ATLANTA – Attorney General Chris Carr announced that Anthony Brown, Glendarius Tate and X’Zydric Faust have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in the March 5, 2023 fatal shooting of 24-year-old Ja’Vanni McDavid in Athens.
Brown, Tate and Faust are members of Everybody Killa, a hybrid criminal street gang from Athens. EBK has ties to major national Bloods, and its main alliance is with Everybody Eats, another hybrid criminal street gang based in Athens. Since 2021, the rivalry between street gangs in Athens-Clarke County has resulted in several shootings and murders, including the deaths of Ja’Vanni McDavid and 3-year-old Kyron Santino Zarco Smith.
“Those who turn a blind eye to gang activity only allow the problem to worsen, and the people of Athens-Clarke County deserve better,” Carr said in a news release. “Earlier this year, a 3-year-old boy was shot dead while watching TV on his couch, and here we have a 24-year-old who lost his life in a targeted shooting in a densely populated part of the city. Georgians deserve to be safe, and we will continue to work with the ACCPD, GBI and our law enforcement partners to combat violent crime in Athens and across the state.”
Senior Assistant Attorney General Ryan Piechocinski, who also serves as assistant chief of the Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit, prosecuted the case. The Athens-Clarke County Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Gang Task Force investigated the case, with assistance from the Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit.
“This continued partnership is critical to successfully removing criminal street gang members from the streets of Athens-Clarke County,” said ACCPD Chief Jerry Saulters. “We will continue to work with the Georgia Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit to remove violent criminals from our community, ensure justice for victims, and create a safe place to live and work.”
“Today’s sentencing reflects our continued commitment to combating gang violence and ensuring justice for victims,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. , demonstrates our determination to disrupt the dangerous activities of criminal organizations in our communities.”
Since its inception in July 2022, the Gang Prosecution Unit has worked with the ACCPD to charge 21 individuals in nine separate cases. This total includes five shootings that took place in Athens between April 2022 and March 2024 – four of which were fatal.
The Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit has secured 12 convictions in Athens-Clarke County to date.
On March 5, 2023, at approximately 12:15 p.m., Ja’Vanni McDavid and four of his friends left a party held in the Five Points neighborhood of Athens. McDavid was driving his vehicle and the four others were passengers. When McDavid stopped at the intersection of Northview Drive and Pinecrest Drive, a second vehicle passed through the intersection directly next to McDavid’s vehicle.
A few seconds after McDavid’s vehicle passed, the second vehicle stopped, without provocation, and multiple occupants of that vehicle opened fire on McDavid’s vehicle. McDavid and the occupants of his vehicle shot back in the direction of the second vehicle in response to the shooting. Ballistics evidence and trajectory research indicate that McDavid was accidentally struck by the return fire of one of the occupants of his vehicle. McDavid died as a result of that injury.
ACCPD detectives were quickly able to obtain surveillance footage of the shooting and identified the second vehicle as a white Honda Accord. With the assistance of University of Georgia Police, ACCPD was able to obtain surveillance footage of the vehicle driving to and from the crime scene. The Honda eventually ended up at the Bethel Midtown Village apartments. Surveillance footage from the apartment complex showed four people armed with firearms entering and exiting the Honda Accord.
Detectives determined the white Honda Accord belonged to Brown. Brown was located at his home in Athens and was quickly taken into custody. A search warrant was served on Brown’s home and a 9mm handgun was recovered, which matched ballistic evidence found at the crime scene. During a subsequent interview with Brown, he admitted to driving the Honda Accord and shooting his firearm.
Further investigation revealed that the other occupants of Brown’s vehicle were Appling, Tate and Faust. Appling and Tate were both arrested in Athens. They were interviewed and both admitted to being present in Brown’s vehicle and possessing firearms. Investigators determined that Faust fled to the state of Florida after the shooting. With the assistance of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Faust was taken into custody in Seminole, Florida.
The investigation revealed that McDavid was an associate of Red Tape Gang and that the defendants were members of Everybody Killa. When the defendants saw McDavid, an associate of their rival gang, they decided to open fire on his vehicle.
The state of Georgia is a murder state. As such, and because McDavid’s death was the direct result of the defendant’s unprovoked shooting, each was charged with directly causing McDavid’s death.
On September 16, 2024, the three defendants pleaded guilty to the following charges in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court.
Brown (aka “Nick”), 20, of Athens:
1 count of voluntary manslaughter
5 counts of aggravated assault
2 charges of violating the Terrorism and Street Gang Prevention Act
1 count of criminal damage to property in the first degree
1 count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime
1 count of driving while driver’s license is suspended
Brown was sentenced to 35 years, with the first 25 years in prison and the remainder placed on strict probation.
Tate (aka “Glen”), 22, of Athens:
1 count of voluntary manslaughter
5 counts of aggravated assault
2 charges of violating the Terrorism and Street Gang Prevention Act
1 count of criminal damage to property in the first degree
1 count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime
Tate was sentenced to 35 years, with the first 25 years in prison and the remainder placed on strict probation.
Faust (aka “Sun Sun”), 17, from Athens:
1 count of voluntary manslaughter
5 counts of aggravated assault
2 charges of violating the Terrorism and Street Gang Prevention Act
1 count of criminal damage to property in the first degree
1 count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime
Faust was sentenced to 35 years, with the first 25 years in prison and the rest on strict probation.
The state’s case against Jaden Appling, 21, of Athens, is ongoing.
