ATHENS, Ga. — In the hours following a deadly shooting that took the life of a 3-year-old boy in Athens on March 8, Athens-Clarke County Police detectives had warrants signed on multiple suspects that they allege are members or associates of a local Athens gang.
In the arrest warrants signed on Jayden Brown and Julian Cubillos in the killing of 3-year-old Kyron Zarco, one of the charges is tied to street gang activity.
The warrants specifically state that each suspect was:
"...employed or associated with a criminal street gang EBE to conduct or participate in criminal gang activity by committing aggravated assault by shooting at opposing RTG gang members or associates."
11Alive has uncovered this deadly shooting on Spring Valley Road at Hallmark Mobile Home Park is the latest in a string of homicides tied to an alleged feud between two rival gangs in Athens.
However, the murder of Kyron Zarco is believed to be the first time an innocent victim has been caught in the crossfire of this accused gang violence.
In the other four homicides that are alleged to be tied to this feud, the young men are alleged to be members or associates of one of the rival gangs.
Those two gangs are the "Red Tape Gang" (RTG) and the "Everybody Eats" gang (EBE). The Georgia Attorney General's Office described RTG as "a local hybrid criminal street gang with ties to major national Bloods, including Sex Money Murder and the Rollin’ 20s." The EBE gang is similar to RTG.
Sources tell 11Alive that the feud between these two gangs is believed to have started when rapper Ke'Travian Cole broke off from RTG and helped create EBE. Cole was better known in the music industry as "EBE Montana."
On March 1, 2021, he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on State Route 316 in Barrow County. While this happened one county over, he was from Athens. Most of his music videos were shot in Athens, even including Athens-Clarke County Police cars in the background.
Sources said his killing is believed to be what sparked this feud between RTG and EBE.
On October 21, 2022, Alijah Nelson was gunned down outside a gas station on Gaines School Road in Athens-Clarke County. He was also a rapper -- known as "RTG Menaxe," which is pronounced Menace. Oftentimes, those with connections to the Bloods will change the "c" out for an "x."
While sources said it was the EBE gang who did pull up and open fire, it was a member of RTG, Jeffery Rice, of Athens, who was actually charged in the shooting and sentenced to 30 years with the first 18 to be served in prison.
On March 5, 2023, 19-year-old Ja'Vanni McDavid was shot in the 100 block of Northview Drive, known as the Five Points neighborhood in Athens -- a popular spot for college kids that go to the University of Georgia. He died several days later. Sources said he was an alleged RTG member, and those behind the shooting were tied to EBE.
A month later, 21-year-old Marquise Jackson was gunned down on Mitchell Bridge Road. He was one of four people shot. Police confirmed this shooting was gang-related.
According to the Georgia Gang Investigators of Georgia (GGIA), the music industry drives much of this feuding between gangs.
The president of the GGIA, Jose Ramirez, said, "As the gang grows, or they get engaged into the rap music industry, somebody is getting the clout and all that kind of stuff or the notoriety, then what you got is other people wanting to be that top dog."
"Then you get infighting within the gang, and then you get the split within the gang, and then you get gang-on-gang crime," he added.
Ramirez said he's talked to music producers who he said admitted to recruiting active gang members.
"He said, 'Ramirez, what we do is we look for gang members that we know either have a pending criminal investigation or are involved in criminal activity,"' Ramirez explained, adding, "We will sign them knowing that they're going to engage in this type of behavior. When they get arrested or get indicted, that brings people to the social media platform to go listen to the music, and we make money from it."
Ramirez said in a lot of cases, gang members are very public when it comes to posting their feuds.
"The minute they commit a crime, they go right to their social media platforms -- YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, whatever it is. And they'll post videos," he said.
Ramirez went on to explain, "Even if it's not a full-length music video or rap video, they'll drop some lyrics and diss another group, take claim for what they, you know, they just did, and the war keeps going."
As for these two gangs, Ramirez said they are unique to Athens. He said oftentimes you'll hear the ones producing these videos say it's just an expression of freedom through the First Amendment.
"I think we need to, as a society, say, 'Wait a minute.' We know what freedom of expression is, and we know the difference between somebody who is actually confessing, conspiring, intimidating, showing motive, intent through their music. Right?" Ramirez explained.
He added, "These are all different things that they're doing through the music. And those are the things that, you know, glamorize the lifestyle that they're living in, the crimes that they're committing, or the threats that they're putting out there towards other rival gangs, you know?"
Ramirez praised the local law enforcement in Clarke County, some agencies in which the GGIA have helped train in tackling gangs in their community. However, he questioned if everyone is on board with the same mission.
"If you know that there are cases in criminal cases and they don't have the support to actually go after and prosecute cases, then why not commit crime there?" he explained.
He said when people ask why these gangs are operating in Athens, one reason he believes is because they're not being held accountable.
"And if you're not going to have the support of the full judicial system, why not Athens, right? I think at that point, they know that there's a path of least resistance there. You got a community that's not, you know, acknowledging it."
11Alive did reach out to the district attorney for comment regarding the ongoing feud and prosecution of gang members. On Monday, March 18, the district attorney's office released the following statement:
"We will not tolerate any form of violence in our community and will seek justice in our pursuit of the most violent offenders. Our office has and will continue to collaborate with local law enforcement and state agencies to ensure that those arrested are held accountable for their crimes.
Our office must have the ability to adapt our structure to keep our community safe at all times. For almost two years, I have repeatedly requested that the county provide the essential funds and flexibility for establishing a gang unit within the DA's office. This specialized unit would focus on addressing gang crime-related needs, engaging with the community, and coordinating with law enforcement to maintain the safety of our community.
In light of previous and recent gang-related tragedies, I am once again requesting that the county provide the necessary parameters to create a specialized gang unit in collaboration with our local law enforcement agency partners, such as the Athens Clarke County Police Department and the Clarke County Sheriff's Office.
We look forward to continuing to push for the changes needed to address our community's needs. We work tirelessly to ensure that these violent offenders face justice, and with the county's support, we can expand our mission."
Ramirez said these individuals must be held accountable before another innocent victim is caught in the crossfire of this gang violence.