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A LaGrange man was recently charged with a series of gang-related charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison, according to a press release from the office of the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

On June 10, in the Superior Court of Troup County, Antaveis Dishoun Sands, a/k/a: “Shine,” now 25 years  old, of LaGrange, pleaded guilty to charges in three indictments:

4on Indictment No. 21-R-699, Sands pleaded guilty  to five violations of the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, one count of armed robbery, one count of aggravated assault, and three felony gun crimes

4on Indictment No. 22-R-058, Sands pleaded guilty to one violation of the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act; and on Indictment No. 21-R-796, Sands pleaded guilty to one count of robbery by force.

In accordance with a plea agreement, Coweta Judicial Circuit Superior  Court Judge Markette Baker sentenced Sands to 40 years, with the first 25 years to be served in prison.

Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jack Winne prosecuted the case. LaGrange Police Department Detective Charlie Brown, LPD Gang Investigator William Norris, and Troup County Sheriff’s Office Investigator James Robson were the lead investigators.

The charges resulted from two incidents Sands perpetrated in the City of LaGrange and one while in custody in the  Troup County Jail. In the incident alleged in Indictment No. 21-R-699, on July 16, 2021, Sands met the victim on  Melrose Drive under the pretense of buying a firearm from the victim, according to the press release. Once the victim went into his own vehicle to retrieve the gun that he thought he was selling, Sands pointed a handgun at the victim’s head before proceeding  to strike the victim in the head with that gun, commonly referred to as “pistol-whipping.” Sands then stole the firearm that was to be sold, as well as another handgun from the victim’s waistband, and the victim’s wallet. During the pistol-whipping, the force from the blows cause a laser attachment to be dislodged from Sands’ handgun.  When Sands was apprehended on July 19, 2021, investigators recovered one of the stolen firearms in his vehicle.  The investigation also revealed that, within an hour of the victim reporting he had been robbed, Sands recorded a  video on his phone depicting the two stolen firearms, and that Sands sent a text message to an associate of his, boasting in part, “I just slime this […] for 2 trips.”

In Bloods gang lingo, to “slime” someone commonly means to rob, and “trip” is a common term for a handgun. The investigation also demonstrated that Sands was a member of  the “G-Shine,” a/k/a: “Gangster Killer Bloods,” set of the Bloods criminal street gang, and that the commission of these offenses were motivated by his participation in the violent gang’s activities. 

Sands was on felony First Offender probation at the time of these offenses, having been released from prison in  April of 2019 for multiple counts of Entering an Automobile and theft. The other two cases to which Sands pleaded guilty remain pending, with codefendants whose cases have not been resolved.

Sands additionally faced charges in 2018 for two counts of child molestation. Winne clarified that these charges had been issued through a different court system and ultimately dismissed.