Antonio DaShawn Daniels, also known as “Freckleface Shawn” and “Pecas,” has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for trafficking heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, as well as possessing 40 firearms at his Atlanta stash house. Daniels was convicted at trial in June 2025.
“Supplied by the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Daniels’s drug trafficking organization devastated hundred, if not thousands, of lives through its large-scale distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Daniels was one of the largest heroin and fentanyl distributors to ever operate in Georgia, and his conviction and sentencing are the direct result of the tireless efforts of skilled prosecutors, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and our local law enforcement partners.”
“This investigation tore apart a drug trafficking network responsible for dealing drugs in communities across the region,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “This operation shows what can be accomplished when there is collaboration between federal and local law enforcement agencies.”
“This drug trafficking organization is part of a ruthless criminal network that profits from drugs, guns, and bloodshed,” said Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.
According to information presented in court by U.S. Attorney Hertzberg and other sources: Daniels led a large-scale drug trafficking group operating from at least August 2018 until his arrest on July 27, 2020. The investigation began in 2019 after agents found a ledger showing Daniels had received over 1,000 kilograms of cocaine within an 18-month period for which he paid more than $31 million. Investigators used court-approved wiretaps on Daniels’s phones to identify key members and understand the organization’s reach.
The investigation ended with a takedown on July 27, 2020 that resulted in record-setting seizures: about 28 kilograms of heroin (17 mixed with fentanyl), six kilograms of cocaine, eight kilograms of marijuana, over $2.1 million in cash at an Atlanta apartment where Daniels was arrested. Forty firearms were found throughout the apartment along with kilo-presses and other equipment.
Agents also searched another residence serving as a stash location for the group; inside they seized more than 142 kilograms of heroin—mostly mixed with fentanyl—which marked Georgia’s largest-ever heroin seizure at that time.
Several members of Daniels’s organization have already received federal prison sentences:
- Darryl McCrary Jr., sentenced to 25 years after being convicted by jury.
- William Daniels received a sentence of 15 years following a guilty plea.
- Quinton Oliver was sentenced to ten years and one month after pleading guilty.
- Michael Peeker received one-and-a-half years after pleading guilty.
- Lorene Reeves was sentenced to four years and nine months after pleading guilty.
- Niteria Patterson received ten years after pleading guilty.
On January 21, U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. sentenced Antonio DaShawn Daniels to forty years’ imprisonment followed by ten years supervised release following his June conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl and cocaine; possession with intent to distribute these substances; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and possession of a firearm related to drug trafficking.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with support from Doraville Police Department and DeKalb County Police Department. Prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric White, Sandy Strippoli, Laurel Milam along with former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Hartigan and Alison Prout.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide effort using resources from the Department of Justice aimed at eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations—and forms part of initiatives such as the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF). The HSTF brings together multiple federal agencies including ATF, DEA, FBI among others along with state/local partners under leadership from offices like that of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, which serves as principal federal law enforcement agency across north Georgia handling both criminal prosecutions and civil cases for millions living in its jurisdiction.
For additional information contact USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or call (404) 581-6016.
