Meet West Georgia's new top prosecutor

You can find the full interview with Sheneka Terry above.

COLUMBUS, GA. (WRBL) — The state of Georgia has put the final piece of its puzzle in place to combat the growing criminal street gang problem in Columbus.

The attorney general’s office has hired a prosecutor to work with its statewide gang prosecution unit out of Columbus.

A familiar name of the region; Sheneka Terry, who was the acting district attorney in 2021 and early 2022 when District Attorney Mark Jones was convicted of public corruption, is returning to the ranks. Attorney General Chris Carr’s office confirmed the hiring to WRBL.

Terry has worked as a public defender for the past two years, but most of his career has been spent as a prosecutor in the Chattahoochee Circuit District Attorney’s office. Terry is also a JAG officer in the Army National Guard.

Terry sees his role as a prosecutor as an opportunity to educate and advocate to keep young people out of street criminal gangs.

“What brought me to this position is that we are seeing younger and younger kids being recruited into these gang organizations, and I think it’s important that we don’t just file charges,” Terry said. “But we need to educate the community, educate parents on what these types of activities look like…provide a resource not only for law enforcement, but also for the DA’s office to assist them in handling and prosecuting these cases, to go out into the community and provide some form of guidance to the young kids who are recruited.” provide intervention so that they do not become part of this lifestyle.”

“It feels great to be part of a team of people who want to do the right thing, who want to protect the citizens of Georgia, who want to see communities thrive, who want to protect children. It feels great,” Terry added.

In addition to Terry, the Attorney General’s Office also hired Amanda McKelvey as an investigator. The GBI is also establishing a 10-person task force in Columbus.

This hire is part of a recent expansion of Attorney General Chris Carr’s gang prosecution unit.

“Since creating Georgia’s first statewide Gang Prosecution Unit in July 2022, we have worked hand-in-hand with law enforcement in Muscogee County to successfully prosecute those responsible for repeated acts of violence targeting individuals as young as 16,” Carr said. “By expanding our team to include a dedicated prosecutor and investigator in Columbus, we are able to strengthen our efforts to fully dismantle the growing gang networks that terrorize our community and recruit our children every day.”

“We are grateful for the support of everyone in Muscogee County and look forward to our continued partnership as we fight to keep all Georgians safe,” Carr continued.

Senior Deputy AG Cara Convery, Chief Gang Prosecution Unit, welcomes Terry to the team.

“Having a team member who has the opportunity to work in the public defender’s office, be a prosecutor, and prosecute cases as an assistant prosecutor really offers something extremely unique,” Convery said. “He stands out from the rest of my team because of these experiences and the special experience he has in the courtroom. But it’s Columbus courtrooms where he knows people, where he knows what jurors care about, where he knows how to tell his story in a compelling way. “I couldn’t have asked for a better team member and we are thrilled with this experience.”

Gang prosecution was created in 2022 by a resolution of the Georgian General Assembly. Since then, the unit has obtained more than 50 convictions in 13 Georgia counties.

Last year, the gang prosecution unit secured convictions in two murder cases in Muscogee County. There is currently another active Columbus case involving a drive-by shooting in 2020.

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