Atlanta Man Gets Federal Jail Time For Heroin Trafficking In English Avenue Neighborhood

ATLANTA, Ga. – An Atlanta man will spend more than five years in federal prison as part of an ongoing government effort to eradicate the heroin market in the city’s English Avenue neighborhood.

U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones sentenced Shantuan Daniel on Monday to five years and three months following his conviction for heroin trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm as part of the Northern District of Georgia’s Drug Market Initiative (DMI) program, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta.

Daniel, 25, pled guilty to the charges on Nov. 15, 2016.

“Daniel threatened an Atlanta Police Department officer with a firearm prior to his arrest in this case,” said John A. Horn, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, in a statement. “But Daniel was captured and brought to justice thanks to the diligence of APD officers and his federal sentence for distributing heroin in the neighborhood of English Avenue is an important win for this community.”

According to Horn, the charges listed and other information presented in court, Daniel is one of the final defendants to be sentenced as part of the first phase of the District’s DMI investigation of drug trafficking in Atlanta’s English Avenue community.

Between April 22, 2015 and June 11, 2015, Daniel distributed heroin in the English Avenue neighborhood and was identified by law enforcement after he conducted a hand-to-hand transaction with an undercover officer in April 2015. He was also a convicted felon at that time.

An undercover officer was present in the area that same day to conduct a drug deal with an unrelated DMI target when Daniel unexpectedly approached him. Daniel gave the undercover officer heroin and his cell phone number in the hope of doing future drug deals with the undercover officer. Then in June, Daniel was involved in a heroin “buy/bust” attempt, only to escape as law enforcement officers tried to arrest him.

During his escape, Daniel pointed a loaded firearm at an APD investigator just before escaping down a deep embankment where officers were unable to apprehend him.

He remained a fugitive from the Georgia State Patrol, APD and the National Guard for a nearly a year before being apprehended on April 7, 2016 on unrelated charges. At the time, he was driving a vehicle that contained more heroin and a stolen firearm.

The case was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Atlanta Police Department.

“This sentence is another reminder that ATF and our law enforcement partners will hold individuals accountable for any criminal behavior, especially that which threatens the safety of innocent civilians,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Wayne Dixie in a statement.

APD Chief Erika Shields lauded the cooperation between the different agencies that resulted in Daniel’s arrest.

“I have always known that partnerships are the key to making the city of Atlanta a safer city,” Shields said. “The sentencing of Mr. Daniel is proof that the DMI program is working to turn the English Avenue neighborhood in a new direction. The Atlanta Police Department will continue working with our local, state and federal partners to develop new programs and find innovative ways to fight crime.”

The case was prosecuted as part of the U.S. Attorney’s DMI Initiative in the English Avenue heroin market. Since the summer of 2015, more than 60 heroin traffickers have faced federal charges. U.S. Attorney’s Office staff members have simultaneously been involved in diversion programs for other heroin dealers, as well as community rebuilding efforts.

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