ATLANTA – A grand jury in Lowndes County this week indicted 10 alleged members of a criminal gang based in Valdosta in the shooting deaths last November of two men and an assault on two Lowndes sheriff’s deputies.

The 10, accused of being members of the gang 923/BangKrew, are charged with targeting a rival gang in a shootout in front of a strip of bars in the city of Remerton, the same location where Valdosta State University student Brianna Long, 21, was shot and killed almost exactly a year earlier.

The November shootings claimed the lives of Jastain Darrisaw, 20, and Lajoespet Wells, 31. Shots also were fired in the direction of two responding officers who were working security that night. One of those deputies was shot in his protective vest and was treated at a local hospital and released.

The case will be jointly prosecuted by the Georgia Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit and the Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

“When shots were fired in a crowded area, these two deputies risked their lives to keep people safe,” Attorney General Chris Carr said Friday. “Now, we’re fighting to ensure those responsible are held accountable because this cycle of violence cannot continue. … Violent offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The 10 defendants, all of whom are from Valdosta, are charged with felony murder and aggravated assault on a public safety officer. They also are accused of violating Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act and use of a firearm during commission of a felony.

Nine of the 10 are in custody. The 10th, Jailen Bryant, is actively being sought by law enforcement.

Carr, working with Gov. Brian Kemp and the General Assembly, created Georgia’s first statewide Gang Prosecution Unit in 2022. Since beginning its work that summer, it has secured more than 100 convictions following indictments in 15 counties across the state.