A Swainsboro man is among five defendants facing federal charges, including illegal possession of firearms, after separate indictments by a grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia, while recent actions in U.S. District Court include guilty pleas and criminal sentences related to illegal gun possession. 

The indicted cases are being investigated as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, to reduce violent crime with measures that include targeting convicted felons who illegally carry guns.

Ricky Maurice Johnson of Swainsboro was arrested as part of the Project Safe effort and his indictment for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon was unsealed in federal court Wednesday in Savannah.

“As we continue the fight against violent crime in our neighborhoods, removing guns from the hands of convicted felons helps keep our citizens safe,” said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “We appreciate the outstanding work of our law enforcement partners in protecting our communities.”  

In addition to Johnson, the following defendants were named in federal indictments from the October 2022 term of the U.S. District Court grand jury:

• Robert Triche, 40, of Savannah, charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, fentanyl; and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;

• Maurice Brown, 21, of Savannah, charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon;

• Steve Shontell Heath, 46, of Hephzibah, Ga., charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and,

• William Beau Devore, 21, of Martinez, Ga., charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

In the past four years, more than 775 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony. In addition, recent federal legislation increased the maximum penalty for illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon to 15 years, up from 10, for those found in possession after the June 25, 2022 signing of the law.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Also, a Sylvania man and a Springfield man were among 15 additional defendants recently adjudicated on federal charges that include illegal firearms possession:

• Cody Truitt Devore, 23, of Sylvania, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Devore after finding drugs and two guns in his vehicle during a traffic stop in January 2022. At the time, Devore was on federal supervised release for a 2019 federal conviction for firearms possession.

• Ryan Nickolus Smiley, a/k/a “Nick Smiley,” 40, of Springfield, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. A member of the Aryan Brotherhood white supremacist street gang, Smiley was on supervised release from a prior federal firearms conviction in March 2021 when the U.S. Marshal’s Service served an arrest warrant for a violation of supervised release and found ammunition and photos of Smiley in possession of firearms. 

Agencies investigating these cases include the ATF, the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah Police Department, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia State Patrol.