COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) - The Columbus Police Department held a press conference Monday morning regarding Operation Enough is Enough, a sting operation targeting violent offenses.
Local leaders such as Mayor Skip Henderson, Sheriff Greg Countryman, Acting District Attorney Sheneka Terry and City Manager Isaiah Hugely were present during the press conference. Police Chief Freddy Blackmon went over several events that took place during October.
The Crime Suppression Unit conducted an operation called Enough is Enough. The operation focused on arresting violent criminal offenders. During the press conference, Blackmon said the operation was successful in arresting 39 individuals, clearing 113 warrants. The operation was also successful in collecting eight firearms over 45 grams of cocaine, 400 grams of marijuana, and 1,000 pills.
Six of the thirty-nine individuals were murder suspects:
Zajaliq Riley
Antoine Bell
Clay Pugh
Detric Bush
Rodderick Glanton (2 counts)
Tanyanykia Roberts
Blackmon said it's time to take necessary action.
"We want everyone to know that enough is enough, anyone desiring to take part in violent criminal behavior will be held accountable. While we have noticed an increase in violent criminal incidents taking place, as a community we can address this together. Our plan to address crime in our community is twofold, number one we're going to continue to target violent criminal offenders and we're going to patrol hotspot crime locations and we're going to continue to engage our community," Blackmon said.
Blackmon wants to continue building trust with those in the community.
"We want to hear the concerns of our citizens and be able to communicate with them. I am grateful that our department has established several partnerships in our community. We've partnered with neighborhood watch groups and taken part in participating in community meetings that are held on a monthly basis. We've partnered with our local pastors, churches, and non-profit organizations," Blackmon said.
Blackmon continued by saying, " we need all hands on deck to reduce crime in the community," leading Countryman to say the Sheriff's Department has established its own efforts to combat crime within the community.
"We want to eradicate crime in our city, especially gun violence. I want to send a message this morning to those that think they've gotten away with crime in our community, in our county. As Sheriff I just want you to know for those that are involved in gangs, gun violence, we're going to track you down. We're going to find out where you are because we pretty much know who you are, it's just a matter of time before we find you and we bring you to the county jail," Countryman said.
According to Countryman, the Sheriff's Department has knocked on over 1,300 doors in the community in search of 1,300 felons, resulting in over 700 arrests and seizing over 100 weapons.
"Some of these charges that we are going to try and go after federally to prosecute you at the federal level because enough is enough. To those that are harboring these fugitives, these cowards that are out here in the community," Countryman said.
After Countryman’s statement, Acting District Attorney Sheneka Terry said local law enforcement has done their job and now it's time for the DA's office to do its job.
"I want to thank our law enforcement leaders for the awesome work that they've done and these investigations, and I just want to say that we could not do our job at the DA's office without you all. The Police Department and Sherriff's office have done their job, and now it's the DA's office time to do our job. To ensure that that all of these individuals that have been arrested are processed through the system, and that justice is not only brought swiftly but with integrity," Terry said.
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