Guns, chases and rammed police cars highlight end of Columbus ‘Ghostface Gangster’ cases
Triggered five years ago by police chasing a U-Haul truck that rammed patrol cars and escaped, a prolonged investigation into a whites-only Columbus street gang finally is wrapping up as the suspects plead out.
Authorities in April 2018 said the suspects were associated with the Ghostface Gangsters, a gang that began in the Cobb County jail in 2000. Five locals were arrested in the days following the chase that damaged three police cars and led to multiple charges.
The latest defendant to plead guilty was Adam James Canada, 42, arrested in May 2018 at his 30th Street home, where police found drugs, stolen checks and multiple guns.
“I’ve changed my life,” Canada told Superior Court Judge Arthur Smith III on Friday. “I’m no longer out there gangbanging or anything like that.... My heart changed, your honor.”
Canada was not involved in the police chase that kicked off the investigation, but was arrested as part of the probe.
He initially was charged with 35 counts of identity fraud, 21 counts of gang activity, four weapons offenses, two counts each of third-degree forgery and fourth-degree forgery, and one each of selling meth and having a drug-related object.
He pleaded guilty Friday to four counts of forgery and one count each of criminal street gang activity and using a firearm to commit a crime. Smith sentenced him to 15 years in prison with six to serve and the rest on probation.
Canada is the fourth defendant to plead guilty, leaving one whose case has yet to be resolved.
Here are the others:
Kevin Brian Davis, 39, pleaded guilty April 12 to two counts each of assaulting a police officer and interfering with government property by ramming patrol cars; three counts of second-degree burglary; four counts of financial card theft and one of trying to elude police. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison with six to serve.
Cody T. Watson, 30, pleaded Dec. 14. 2022, to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a convicted felon with a gun. He was sentenced to eight years in prison with four to serve.
Brandon Thomas Barfield Sr., 40, pleaded guilty Nov. 12, 2021 to second-degree burglary and felony theft. He was sentenced to five years probation.
Still facing charges is Kevin Jerome Carter, 51, accused of four counts of financial card theft, two of second-degree burglary and one of possessing fentanyl.
Chase and arrests
Police first encountered Canada and Watson at Canada’s home as investigators searched for Davis, having linked Davis to the U-Haul chase on April 16, 2018. A search of the residence turned up forged checks, stolen Social Security cards, 30 firearms and 12.7 grams of methamphetamine, Assistant District Attorney Austin Hammock said during Canada’s sentencing.
The hunt for Davis began on April 12, 2018, when a manager at The Storage Place, 4445 Warm Springs Road, told investigators Davis and Carver had loaded a Dodge Ram pickup with equipment they took from the business’ storage room, then left and returned for more.
They were loading the truck again when the manager arrived and blocked them in. Carver was arrested there, but Davis ran away.
On April 15, 2018, police were called to the business again when a customer renting a unit there reported finding two men loading his old comic books and other collectibles into a U-Haul truck. The thieves sped away with about $1,500 worth of goods, some tumbling onto the pavement as they fled.
Patrol officers looking for the U-Haul that night spotted it around 1 a.m. on Second Avenue and tried to stop it. The U-Haul sped north to the J.R. Allen Parkway, briefly pulled over near Schomburg Road, then shifted to reverse to ram and disable a police car, and sped off again.
At 2 a.m., police stopped the truck again, at the J.R. Allen Parkway and Moon Road. Again the driver reversed to ram and disable a police car, and escaped a second time.
Tipped that Davis was driving the U-Haul, investigators tracked his cell phone signal to Canada’s home, where officers arrested Davis about 7:30 p.m. that day.
But police still had not found the U-Haul truck.
Around 11:30 p.m. , on April 17, 2018, officers saw Barfield driving the U-Haul at 42nd Street and Meritas Drive, investigators said. Though the truck again rammed a police car, the officer still was able to pursue the U-Haul, which police chased to Miller Road and Milgen Road, where Barfield wrecked and ran, they said. He was arrested after officers ran him down.
In the weeks that followed, police alleged the suspects were committing crimes to further the interest of the gang, and added more charges. But the case was delayed by COVID-19 court lockdowns and conflicts of interest.
Known for their violent enforcement of gang rules and use of contraband cell phones to conduct criminal activities from within prisons, the Ghostface Gangsters since have expanded outside the prison system, with thousands of members in Georgia, particularly in the Atlanta area, experts say.
Federal authorities last year concluded an extensive investigation into the gang, ending with 25 guilty pleas to various felonies. Among those pleading were three of the gang’s seven founding members, prosecutors said.
