Ga. gang member gets 30 years in juvenile detention officer assault

By Sarah Sinning

CRISP COUNTY, Ga. — An 18-year-old known gang member has been sentenced to serve 30 years in prison for the aggravated assault of a juvenile detention officer, Fox 31 reports. 

Tahliq Jackson, an admitted Blood gang member, pleaded guilty last week for the 2020 incident, which left the officer temporarily without sight in her right eye. He was charged with aggravated battery upon a public safety officer, terroristic threats and two counts of Gang Act Violations.

According to District Attorney Brad Rigby, Jackson repeatedly hit the officer in the face and upper body while she was passing out snacks at the Crisp Youth Detention Center in Cordele. Rigby also said that prior to the attack, Jackson had drawn a detailed picture of the planned assault, which showed the officer's head in a bag with her decapitated body in the corner and the label "victim 18."

Senior Judge John Pridgen ordered Jackson to serve the first 20 years of his sentence in the state prison system with the balance on probation.