Operation Southern Impact III: 17 children recovered, 82 arrested in child sex sting

Operation Southern Impact III child sex sting mug shots

A 4-month long investigation spanned eight southeastern states including both North and South Carolina.
Author: Phillip Kish

A firefighter. A business owner. A dishwasher. They were among 82 people arrested as part of a massive, multi-state child exploitation operation conducted across eight southeastern states, including Georgia.

Seventeen children were recovered in the operation, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

"It's not uncommon at all for us to find children in the homes of people who are collecting and viewing child pornography and it's not uncommon for them to be victims of that person," said GBI Special Agent in Charge Debbie Garner.

The operation began four months ago and culminated in three days of investigative actions to include search warrant executions, undercover operations, arrests and sex offender compliance verification visits in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In Georgia, 31 people were arrested during the sting, which was dubbed "Operation Southern Impact III." Seven of those arrested had traveled to meeting a minor to have sex, the GBI said.

Investigators in Georgia "targeted those seeking out and distributing the most violent sexual abuse material involving infants and toddlers," according to the GBI news release.

A total of 56 search warrants were executed and 41 knock and talks were conducted in Georgia during Operation Southern Impact III.

During the operation, four registered sex offenders were encountered and arrested in Georgia on charges related to child pornography. One of the registered sex offenders arrested during Operation Southern Impact III was initially arrested by the GBI during a very similar operation in 2015.

The GBI said 972 digital media and devices were seized as evidence and illegal drugs and firearms were also found.

Those in custody and charged in Georgia as part of Operation Southern Impact III are:

Operation Southern Impact III child sex sting mug shots

Jimmy Abadio Lopez
1/10

James Barfield IV, 51, Atlanta, GA, home improvement store employee

Dillan M. Bell, 26, Allenhurst, GA, unemployed

Gerald Chamberlain, 34, Rome, GA, golf course maintenance worker

Carol Chellew, 56, Jefferson, GA, county employee

Doug Chellew, 56, Jefferson, GA, department store employee

Timothy Wayne Diggs, 39, Metter, GA, information technology specialist

Keith James Diver, 37, Norcross, GA, restaurant employee

Erick Noe Gonzalez, 26, Buford, GA, landscaper

Erik Gordon, 30, Morrow, GA, shipping company employee

Desmond Lemond Hasley, 27, Douglasville, GA, staffing company employee

Keidron Jayquan Isham, 23, Rome, GA, unemployed

Claude Martin Johnson IV, 21, Augusta, GA, unemployed

Andrew Kim, 30, Suwanee, GA, business owner

Jordan Logan, 33, Grovetown, GA, painter

Jonathan Craig Manning, 28, Rome, GA, railroad worker

Andrew J. Martz, 30, Tyrone, GA, student

Matthew James McDurmond, 26, Cedartown, unknown

Terry Menard, 61, Roswell, GA, multimedia designer

Daniel Joseph Mullinax, 35, Auburn, GA, unemployed

Justin Lee Myers, 22, Cleveland, GA, unknown

Andrew Benjamin Nelson, 42, Marietta, GA, construction worker

Michael David Quinn, 44, Roswell, GA, unknown

Matthew Steven Ramski, 37, Cumming, GA, graphic design artist

Arlen Lemuel Riddle, 46, Muscadine, AL, fireman

Malchijah Robinson, 40, Decatur, GA, unemployed

David Chris Sammons, 33, Eatonton, GA, factory worker

Omar S. Sanchez-Viera, 40, Jonesboro, GA, health supplement company employee

Chad Sitzwohl, 35, Dawsonville, GA, factory worker

Wille D. Slaughter, 33, Valdosta, GA, military veteran

Wan Yeung Tang, 45, Cumming, GA, dishwasher

Tyler Wooten, 21, Sharpsburg, GA, student

Community marches for missing 1-year-old SC baby Leaona Wright:

The Pendleton community is not giving up on the search for a 1-year-old baby, Leaona Wright, who has been missing since June 6th.

The child's family rallied in Anderson County Tuesday night hoping to get answers. The Upstate organization think2xtwice.org is helping the family organize several events this week.

Officials are asking anyone with information about Leaona to come forward.

If you see Leaona call 911.

Source: http://www.wbtw.com/story/29339610/community-marches-for-missing-1-year-old-sc-baby

Trinity Mount Ministries Website

Missing teens may be Myrtle Beach bound:

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Two North Carolina teens who have been missing since Friday may be headed to Myrtle Beach and police are asking for help finding the duo.
wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

Missing teens from NC

Missing teens

The Catawba County Sheriff's Office confirms it is looking for two high school students, and both families are extremely worried about their well being.

Jake Ziegler, 18, and Ray Pierce, 17, attend Bandys High School. Ziegler's sister, Jackie, says the two friends were headed to Myrtle Beach and the last phone call from the pair came in around 3 a.m. Saturday from the Rock Hill area. Jackie says she hopes police will take her case seriously, because it is unlike her younger brother, Jake to not contact her.

"I understand the statistics and I understand that but this is not my brother. And there's no chance in hell he would go this far without contacting me," Jackie Ziegler said, "there is no activity on their cell phones, on their debit cards. We don't believe they have any cash with them. They have one Shell card for gas and they can use it for food. However, I can't trace it until Monday morning."

Myrtle Beach Police Captain David Knipes said the city is a magnet for runaway teens and people looking for a hide-out.  But, he added, missing juveniles does not go unnoticed. Knipes said a special group of officers make up a juvenile department, specializing in locating missing persons.

"They'll take the flyers and literally canvas door to door and ocean boulevard, hand out the flyers to the different hotels and see if somebody might have seen these people to give them that extra little help," Knipes said, "they're just an anonymous face. With Myrtle Beach having such a high transient population with people coming in for a weekend or a week at a time there's different faces all the time so they can just blend in a lot easier."

Dozens of family and friends drove down I-77 to Columbia Monday morning to see if they could locate the car the teens were driving. Ziegler says they are looking for a 2006 Green Pontiac G-6 with NC plates BBD-8844. Ziegler's dad drove to Myrtle Beach and rented a helicopter to survey the area and surrounding areas. As of Monday evening, their search left them empty-handed.

On Monday, both boys' families publicly urged them to go home.

"You are not in trouble. Our hearts are broken. I will not stop at anything until he is home. And I mean it. If he doesn't want us to find him, I'm gonna find him. We're waiting here with open arms and we're gonna do whatever it takes because that's what family does and that's what family's for," Jackie Ziegler said.

"You have two sisters. You have a family that loves you, that's concerned, that wants you home safe. Please come home if you're listening to this," Pierce's mother Wendy Pierce said.

If you see the teens, or the vehicle they are reportedly driving, please call Myrtle Beach Police at 843-918-1300.

Copyright 2012 WMBF News. All rights reserved.

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