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PAGE 12A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MAY 18. 2023
DA and GBI issue statement on guilty pleas in Gilmer vacation cabin murder
Multiple defendants have been arrested, some extradited from Mexico and entered guilty pleas; three still at large
Press Release
Appalachian Judicial Cir
cuit District Attorney &
Georgia Bureau of
Investigation
In April of 2021, associ
ates of a drug trafficking or
ganization (DTO) conspired
to abduct Rossano Delgado
of Barrow County.
The members of this DTO
associated together for the
common purposes of ille
gally committing acts of vio
lence and obtaining money
and property through the sale
of drugs and illegal con
trolled substances.
They distributed con
trolled substances, such as
methamphetamine, through
out Georgia.
The kidnapping of Del
gado ultimately occurred on
April 16, 2021, when she was
lured to the Plaza Fiesta
Shopping Mall in DeKalb
County, under the false pre
tenses of a shopping trip.
Delgado was taken to a resi
dence in DeKalb County,
where she was bound and
transported to subsequent lo
cations in Clayton and
Gilmer Counties over a sev
eral day period, ultimately ar
riving at the location of her
murder, a cabin in Gilmer
County.
The residence in Gilmer
County was a rental cabin
whose reservation was made
through an online vacation
rental company. The reserva
tion was made using a stolen
identity.
At the cabin in Gilmer
County, Georgia, associates
of the DTO did torture Del
gado prior to her death and
eventually carried out the
killing of Delgado and dis
memberment and burning of
Delgado’s body. They subse
quently concealed and de
stroyed evidence of the
murder of Delgado. Addi
tionally, associates of the
DTO secured transportation
and facilitated the fleeing of
associates of the DTO to
Mexico to prevent their ap
prehension.
In May, 2021, Oscar
Manuel Garcia, Megan
Alyssa Colone and Juan An
tonio Vega were apprehended
in Reynosa, Mexico and ex
tradited to the United States.
In June, 2021, Juan Ayala-
Rodriguez was apprehended
in Durango, Mexico and ex
tradited to the United States.
Other defendants were appre
hended at various times dur
ing the investigation and
pendency of this case.
In February, 2022, the
Gilmer County Grand Jury
returned an Indictment
against fourteen (14) named
defendants on charges in re
lation to this case. This mat
ter was set for trial by jury in
the Superior Court of Gilmer
County to begin on May 1,
2023. Prior to trial, numerous
defendants entered pleas of
guilty to include:
(1) On March 9, 2023,
Oscar Manuel Garcia entered
a plea of guilty to the of
fenses of Malice Murder;
Kidnapping; Concealing
Death of Another; Removal
of Body Parts from Scene of
Death; Aggravated Battery;
and Violation of the Racket
eer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act and was
sentenced to life in prison.
(2) On April 26,2023:
a. Juan Ayala-Rodriguez
entered a plea of guilty to the
offenses of Kidnapping, Con
cealing Death of Another,
Aggravated Battery; and Vi
olation of the Racketeer In
fluenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act and was
sentenced to life in prison.
b. Juan Antonio Vega en
tered a plea of guilty to the
offenses of Kidnapping, Con
cealing Death of Another,
Aggravated Battery; and Vi
olation of the Racketeer In
fluenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act and was
sentenced to (70) years serve
thirty (30) years in the Geor
gia state prison system.
c. Megan Alyssa Colone
entered a plea of guilty to the
offense of Violation of the
Racketeer Influenced and
Comipt Organizations Act
and was sentenced to twenty
(20) years serve eighteen
(18) years in the Georgia
state prison system.
d. Eva Galicia Martinez
entered a plea of guilty to the
offense of Violation of the
Racketeer Influenced and
Comipt Organizations Act
and was sentenced to twenty
(20) years serve thirteen (13)
years in the Georgia state
prison system.
(3) Additionally, on April
26, 2023, Terri Amanda Gar
ner, Patrick Harvard, Calvin
Harvard and Shawn Call
away entered plea of guilty to
the Violation of the Racket
eer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act and were
sentenced to serve time in the
Georgia State Prison System
to be followed by probation.
This remains an open case
within the District Attorney’s
Office in Gilmer County,
Georgia in regard to other de
fendants.
The following defen
dants currently remain at-
large:
Mario Alberto Barbosa-
Juarez, for the offenses of
Malice Murder; Felony Mur-
the Racketeer Influenced and
Comipt Organizations Act (2
counts).
der; Kidnapping; Concealing
Death of Another; Removal
of Body Parts from Scene of
Death; Aggravated Battery;
and Violation of the Racket
eer Influenced and Comipt
Organizations Act (2 counts).
Maria Katherine Encar-
nacion, for the offenses of
Felony Murder; Kidnapping;
and Violation of the Racket
eer Influenced and Comipt
Organizations Act (2 counts).
The investigation of this
case was conducted by the
Georgia Bureau of Investiga
tion with the assistance of
numerous local, state and
federal law enforcement
agencies including the
Gilmer County Sheriff’s Of
fice, Homeland Security In
vestigations and the United
States Marshals.
District Attorney B. Ali
son Sosebee states “I would
like to thank all of the law
enforcement agencies that
were involved in the investi
gation of this case. This mat
ter not only spanned across
numerous local and state ju
risdictions, but also involved
the assistance of the federal
government in extraditing
defendants from Mexico.
The GBI has been exhaus
tive in its investigation as
well as the apprehension of
these individuals. Our local
and state law enforcement
agencies have been invalu
able, and I would especially
like to thank the Gilmer
County Sheriff’s Office for
their extensive involvement
in this matter, as well as the
Fannin County Sheriff’s Of
fice and the Pickens County
Sheriff’s Office for their as
sistance.”
D.A. Sosebee continued
by stating, “I also want to ex
tend recognition to the staff
of the District Attorney’s Of
fice for their months of
preparation, long hours and
perseverance in preparing
this matter for trial to ensure
that justice is served. It is my
hope, even though this matter
remains open, that the resolu
tions and sentences entered at
this time will assist the fam
ily and loved ones of
Rossana Delgado in begin
ning to obtain closure.”
Carolina Jazmin Ro
driguez Ramirez, for the of
fenses of Felony Murder;
Kidnapping; and Violation of
Gainesville inland port gets go-ahead
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - A planned
“inland port” in Gainesville
designed to reduce traffic
congestion on Georgia high
ways has gotten a green light
from the feds.
The Georgia Ports Au
thority (GPA) has received
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National Environmental Pol
icy Act approval to move for
ward with plans to build a
rail hub along the Interstate
85/1-985 corridor that will
take in containerized cargo
shipped by freight rail from
the Port of Savannah and
transfer the containers to
trucks.
The GPA has received a
$46.8 million grant from the
U.S. Department of Trans
portation to build the project.
The Gainesville inland
port will join the authority’s
Appalachian Regional Port
in Northwest Georgia, which
has been operating for the
last five years. A 200-acre
site in LaGrange has been ac
quired for a third inland port.
“Our expanding network
is increasing rail capacity and
connectivity between the
port and major manufactur
ing sites around the state,”
said Griff Lynch, the author
ity’s executive director.
“Moving more cargo by rail
eases interstate traffic and re
duces the carbon footprint of
the state’s logistics industry.”
At the other end of the
system, construction of the
Port of Savannah’s Mason
Mega Rail terminal has in
creased rail capacity at the
port to 1 million containers
per year.
The GPA estimates the
Gainesville inland port will
open with an initial annual
volume of 60,000 containers.
With a roundtrip truck route
of 602 miles, this opening
volume will avoid 36 million
truck miles during the pro
ject’s first year of operation.
Construction of the
Gainesville inland port is due
to start early next year, with
completion expected in July
2026.
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75 North Main Street
in the heart of
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• Friday, May 19th, ArtWalk: Visit our gallery
and market during the event to see our
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Book our splatter room or studio for parties,
date night, and other special events
Check our website
for Summer Camp info!
BadDonkeyStudio.com
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CARES needs
food donations
CARES, Inc., Pickens
County’s community as
sistance organization
needs our help. Reduc
tions in government fund
ing, at both the federal
and state level, has af
fected the availability of
non-perishable food they
normally receive. While
they anticipate the short
age to be temporary, they
are reaching out for assis
tance in the meantime.
They are asking the
community to help by
bringing food to their fa
cility at 89 Cares Drive in
Jasper between the hours
of 9-12 on Monday - Fri
day.
They wish to express
their gratitude for sup
porting their efforts to
provide food for those in
need in our county.
A Unit of the Technical College System of Georgia. Equal Opportunity Institution.