Several illegal machine guns along with drugs were seized Wednesday in Athens after law enforcement officers culminated an investigation that led to the arrest of three men suspected of dealing drugs.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department's Gang Unit and the Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Unit initially seized drugs and guns during a traffic stop on Wednesday, and this was followed by the search of a home in northwest Athens where numerous firearms were found, according to the report.
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The three suspects remained in jail on Thursday without bond.
The operation got underway when a Gang Unit officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by 25-year-old Siderious O'Neal Heard of Athens. He was cited for seatbelt and windshield violations. But police also filed felony charges against Heard after they searched the vehicle and seized a quarter pound of marijuana, a Glock 27 pistol, and $968 cash, according to police Lt. Katie Jenkins.
Following this arrest, the officers, who had conducted an undercover investigation of about two months, served a search warrant at a residence on Sidney Lanier Avenue in a neighborhood of townhouses off Jefferson River Road. Here, the officers seized 14 guns, six of which were modified as automatic machine guns, along with about 10 pounds of marijuana and $4,712 in cash, according to the report.
The suspects, Joshua Lanier Campbell, 23, of Rocksprings Court, and Fredrick Letron Heard, 24, of Parkview Homes, were charged with numerous counts of trafficking in marijuana, possession of firearms and possession of machine guns.
Campbell pleaded guilty in January 2024 to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. In January 2023, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and obstruction of an officer and was sentenced to eight years on probation with one year in jail, according to court records.
Fredrick Heard pleaded guilty in 2025 to violating a family violence order and was sentenced to 12 months in jail. He was originally charged with felony stalking, the records show.
Siderious Heard was arrested in 2022 on charges of possessing marijuana with intent and carrying a firearm during a crime. The court record shows those charges are still pending in Superior Court.
The Heard suspects are related, but police did not say how.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens drug probe nets 3 arrests, 6 illegal machine guns