Feds Say Gwinnett Ex-Deputy Stole Drugs, Tried To Hide Thefts

ATLANTA, GA — A former Gwinnett County sheriff's deputy is facing federal charges that he stole drugs after a car chase and crash on Interstate 285 and a law enforcement raid in an Atlanta hotel, and then tried to cover up the thefts.

A federal grand jury indicted Antione Riggins, 40, of Loganville on Sept. 24 on charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, unlawfully removing property to prevent government seizure, and making false statements and documents, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced Tuesday, Oct. 1.

“Riggins’ alleged theft of previously seized drugs is shocking,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said in a statement. Atlanta's top federal prosecutor also accused the former deputy of misleading authorities “to prevent the arrest and prosecution of the drug trafficking suspects from whom the drugs were seized, in an apparent effort to cover his tracks."

Prosecutors say the charges stem from two incidents in 2017, when Riggins was serving on a task force formed by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to stop drug trafficking in the Atlanta area.

As part of his duties, Riggins assisted Gwinnett authorities in HSI's drug cases by taking seized drugs from crime scenes to the county sheriff's evidence vault, according to the statement. The former deputy also obtained arrest warrants for accused drug traffickers.

On Feb. 23, 2017, the HSI task force seized three kilograms of cocaine after the high-speed chase on I-285. The driver of the car that crashed, accused of drug trafficking, escaped from police officers afterwards.

Riggins was ordered to take the cocaine to the sheriff's vault. But the next day, prosecutors allege, he "checked only one kilogram of cocaine into evidence, not three, and he failed to secure a warrant for the arrest of the cocaine trafficker."

On July 14, 2017, the HSI task force seized about six kilograms of methamphetamine from an Atlanta hotel room. A task force agent again ordered Riggins to take the seized drugs to the evidence vault, but none of the methamphetamine was checked into evidence, say prosecutors.

The grand jury also alleged that Riggins tried to prevent prosecutors from finding the missing narcotics by lying to HSI agents, creating and submitting a falsified evidence form to the sheriff's office, and presenting a false court order to the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court.

Riggins left the HSI task force in early 2018, and his employment with the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office ended after the allegations "came to the attention of law enforcement," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The FBI is investigating this case, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General.

“This former officer violated his oath of office and the public’s trust," GBI Director Vic Reynolds said in the statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. "The GBI is committed to working with local and federal partners to investigate these types of crimes to ensure the public trust of officers is upheld."