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Over two dozen arrested, indicted in Gwinnett County gang-related murder, other crimes

By and FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  March 13, 2023 2:53pm EDT
Lawrenceville
FOX 5 Atlanta

26 people indicted, 25 arrested in Gwinnett County RICO case

These arrests are the result of a year and a half investigation. Police believe they have members of two street gangs behind bars.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - After a year-long investigation, 26 defendants were indicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) charges in a Gwinnett County gang-related case. 25 of them were arrested, while one is at-large.

The Gwinnett County Police Department has a felony warrant out for 22-year-old Khari Kelley of Decatur. Officials say Kelley also goes by the alias 'RX Yano'.

Since Aug. 2021, multiple shootings reported along Boggs Road in Duluth led investigators to discover ongoing violence between two gangs known as ‘Bitxtz’ and '56 Gang'. From there, they began looking into ‘56 Gang’.

Officials believe members of that group shot and killed Jeremiah Pretto, an 18-year-old from Duluth, on Aug. 29, 2021. Since then, they say they have been able to link "numerous violent crimes" to the entity, including armed robberies, carjackings, aggravated assaults and more.

By Dec. 2021, the case building against the group developed into a RICO investigation. Numerous members were charged in even more violent cases. Officials say they discovered ‘56 Gang’ was also working with another gang called ‘Drug Rixh’. Members of both gangs were charged with criminal activity.

On Jan. 25, 2023, a Gwinnett County Grand Jury indicted 26 people, including the top two leaders of ‘56 Gang’ and two of the highest ranking and founding members of ‘Drug Rixh’. Last year, Fulton County’s DA indicted members of that same gang in connection with a series of break-ins to celebrities’ homes around Atlanta.

The indictment includes violations of the RICO Act, violations of the Gang Act, malice murder, felony murder, multiple counts of armed robbery, multiple counts of hijacking a motor vehicle, multiple counts of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, various firearms offenses, and more. Officials say the acts of racketeering in this indictment spanned across the Metro Atlanta area and were charged in jurisdictions as far as Carroll County.

"Any violence and criminal street gang activity that harms our citizens' and visitors' safety and quality of life is unacceptable," a spokesperson for Gwinnett County Police said. "Anyone who participates in acts of violence or criminal street gang activity will be arrested, charged, prosecuted, and held accountable for their actions."

Khari Kelley (Credit: Gwinnett County Police Department) (Supplied)

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Kelley, RX Yano, is asked to contact the department at 770-513-5300. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477).