A man linked to the Bloods gang was recently sentenced to prison for his role in a 2019 armed robbery in Woodstock, the Cherokee County District Attorney’s office announced.
Dante Dashawn Woods, 22, of Marietta, entered a negotiated guilty plea March 17 to violation of Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Superior Court Judge David Cannon, Jr., sentenced Woods to 25 years, with the first 12 years to be served in prison without parole.
Woods is also banned from Cherokee County and forbidden to have contact with criminal street gang members or associates.
Jahlen Merritt, 22, of Marietta, Woods’ co-defendant, pled guilty on July 12, 2022, for his part in the armed robbery. He was sentenced to 20 years, with the first 10 years to serve in prison without parole.
Charges stem from an armed robbery that occurred on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2019, at about 3 p.m., in the parking lot behind Chattahoochee Technical College in Woodstock.
Prosecutors said Woods pointed a gun at the victim while Merritt took his wallet, iPhone, and a single AirPod. To take money from the person’s bank account, authorities said Merritt used a mobile finance app to transfer money to himself.
Later that day, Merritt and two additional men committed a similar armed robbery in Cobb County, using the same weapon and vehicle, and this time Merritt wore a red bandana over his face, authorities said. Prosecutors said due to his participation in the first armed robbery, Merritt earned the right to display the red bandana as a “flag” for the Bloods in the second.
After the victims gave officers a description of the suspects and the firearm they used, Woodstock police used a receipt from the finance app to identify Merritt and alerted other local agencies.
Police spotted Merritt’s vehicle four days after the robbery and arrested both suspects, authorities said. Woods was identified by his facial tattoos, which the victim had described to law enforcement.
“After a review of the evidence, we were able to conclude that Woods is a member of the Bloods criminal street gang and recruited Merritt to the gang through the commission of these violent crimes,” said Assistant District Attorney Megan S. Hertel, who prosecuted the case. “In order to make a meaningful impact on gang activity within our community, it is necessary to address recruitment into criminal street gangs, and a collaborative effort was made to do that here.”
Prosecutors reviewed a cell phone extraction, social media, music videos, facial tattoos, jail visits and phone calls, and gang activity within the jail.
Evidence from the defendants’ cell phones revealed a conversation in which Woods and Merritt discussed committing “licks” (crimes and armed robberies) and another conversation in which Merritt asked Woods about going on his “walk,” referring to initiation into the gang through criminal activity, the district attorney’s office said.
“Many Cherokee County residents may be shocked to hear that the Bloods, one of the most dangerous criminal street gangs, are in our community committing these sorts of crimes. Our goal is to eradicate criminal street gangs in Georgia. With the continued diligence of law enforcement in this mission, we will do just that,” Acting District Attorney Susan Treadaway said in a statement. “I commend Woodstock, Cobb County, and Marietta Police Departments for working together to ensure a quick arrest and thorough investigation of this crime.”
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
