The office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued the following statement about the convictions in a gang-related drive-by shooting in Marietta:

Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that Nicholas Poole, James Daniels, Bryce Dowell and Thomas White have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a drive-by shooting that occurred at a Marietta apartment complex in June 2021. Poole, Daniels and Dowell are members of 2Solid, a Cobb County hybrid gang with ties to the Bloods. White is a member of an older Cobb County hybrid gang known as Good Product Team (GPT).

“Time and again, these defendants put lives at risk by committing and directing repeated acts of violence across our state,” said Carr. “Thanks to our strong partnerships with local law enforcement and the Georgia Department of Corrections, we were able to secure their convictions and put a stop to these senseless shootings.”

This case was investigated by the Cobb County Police Department, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office and the Atlanta Police Department (APD). It was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Ryan Piechocinski, who serves as Assistant Chief of the Gang Prosecution Unit.

“I am exceptionally proud and thankful for the dedication of the women and men in law enforcement across our region. This case demonstrated the depth of concern these women and men share for the well-being and safety of our community members – people they may not know personally, yet still take great interest and personal risk in protecting,” said Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer. “I want to highlight the success of our criminal intelligence analysts who recognized, from memory, one of the suspects being sought in Atlanta for the initial shooting that prompted Cobb Police Department’s involvement. I also commend the proactive work of our agents, detectives, and Violent Crime Bureau who were able to locate and link these individuals to shootings here in Cobb County almost immediately after the shootings occurred. Additionally, the strong working relationship consistently demonstrated between the Paulding County Sherriff’s Office, the Atlanta Police Department, and the Cobb Police Department continue to support our collective efforts to save lives and protect people not just in our own jurisdictions, but regionally. Finally, the hard work and support in investigating, organizing, and prosecuting crimes of this magnitude from Attorney General Carr’s office, particularly the Gang Prosecution Unit, is needed and sincerely appreciated.”

“Criminal street gangs don’t stay within one jurisdictional boundary when they commit crimes, so interagency collaboration is critical to investigating and prosecuting cases like this,” said Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge. “Our Detectives partnered with the Cobb County Police Department and Attorney General Carr’s Gang Prosecution Unit, and in doing so, we were able to help convict several dangerous criminals. We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to keep violent offenders from terrorizing our communities.”

“Effective and interactive partnerships between law enforcement agencies are essential to public safety and integral for combating and solving violent crimes,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. “Multijurisdictional collaborations allow for agencies to share information and have proven successful as it relates to getting violent criminals off of our streets.”

Cobb County Guilty Pleas

On Oct. 24, 2023, Nicholas Poole pleaded guilty to the following charges in Cobb County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 25 years, with the first 13 years to be served in prison and the remainder on strict probation.

• 24 counts of Violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act
• 4 counts of Aggravated Assault
• 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the First Degree
• 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the Second Degree
• 1 count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
• 1 count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

On Oct. 24, 2023, James Daniels pleaded guilty to the following charges in Cobb County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 25 years, with the first 13 years to be served in prison and the remainder on strict probation.

• 22 counts of Violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act
• 4 counts of Aggravated Assault
• 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the First Degree
• 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the Second Degree
• 1 count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony

On Oct. 24, 2023, Bryce Dowell pleaded guilty to the following charges in Cobb County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 25 years, with the first 13 years to be served in prison and the remainder on strict probation.

• 20 counts of Violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act
• 4 counts of Aggravated Assault
• 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the First Degree
• 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the Second Degree
• 1 count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony

On Sep. 18, 2023, Thomas White pleaded guilty to the following charges in Cobb County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 15 years, with the first four years to be served in prison and the remainder on strict probation. White is currently serving prison sentences for separate charges in Cobb and Douglas County.

• 8 counts of Violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act
• 4 counts of Aggravated Assault
• 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the First Degree
• 2 counts of Criminal Damage to Property in the Second Degree

Case Summary

On May 15, 2021, APD responded to 911 calls regarding shots fired at the Home Depot located at 2525 Piedmont Road NE in the City of Atlanta. Upon arrival, officers discovered three individuals suffering from gunshot wounds. Further investigation showed that multiple individuals were involved in a shootout inside of the parking deck of a neighboring apartment complex. Multiple shots were fired in the direction of the Home Depot parking lot, striking the three victims who were uninvolved and unknown to the shooters. With the help of the Cobb County Police Department, APD identified the shooters as James Daniels, Bryce Dowell and Nicholas Poole, and arrest warrants were taken.

On June 25, 2021, the Cobb County Police Department responded to a drive-by shooting at 3790 Mulkey Circle in Marietta. Upon arrival, officers located numerous shell casings and significant damage to two separate units at that location. Both units were occupied at the time of the shooting. Surveillance video captured the entirety of the shooting, which depicted three individuals being dropped off in a vehicle, shooting the apartment units, and then being picked back up by that same vehicle. Investigators were able to identify the make, model, and tag of the vehicle used. Investigators spoke with the owner of said vehicle and learned that Daniels, Dowell and Poole, as well as a fourth individual named Thomas Williams, borrowed the vehicle. The owner specifically identified Williams as the driver and the others as passengers. Another individual close to the defendants also identified Daniels, Dowell and Poole as the shooters and Williams as the driver. The subsequent investigation determined that Thomas White, an inmate in the Georgia Department of Corrections, utilized a contraband cellphone to request that Daniels, Dowell and Poole commit the shooting.

On June 28, 2021, Daniels, Dowell and Poole were located and arrested at a residence in Hiram, Georgia, by the Cobb County Police Department and the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. The Cobb County Police Department and the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on the residence and several firearms were located. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed that three of the guns located at the residence were those used in the June 25, 2021, shooting on Mulkey Circle. On Oct. 13, 2022, Daniels, Dowell, Poole, White and Williams were indicted in Cobb County by the Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit.

In addition to the charges in Cobb County, Daniels, Dowell and Poole were later indicted in Fulton County for the Home Depot shooting and in Paulding County for unlawful possession of firearms. Poole had previously pleaded guilty to these offenses in Fulton and Paulding County. Daniels and Dowell’s Fulton and Paulding County cases remain open. Thomas Williams is still wanted for his role in the June 25, 2021, shooting. For anyone with information on the whereabouts of Thomas Williams, please contact Cobb County Lead Detective Stephen Knight at (770) 499-3945.

About the Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit

Last year, with the support of Governor Brian Kemp and members of the General Assembly, Attorney General Chris Carr created Georgia’s first statewide Gang Prosecution Unit.

Since it began its historic work on July 1, 2022, the Gang Prosecution Unit has indicted 89 alleged gang members in Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Bryan, Clayton, Cobb, Dougherty, Fulton, Gwinnett, Muscogee, and Thomas counties.

The Gang Prosecution Unit is housed in the Attorney General’s Prosecution Division, which also includes Carr’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit and his Public Integrity and White Collar Crime Unit.

The statewide Gang Prosecution Unit is based in Atlanta, with regional, satellite prosecutors and investigators in Albany and Augusta, Georgia.