2 At Large, 6 Arrests After Major FBI Drug Investigation

Gainesville, GA -- The FBI’s North Georgia Major Offender Task Force arrested six people and are looking for two more in connection with a methamphetamine distribution network that sold large amounts of the drug throughout north east Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.

The arrests were made on Thursday, when federal warrants were served in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Cherokee and Pickens counties.

The following individuals were arrested on federal complaints for conspiracy to distribute methamphtamine:

• Teofilo Santana-Medrano, AKA Carlos Santana, 28, of Lawrenceville
• Lesli Alvarado Arroyo, 27, of Lawrenceville
• Mitchell Lingerfelt, 44, of Ball Ground
• Michael Davis, 56, of Canton
• Maria Maldonado, 37, of Atlanta
• Salome Urieta-Jamies, 38, of Marietta

The following individuals are still at large:

• Javier Eras, 22, of Atlanta
• Tim Barnes, 52, of Jasper

Tim Barnes

Javier Eras

In November of 2017, the North Georgia Major Offender Task Force began investigating the case which was initiated by the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office. Through cooperation with assisting agencies the task force identified a drug trafficking network that Teofilo Santana-Medrano was using to traffic and sell kilos of methamphetamine in Metro Atlanta, the North Georgia mountains, North Carolina and Florida.

On May 9, 2019, the task force with the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Georgia, the GBI’s Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Corrections, Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police Department, Zell Miller Task Force and Homeland Security executed 9-search warrants and 10 arrest warrants throughout Atlanta and North Georgia.

The FBI is asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of Javier Eras and Tim Barnes to call the FBI Atlanta Field Office at 770-216-3000 of submit a tip online at www.tips.gbi.gov.

The public should be reminded that the above are merely allegations and that all persons are to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.