Crackdown on street gang activity in Athens continues with three more arrests

By Joe Johnson

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department has announced the recent arrests of three known gang members on drug and weapons charges.

Assisted by ACCPD’s Gang Unit, the FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force, police have arrested a total of 13 area street gang members over the past several weeks.

“ACCPD is committed to protecting the community and will continue to focus our efforts on violent criminal street gangs,” police said in a media release.

The gang members most recently to be arrested were identified by police as Kaderrick Atkinson, 24, of Coleridge Court, Taveon Rashawn Stevens, 24, of Burkland Lane and Jakwon Mapp, 23, of Nicholson.

Stevens is accused of trafficking heroin, cocaine, Xanax and ecstasy. He was arrested while out on bond for drug and weapon possession charges.

Atkinson faces obstruction charges and Mapp is accused of violating pretrial release conditions. Atkinson was out on bond from a previous arrest for aggravated assault, battery and child cruelty.

Mapp is facing trial in federal court for three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to police.

Stevens and Atkinson were being held at the county jail in lieu of bond Thursday, and federal authorities took custody of Mapp.