Gangster Disciple member faces 20 charges in car break-ins, thefts in Columbus, police say

Police have charged a 19-year-old they’re calling a “validated gang member of the Gangster Disciples” in a series of April car break-ins, auto and credit card thefts reported over a swath of north Columbus.

Arrested April 14, Tresean Marquez Persaud so far is facing 20 felony counts stemming from early to mid-April thefts in neighborhoods such as Sequoia Drive, Charter Oaks, Ritch Haven Drive, Robin’s Nest Subdivision, Schomburg Road and Weems Road, said detectives with the property crimes unit.

Persaud is the first suspect charged in the ongoing investigation police believe will lead to more arrests and additional criminal counts, authorities said.

So far they have cleared 11 cases and charged Persaud with these felonies:

• Four counts of auto theft.
• Seven counts of breaking into cars.
• Three counts of financial card theft.
• Four counts of financial card fraud.
• Two counts of criminal gang activity.

Police did not disclose what evidence led to Persaud’s gang charges.

Tim Chitwood

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

706-571-8508

Tim Chitwood is from Seale, Alabama, and started as a police beat reporter with the Ledger-Enquirer in 1982. He since has covered Columbus’ serial killings and other homicides, following some from the scene of the crime to trial verdicts and ensuing appeals. He also has been a Ledger-Enquirer humor columnist since 1987. He’s a graduate of Auburn University, and started out working for the weekly Phenix Citizen in Phenix City, Ala.