Austell Gang Member Sentenced to 16 Years for Weekend Crime Spree

Five members of the SUR-13 or Sureños-13 gang, including one member from Austell, were sentenced on Monday for their 2008 crime spree, which spanned several counties throughout the Metro Atlanta area.

Jerry Arriaga, 22 of Austell, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes to 16 years and six months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.  He was also ordered by the court to pay $11,767 in restitution to the victims of his crimes. He pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2010 to one count of carjacking, one count of attempted carjacking and one count of discharging a firearm during one of the carjackings.

"SUR-13 is a large, violent gang known for crime sprees like the one prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.

In December 2008, the gang members went on a weekend armed robbery crime spree, which spanned the Metro Atlanta area, including robberies in Clayton, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.

First, the gang members, while wielding baseball bats and a gun, robbed a small Mexican grocery store using a stolen car.  From there, theybeat a man and attempted to carjack his truck, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

All five of the gang members, then bearing an AK-47 and other firearms, carjacked or attempted to carjack six other vehicles.  A child was hit in the mouth with a baseball bat during one attempted carjacking, and when the carjacking failed, the defendants fled the scene and fired an AK-47 at the victim family.

The crime spree ended when the five gang members rolled the carjacked truck they were driving during a police chief, killing a minor inside, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The gang members who were minors were prosecuted for carjacking by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.            

  “These sentences should serve as a stern warning to gang members whose actions breed fear and violence in our communities,” said Brock Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of ICE HSI in Atlanta.