Atlanta Field Division
Photo used under Creative Commons from Wikimedia user David Cole
Welcome to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Atlanta Field Division. Our Division is responsible for ATF criminal enforcement and industry regulatory activities in the State of Georgia. Our dedicated work force is comprised of special agents, investigators, auditors, technicians and support staff.
ATF is committed to reducing violent crime in our neighborhoods. ATF’s Atlanta Field Division special agents combat firearms violence by focusing their investigative efforts on armed violent offenders, career criminals, gun traffickers and gangs. We also work in partnership with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout Georgia to accomplish this mission.
Explosives and arson enforcement is an integral part of ATF’s overall violent crime reduction strategy. ATF’s Atlanta Field Division special agents combat arson and explosives-related crimes by conducting independent investigations and by working in partnership with local and state fire investigators and police bomb squads.
ATF also has the duty of regulating the firearms and explosives industries. Our industry operations investigators work to ensure that all firearms and explosives are stored, handled and sold in a safe manner according to law.
In addition to our Field Division, the Atlanta-metro area is also home to one of ATF’s three forensic science laboratories and one of ATF’s three regional Explosives Technology Branch offices.
We encourage all residents to get involved and assist us in our goal of reducing crime in our communities. Give us a call and let us know what we can do for you. Our phone number is (404) 417-2600.
Scott D. Sweetow
Division Management Team
- Scott D. Sweetow
- Special Agent In Charge (SAC)
- Jeffrey A. Pearce
- Assistant Special Agent In Charge (ASAC)
- Vacant
- Assistant Special Agent In Charge (ASAC)
- G. Jeanette Compton
- Director of Industry Operations (DIO)
- Richard T. Coes
- Public Information Officer (PIO)
Division Contact Information
Receive Atlanta Press Release Updates
Budget Inn Arson Defendant Sentenced
January 31, 2012
ATLANTA — Sheree Dionne Murphy was sentenced yesterday in Clayton County Superior Court to serve five consecutive life sentences plus 20 years in the Georgia State Department of Corrections prison system.More »
First Round of Defendants Sentenced in ATF–Atlanta Undercover Investigation
January 17, 2012
ATLANTA — Several Atlanta residents were recently sentenced to serve time after being convicted on varying federal firearms and narcotic related charges, according to information received from agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). These sentences are a result of an ATF initiated undercover operation, called ATL Blaze.
Undercover agents, placed themselves in positions ultimately putting the word out that they were interested in buying firearms and drugs from the criminal element. The case yielded 257 handguns, 60 rifles, 46 shotguns, and 10 short–barreled sawed–off
shotguns taken off the streets of Atlanta.More »
Final Defendant Receives 31-Year-Sentence in Kemp’s Pharmacy Burglary
December 6, 2011
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Wayne Evans, 31, was sentenced to 380 months in federal prison and 36 months supervised release yesterday, by U.S. District Court Judge B. Avant Edenfield, of the Southern Judicial District of Georgia. Evans was found guilty by a jury trial on July 13, to several firearms-related charges. Wayne Evans, aka Smiley,
of New York, N.Y., and co-defendant Jordy Melvin, of Claxton, Ga., were indicted in a six-count indictment on Dec. 7, 2010. The pair was charged with Conspiracy in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. Section 371, Theft of Firearms in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. section 924(l), Theft from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. Section 922(u) and Receiving Stolen Firearms in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. Section 922(j). More »
ATF Executes 50 Plus Warrants in Undercover Organized Tobacco Diversion Sting
October 19, 2011
ATLANTA – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Atlanta Field Division, together with officials from the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, Georgia Department of Revenue, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, the Lawrenceville Police Department, and the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department, announced today a large-scale enforcement operation involving the execution of multiple arrest, search, and seizure warrants in connection with the illegal trafficking of cigarettes in Georgia.More »
Savannah Residents Sentenced on Federal Firearms, Narcotics Charges
October 14, 2011
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Several Savannah residents were recently sentenced to serve time after being convicted on varying federal firearms and narcotic related charges.More »
New Leader for ATF Atlanta Field Division
September 9, 2011
ATLANTA – Scott D. Sweetow has been named the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Atlanta Field Division, which encompasses the entire state of Georgia. Sweetow began his career with ATF in 1990 in Los Angeles and most recently served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Atlanta Field Division.More »
New York Man Sentenced to Prison in Connection with Straw Purchases
of Approximately 16 Firearms in Georgia
August 29, 2011
ATLANTA, GA – GERRY PAGE, 29, of Queens, New York, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., to federal prison on charges of conspiring to make false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer in Jonesboro, Georgia. Purchases of guns in this manner, where the actual purchaser and owner conceals his involvement from the seller of the firearm, are commonly known as straw purchases.
More »
ATF Offers $3K Reward for Information on Retail Gun Theft
August 9, 2011
ATLANTA – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Atlanta Field Division today announced a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for a recent firearms theft at E Pawn Shop, a federally licensed gun dealer in Griffin, Ga. The incident has triggered a joint investigation, being conducted by ATF and the Griffin Police Department.More »
Operation ATL Blaze,
an ATF and APD Operation, Nets Convicted Felons, Parole Violators, and Burglars Who Trafficked Firearms, And Sold Drugs and Stolen Merchandise to Undercover Agents
June 29, 2011
ATLANTA, GA – Federal and state grand juries have indicted 49 people on firearms, drug trafficking, and theft charges relating to a storefront sting operation operated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Atlanta Police Department. The storefront sting targeted convicted felons and other dangerous criminals who traffic guns in high-crime areas of Atlanta. Federal and state officials announced the arrests at a news conference this afternoon at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building in Atlanta, while the federal defendants appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Janet F. King. The defendants indicted in Fulton County will make appearances in state court later this week. More »
ATF Offers $5K Reward for Information on Retail Gun Theft
May 5, 2011
BREMEN, Ga. — Special Agent in Charge Gregory K. Gant of the Atlanta Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced ATF is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the theft of firearms that occurred at Brother’s Pawn Shop, 218 Alabama Ave., a federal firearms licensee in Bremen. The burglary occurred on April 18.More »
Methamphetamine Distributor Receives 19 Year Sentence
April 14, 2011
ATLANTA, GA — JUSTIN THOMAS HENRY, 29, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr., to serve 19 years in federal prison on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm.More »
71 Defendants Charged with Gun and Drug Trafficking Offenses after Undercover Investigation
March 16, 2011
AUGUSTA, GA – Forty–one federal indictments, today unsealed in federal court, have charged 51 defendants with federal firearm, drug trafficking or other federal offenses. Twenty additional defendants were charged by Richmond County authorities on related state firearm and drug charges. The federal and state charges follow an 18-month undercover investigation in the Augusta area dubbed Operation Fox Hunt.
More »
Augusta Man Sentenced to 225 Months Imprisonment for Being a Career Criminal in Possession of a Firearm
March 7, 2011
AUGUSTA, GA: Bobby Lee Roberson, 44, of Hephzibah, Georgia, was sentenced today before United States District Court Judge J. Randal Hall to 225 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Roberson was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act, which requires those who have at least three previous convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses be imprisoned for at least 15 years.More »
ATF Offers $5K Reward for Information on Gun Store Robbery
January 28, 2011
ATLANTA — A reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and convictions of those responsible for a recent firearms armed robbery at Direct Gold Outlet, a federally licensed gun dealer in Covington, Georgia, was announced today by Gregory K. Gant, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The owners of Direct Gold Outlet are pleading with the public to come forward with any information that would help recover the stolen firearms. This crime has triggered a joint investigation between ATF and the Newton County Sheriff’s Department. More »
Defendants Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Send Firearms to Mexico
January 19, 2011
ATLANTA, GA — DARIO RODRIGUEZ-GOMEZ, 28, of Doraville, Georgia and MANUEL GAMEZ-VALENZUELA, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, have pleaded guilty in federal district court to conspiring to transport semi-automatic assault rifles to Mexico. RODRIGUEZ-GOMEZ also pleaded guilty to being illegal aliens in possession of firearms. A co-defendant in the same case, DANIEL BERNAL-PEREZ, 35, of Doraville, Georgia, has pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of firearms. More »
ATF Drug Dealers Who Attempted to Trade Machine Gun and Assault Weapons for Drugs Sentenced in Federal Court
December 17, 2010
ATLANTA, GA — MARK ANTHONY BECKFORD, 43, and RANDY VANA HAILE, JR., 29, both of Atlanta, Georgia, were sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. on federal drug and firearms charges for attempting to provide who they thought were Mexican cartel traffickers with assault weapons, including a machine gun, in exchange for kilograms of cocaine and marijuana.More »
ATF ATF Offers $10K Reward for Information on Retail Gun Theft
November 22, 2010
ATLANTA — A reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and convictions of those responsible for a recent firearms armed robbery at Welsh Pawn Shop, a federally licensed gun dealer in Savannah, Ga. was announced today by Gregory K. Gant, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Savannah/Chatham County Crime Stoppers has pledged a reward of up to $2,500 for the arrest of those responsible for the robbery. More »
ATF Offers $5k Reward for Information on Retail Gun Theft
October 29, 2010
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Atlanta Field Division today announced a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for a recent firearms theft at American Classic Marksman, a federally licensed gun dealer in Norcross, Ga. The incident has triggered a joint investigation, being conducted by ATF and the Gwinnett County Police Department. More »
Defendants Convicted After Week-Long Trial of Trading Machine Gun, Assault Weapons for Drugs
September 14, 2010
A jury in federal district court returned a guilty verdict today against MARK ANTHONY BECKFORD, 43, and RANDY VANA HAILE, JR., 29, both of Atlanta, Georgia, on federal drug and firearms charges for attempting to provide Mexican cartel traffickers with assault weapons, including a machine gun, in exchange for kilograms of cocaine and marijuana. More »
Counterfeit Cigarettes Lead to Prison
September 1, 2010
AMADOU BAH, a/k/a MAMAGAM ABDUL BALDE, 39, of New York, New York; KENNETH CLEE, 46, of Jonesboro; and MAMADU DJALO, 49, of New York, New York, were sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge J. Owen Forrester to serve terms in federal prison of up to 21 months on charges of trafficking in counterfeit cigarettes. More »
ATF Offers $5k Reward for Information on Retail Gun Theft
August 25, 2010
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Atlanta Field Division today announced a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and convictions of those responsible for a recent firearms theft at Kemp’s Pharmacy, a federal firearm licensee in Claxton, Ga. More »
Three Federal Agents Receive United States Attorney’s Award
August 25, 2010
Edward J. Tarver, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced the 2010 recipients of the District’s annual United States Attorney’s Award. ATF Special Agent Louis Valoze, DEA Special Agent Michael Sarhatt and Department of Defense Special Agent Clifford Curington each received the United States Attorney’s Award in a ceremony recently hosted by Mr. Tarver. More »
89 Defendants Charged on Gun, Drug Trafficking or Related Offenses Following 9-Month Undercover Investigation
August 10, 2010
34 federal indictments, today unsealed in federal court, have charged 57 defendants with federal firearm, drug trafficking or other federal offenses. 32 additional defendants were charged by Glynn County authorities on related state firearm and drug charges. The federal and state charges follow a 9-month undercover investigation dubbed “Operation Thunderbolt.” More »
Southern District of Georgia Recognized at Annual Project Safe Neighborhoods Awards Ceremony
July 19, 2010
The Department of Justice last week announced the recipients of the annual Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Achievement Awards in a ceremony hosted by Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler at the PSN national conference in New Orleans. Recipients were chosen from a large pool of nominations submitted by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the nation. More »
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison for Gun Possession
July 2, 2010
KEVIN RODRICK GREENE, 39, of Grovetown, Georgia, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge J. Randal Hall to serve 8 years in federal prison on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. More »
Marietta Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Attempting to Hire an Undercover Hitman
June 23, 2010
ANTHONY TODD SAXON, 34, of Keysville, Georgia, was ordered yesterday detained without bond by United States Magistrate Judge W. Leon Barfield. SAXON’s detention arises from five federal charges filed last week after his June 15 arrest on the Fort Gordon Military Reservation. More »
Keysville Man Arrested for Impersonating Ft. Gordon Officer Detained Without Bond
June 22, 2010
ANTHONY TODD SAXON, 34, of Keysville, Georgia, was ordered yesterday detained without bond by United States Magistrate Judge W. Leon Barfield. SAXON’s detention arises from five federal charges filed last week after his June 15 arrest on the Fort Gordon Military Reservation. More »
Last of 57 Defendants Sentenced on Federal Charges Arising From Undercover Investigation
June 17, 2010
MICHAEL HENDRIX, 33, from Statesboro, Georgia, was sentenced on Tuesday by Senior Judge B. Avant Edenfield to 8 years in prison and 6 years of supervised release on his cocaine and prescription drug trafficking conviction. HENDRIX’s sentencing marked the end of Operation “Statesboro Blues,” an undercover operation that netted the convictions of 57 defendants on firearm, drug and other federal crimes. More »
Two Sentenced to Federal Prison in Firearms Theft
May 28, 2010
JOE DANIEL TANTURRI, 25, of Cartersville, Georgia; LINDSEY GRAVITT, 22, of Cartersville, Georgia; and LONNY GRAVITT, 42, of Rydal, Georgia, were sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard W. Story on charges related to the theft of 40 firearms stolen from a licensed federal firearms dealer in Jasper, Georgia. More »
Reward Offered for Information on Retail Gun Theft
May 6, 2010
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Atlanta Field Division today announced a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of those responsible for a recent firearms theft at Pannell’s Firearms, located at 10102 Main Street in Woodstock, Ga. More »
Carjacker Gets 27 Years in Prison
April 30, 2010
JUAN RAMON WINFREY, 39, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Orinda D. Evans to serve 27 years in federal prison on charges of armed carjacking, using a firearm to commit a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. More »
Family Members Convicted of Gun Trafficking by Jury
April 29, 2010
A jury in federal district court late this afternoon returned guilty verdicts against HASSAN AWALI, 42, and BARBARA CLEVELAND, 52, both of Gordon, Georgia, on charges of lying to a firearms dealer for the purpose of illegally buying guns. More »
Fairburn Man Going to Prison on Multiple Charges After Making a Device Packed With Bullets & Hypodermic Needles
March 18, 2010
William David Oxford, 29, of Fairburn, Georgia, was sentenced today in federal court to serve over 5 years in federal prison on charges of drug trafficking, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a sawed-off shotgun and a poorly-assembled homemade device (improvised explosive device/ “IED”). More »
Firearms Trafficking Ring Dismantled
March 12, 2010
Jeffrey Martin Colon Moore, 26, of Canton, Georgia; Crystal Davis, 26, of Canton, Georgia; Alexander Quinn, 36, of Oakland, California, and Danny Bill Davis, 56, of Canton, Georgia, were sentenced today by United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash for their roles in a firearms trafficking conspiracy. More »
ATF National Response Team Activated to Investigate Montezuma Warehouse Fire
February 19, 2010
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Response Team, along with ATF special agents from the Atlanta Field Division, have entered the investigation of a commercial warehouse fire that occurred on February 12, 2010, in Montezuma, Georgia. More »
Fulton County, Ga. Explosives Detection Canine Helps Miami Prepare for Super Bowl XLIV
February 5, 2010
Not everyone participating in this year’s Super Bowl is a football player. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have fielded their best players to help prepare for a safe and secure Super Bowl XLIV. These pros include ATF K-9 explosives detection teams that have been deployed to Miami from around the country. The K-9 teams are working side-by-side with other federal, state and local law-enforcement officers to keep the football teams and fans safe throughout this event. More »
Three-Time Convicted Felon sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison For Gun Possession
January 14, 2010
MARCUS LAMAR HARDY, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Beverly B. Martin to serve 15 years in federal prison on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. More »
Arsonists Who Set Fire to Adult Club Sentenced to Prison
January 5, 2010
BOYD SMITH, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia; SANDEO PABLO DYSON, 46, of Gainesville, Georgia; and HOWARD “BIT” THROWER, 52, of Alpharetta, Georgia, were sentenced today by Chief District Court Judge Julie E. Carnes relating to a conspiracy to burn down “Club Onyx,” an adult entertainment establishment in Atlanta, just after New Year’s Day 2007. More »