Georgia Gang Member Sentenced to 10 Years for Drive-By Shooting at Crowded Gas Station

ATLANTA — A member of the GoodFellas criminal street gang was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Tuesday for his role in a drive-by shooting at a busy gas station that injured an innocent bystander and traumatized children sitting in a nearby car, prosecutors announced.

Tahj Rankine, 27, of Tucker, Georgia, also known as Biggz, pleaded guilty in January 2026 to discharging a firearm during a crime of violence — specifically, attempted murder committed in aid of the gang’s racketeering enterprise. In addition to his prison term, Rankine was ordered to serve five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, the GoodFellas gang is based in Atlanta and recruits members in city neighborhoods as well as in jails and prisons across Georgia. The gang generates money through drug trafficking, robbery, carjacking, fraud, and firearms trafficking, and uses violence and threats of violence to protect its territory and reputation.

The shooting occurred in February 2021. On that day, Rankine drove fellow gang members to an open Quickmart gas station where they believed members of a rival gang were present. A second vehicle carrying additional armed GoodFellas members accompanied Rankine’s car.

Rankine drove through the gas station parking lot, turned around, and made a second pass. As he drove through the second time, gang members in both vehicles opened fire toward the storefront. A gas station employee estimated that shooters fired between 30 and 40 rounds.

Several people were injured, including an innocent bystander. Bullets also struck a car containing children, who were traumatized but physically unharmed, according to prosecutors.

“Gang shootings in public places are all too common,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendant and his gang terrorized customers at a gas station, unleashing more than 30 rounds, endangering innocent victims, and even hitting a car containing children.”

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg for the Northern District of Georgia said the case demonstrates ongoing efforts to target gang violence. “Tahj Rankine drove a vehicle while fellow gang members shot out of it, maiming an innocent bystander,” Hertzberg said.

Purdue Pharma Sentenced to Pay More Than $5 Billion for Role in Fueling Opioid Epidemic

NEWARK, N.J. — Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP was sentenced in federal court Tuesday and ordered to pay criminal penalties exceeding $5 billion for its role in fueling the nation’s opioid crisis, the Justice Department announced.

The company pleaded guilty in November 2020 to a three-count felony information, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The sentencing follows years of investigation into Purdue’s marketing and distribution of its highly addictive prescription opioids.

According to court documents, between 2007 and 2017, Purdue illegally marketed its opioid products to hundreds of prescribers whom the company had good reason to believe were prescribing the drugs without a legitimate medical purpose. The company also defrauded the Drug Enforcement Administration by misrepresenting the effectiveness of its programs designed to prevent illegal diversion of the drugs.

Prosecutors said Purdue used prescriptions written by problematic prescribers to justify fraudulent requests to the DEA to increase the amount of opioids it was permitted to manufacture. The company also paid kickbacks to doctors through its speaker program and to an electronic health record platform to induce them to prescribe more opioids.

“Purdue Pharma put profits over patient health and safety,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The company willfully rejected the law and ignored the diversion of their highly addictive prescription drugs. Their actions contributed to the opioid crisis that claimed countless lives and destroyed entire families and communities.”

The court ordered Purdue to pay a criminal fine of 3.544 billion and additional 2 billion in criminal forfeiture. The Justice Department said it will credit up to $1.775 billion against the forfeiture amount based on the value conferred to state, local, and tribal governments through Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings — provided the company ceases to operate in its current form and emerges as a public benefit company or similar entity.

Proceeds from that public benefit company would be directed to state and local opioid abatement programs. Purdue is also required to host a public repository containing documents related to the criminal charges.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the company “complicitly contributed to this national epidemic in the name of their own greed.” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey added that Purdue “made billions by unlawfully marketing dangerous opioid products and deceiving the DEA and the American people.”

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Selling $8.4 Million in Mislabeled Inhalants Marketed as Tape Cleaner

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal conspiracy charges for selling more than $8 million worth of volatile alkyl nitrites — commonly known as “poppers” — that were falsely labeled as tape cleaner to evade safety regulations, the Justice Department announced.

Brett Sandy, 41, of Austin, worked for an Austin-based manufacturer of poppers from January 2019 until approximately February 2025. He oversaw bookkeeping for the company and communicated with customers seeking to buy the products for use as recreational inhalants, according to court documents.

“Misrepresenting hazardous products to evade federal safety requirements is illegal,” said Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). “To protect the safety of the American public, CPSC will work with our federal law enforcement partners to identify violations, shut down criminal operations, and hold offenders accountable.”

The products, sold under names such as “love potion” and “pumpkin spice latte,” were falsely labeled as tape cleaner to mislead the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission about their intended purpose, prosecutors said.

Sandy admitted that he facilitated the sale of hundreds of bottles from his company to an individual who intended to distribute them as a drug at a “sexy singles party.” In his guilty plea, Sandy agreed that evidence showed the company sold more than $8.4 million in unlawful poppers products during his employment.

Poppers are commonly misused by inhaling through the nose. According to federal health officials, misuse of volatile alkyl nitrites can cause serious adverse health effects, including irregular heartbeat, vision loss, and death.

“Although the labeling for poppers products often misleadingly claims they are sold as cleaning agents, poppers are commonly misused for recreational purposes,” the Justice Department stated.

Sandy pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and one count of conspiracy to violate the Consumer Product Safety Act. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.