcement to address community gangs and related criminal activity, including violence and drug trafficking.

Last year, the GBI worked with Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis and Bibb County officials to secure a facility in Macon that will be the new headquarters of the Central Georgia Gang Task Force.

The Central Georgia Gang Task Force was the second multi-jurisdictional unit of its type to be established in the state. Since its creation a year ago, the GBI’s Central Georgia Gang Task Force has opened more than 200 gang-related cases, including homicides, drug distribution, aggravated assault, theft and dog fighting. These cases were prosecuted in Bibb, Baldwin, Jefferson, Laurens, Peach, Twiggs and Washington counties. During the same period, the Central Georgia Gang Task Force arrested 158 people and confiscated 72 firearms and an array of drugs worth more than $1.5 million, including cocaine, crack, methamphetamine, THC, fentanyl, prescription pills and MDMA .

The 2025 state budget, signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, includes funding for the GBI to establish a gang task force in Muscogee County as well.

New hires in the Attorney General’s gang enforcement unit

Ashton Jordan will serve as deputy attorney general for the Macon-Bibb County Gang Enforcement Division. Since 2015, Jordan has served as Senior Assistant District Attorney for the Griffin Judicial District. In this role, Jordan prosecutes all Georgia RICO Act violations and gang-related homicides in Fayette, Spalding, Upson, and Pike counties. She successfully prosecuted over 75 gang-related cases, including a 46-defendant RICO case involving national, state, and local leaders of the Rollin 20s Neighborhood Bloods following Operation Caged Doves, an investigation conducted by the GBI Gang Task Force. Jordan also successfully tried to convict 13 cases that resulted in life sentences, two of which were for gang-related homicides in addition to serious violent crimes. In 2020, she was named Assistant District Attorney of the Year for the Griffin Judicial District. Jordan earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Mercer University and a juris doctorate from Stetson University College of Law, where she graduated with honors.

Nathan Shoate will serve as an investigator with the Macon-Bibb County Gang Enforcement Division. He has since 2023, he has served as a senior investigator in the Major Crimes Unit of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. In this position, Shoate handled a number of investigative activities on major cases, including the prosecution of the criminal street gang “YFN.” Prior to joining the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, he worked for the Federal United States Marshals Service for 20 years. Shoate was promoted to senior federal air marshal in 2007, where he was delegated to protect airline passengers and crews, prevent threats to U.S. aviation, and identify persons or events known or suspected to be pose a risk of terrorism or a security threat. He completed numerous internships with the U.S. Secret Service, worked with the FBI’s Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force, and served as a Federal Air Marshal Training Instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Shoate was an officer with the Beloit Police Department in Wisconsin from 1994 to 2002 and is an active member of the Georgia Gang Investigators Association.

Both positions will be filled on July 1, 2024.