A full interview with Sheneka Terry can be found above.
COLUMBUS, Ga. ( WRBL ) — The state of Georgia has put the latest piece of its puzzle in place to fight the growing criminal street gang problem in Columbus.
The Attorney General’s Office has hired a prosecutor who will work out of Columbus in the statewide gang prosecution unit.
She is a familiar name to the area – Sheneka Terry, who was the acting district attorney back in 2021 and early 2022 when DA Mark Jones was convicted of public corruption, is returning to the ranks. Attorney General Chris Carr’s office confirmed the hire to WRBL.
For the last two years, Terry has been working as a public defender, though much of her career was spent as a prosecutor in the Chattahoochee Circuit’s DA office. Terry is also a JAG officer in the Army National Guard.
Terry sees her prosecutorial role as an opportunity to educate and advocate to keep young people out of criminal street gangs.
“What drew me to this position is that we are seeing children being recruited younger and younger into these gang organizations and I think it’s just important that we not only prosecute,” said Terry. “But that we educate the community, educate parents on what this type of activity looks like… that we provide a resource not only for law enforcement, but for the DA’s office, to assist them in addressing and prosecuting these cases, to be able to go out into the community and provide some sort of intervention for those young children that are being recruited so that they don’t end up becoming a part of this lifestyle.”