Gang of six indicted in fatal crime spree: meet the Jack Boys

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  • Fulton County District Attorneys Office

In late Dec., when the Atlanta Police Department announced they had three people in custody for the Nov. 22 murder of Charles Boyer outside a Virginia-Highland apartment complex, Maj. Keith Meadows of the Major Crimes Section said police had yet to discover any link to gang activity. But, he said, they "weren't ruling it out."

Alas, those three men and at least three other people did, in fact, comprise a criminal street gang. They call themselves the Jack Boys.

According to a massive indictment brought by District Attorney Paul Howard today, six young people — Tamario Wise, 18, Raphael Cross, 22, Whitney McCoy, 18, Octavious Porter, 20, Robert Veal, 17, and Fernandez Whatley, 20 — are being accused with committing an outrageous 90 crimes in 14 separate incidents during a 40-day period. Wise, who police says was the gang's "ringleader," was the only suspect whose name had been released prior to today.

Police say the Jack Boys — which, it seems worth mentioning, is also the name of a song by Gucci Mane featuring fellow Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame — began their crime spree on Oct. 19 with an armed robbery and car jacking. The spree didn't conclude until Nov. 27, when Wise was picked up following a kidnapping and armed robbery in Benteen Park.

Here's a timeline of the crimes of which they're accused:
Oct. 19: Armed robbery and car jacking on Rambling Drive (not sure where this is)

Oct. 21: Armed robbery and car jacking on Reynolds Drive near Lakewood Amphitheater

Oct. 22: Armed robbery at Bond Drive at Amal Drive, also near Lakewood Amphitheater

Nov. 8: Armed robbery of a taxi driver on Pickfair Avenue, also near Lakewood Amphitheater

Nov. 11: Armed robbery and car jacking on Pollard Boulevard, just south of Turner Field

Nov. 19: Armed robbery and car jacking (the now-infamous 2005 Toyota Highlander) on Greenview Avenue in Buckhead

Nov. 20: Armed robbery and car jacking on Ferncliff Road, also in Buckhead

Nov. 21: Armed robbery on Park Avenue in the Polar Rock neighborhood

Nov. 22: Armed robbery and murder of Charles Boyer on Virginia Avenue in Virginia-Highland

Nov. 23: Rape on Boulevard in Grant Park
Nov. 23: Armed robbery on Berne Street between Grant Park and Ormewood Park
Nov. 23: Armed robbery on Underwood Avenue in Ormewood Park
Nov. 23: Armed robbery and aggravated assault on Horne Avenue (not sure where this is)

Nov. 27: Kidnapping and armed robbery on Benteen Park Drive in Benteen Park

Wise, Veal and Cross are the three being charged with Boyer's murder and the rape in Grant Park.

At a press conference earlier today, Maj. Keith Meadows said a major break for police was when they began noticing similarities — like modus operandi (particularly in home invasions) and similar physical descriptions of the suspects — in crimes being committed throughout the city.

District Attorney Howard said that if the gang members are convicted, he doesn't expect that they'll ever reenter society.

Continue reading for a breakdown of the Jack Boys' indictment: