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Suspected gang leader arrested in Marietta

Agents arrested Tony L. Menefee, or “Brim Major,” at the Sedgefield Apartments around 6 a.m. Menefee, police said.

MARIETTA, Ga. — Police say they've made more progress in its ongoing battle with gang activity in metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia. 

On Tuesday, Marietta Police announced that it made its tenth arrest of a suspected gang member operating in the city, as part of an ongoing investigation that has spanned years and multiple agencies. 

According to the Marietta Police Department, agents arrested Tony L. Menefee, or “Brim Major,” at the Sedgefield Apartments around 6 a.m. Menefee, police said, is an identified leader of the criminal street gang known as “Dem Marietta Boys,” associated with the “Brim Bloods.”

The arrest comes during the joint investigation of the FBI's Atlanta division of the Safe Streets Gang Task Force, the Cobb County Police Department and the Marietta Police Department's Gang Abatement Program Unit. 

The Marietta Police chief took a moment to thank the efforts of all the agencies, saying, "Thanks to their hard work and dedication, this criminal gang has been disrupted and these local gang members will be held accountable for their actions.”

RELATED: Gang members sentenced in 'the most horrific death' in recent county history

Menefee, meanwhile, is being held in the federal detention holding facility in Atlanta and faces several charges, including possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a drug user. He also faces several state charges, including felony violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act (VGCSA) with the intent to distribute MDMA, possession of a stolen firearm, violation of the Criminal Street Gang Act, and possession of marijuana less than an ounce. 

Credit: Marietta Police Department

The state of Georgia has been intently cracking down on gang activity throughout the state. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says gang membership in Georgia is rising and made the case to lawmakers Monday for more money and state agents to fight them. 

RELATED: State: Crime rate down, but gang crime isn't

State officials say that while crime rates overall have dropped over the years, gang violence has not. Authorities say most of its membership is in state prisons – as is most of its gang recruitment. Yet the gang’s reach is well beyond prisons, extended with cell phones smuggled into state prisons.  

In 2018, the FBI told 11Alive News there were 50,000 gang members active in metro Atlanta.  The GBI says there are at least 71,000 across the state – members of more than 1,500 suspected gangs.

During the panel Monday, law enforcement argued that gang activity fuels much of the crime in Georgia’s most affluent county — and that a statewide task force, one that Brian Kemp promised to form while campaigning for governor, can only help curb it.

Additional gang-related legislation is expected this week.

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