Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says a major gang operation tied to Hays State Prison in Chattooga County has been shut down following the convictions of 16 members of the 1-8 Trey Gangster Bloods. The case stems from a large-scale investigation into violent crime, drug trafficking, and gang recruitment allegedly directed both inside and outside Georgia prisons.

A central figure in the case is Jamar Ramsay, identified as the statewide leader of 1-8 Trey. Ramsay was already serving a life sentence for a previous murder conviction, but investigators say he continued to orchestrate criminal activity while incarcerated—communicating electronically with other members to further the gang’s enterprise.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, those communications included discussions about recruiting new members, including youth, and coordinating the packaging, shipping, and distribution of drugs and contraband—including cell phones—into state correctional facilities. Officials say the alleged racketeering conspiracy spanned January 2019 through October 2022, with acts tied to multiple Georgia counties, including Chattooga County, along with activity reaching beyond Georgia.

Carr’s office reports that Ramsay and another defendant, Brantavious Sims, were found guilty on all charges after a 20-day jury trial in Barrow County, with the jury returning its verdict on Nov. 24, 2025. Ramsay was sentenced to an additional 60 years in prison.

Carr credited collaboration with the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, saying the case shows that attempts to run criminal enterprises from inside prison walls will be investigated and prosecuted. Officials also emphasized concerns about contraband cell phones being used to coordinate crimes and gang activity from behind bars.

The convictions mark a significant step, investigators say, in disrupting gang operations that reach into communities while maintaining connections to inmates inside Georgia’s prison system.