Atlanta Field Division
Photo used under Creative Commons from Wikimedia user David Cole
Welcome to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Atlanta Field Division. Our Division is responsible for ATF criminal enforcement and industry regulatory activities in the State of Georgia. Our dedicated work force is comprised of special agents, investigators, auditors, technicians and support staff.
ATF is committed to reducing violent crime in our neighborhoods. ATF’s Atlanta Field Division special agents combat firearms violence by focusing their investigative efforts on armed violent offenders, career criminals, gun traffickers and gangs. We also work in partnership with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout Georgia to accomplish this mission.
Explosives and arson enforcement is an integral part of ATF’s overall violent crime reduction strategy. ATF’s Atlanta Field Division special agents combat arson and explosives-related crimes by conducting independent investigations and by working in partnership with local and state fire investigators and police bomb squads.
ATF also has the duty of regulating the firearms and explosives industries. Our industry operations investigators work to ensure that all firearms and explosives are stored, handled and sold in a safe manner according to law.
In addition to our Field Division, the Atlanta-metro area is also home to one of ATF’s three forensic science laboratories and one of ATF’s three regional Explosives Technology Branch offices.
We encourage all residents to get involved and assist us in our goal of reducing crime in our communities. Give us a call and let us know what we can do for you. Our phone number is (404) 417-2600.
Scott D. Sweetow
Division Management Team
- Scott D. Sweetow
- Special Agent In Charge (SAC)
- Ray R. Brown
- Assistant Special Agent In Charge (ASAC)
- Michael P. Delvecchio
- Assistant Special Agent In Charge (ASAC)
- G. Jeanette Compton
- Director of Industry Operations (DIO)
- Richard T. Coes
- Public Information Officer (PIO)
Division Contact Information
Receive Atlanta Press Release Updates
ATF and NSSF Offer a Total of $15,000 for Information on Retail Gun Theft
September 5, 2012
RICHMOND HILL, GA. — The reward of $7,500 being offered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals involved in the July 13 burglary at Blankenship Sporting Goods has been matched by the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF), increasing the total reward to $15,000.More »
ATF Offers $5,000 Reward for Information on Retail Gun Theft
August 9, 2012
DONALSONVILLE, Ga. — Special Agent in Charge Scott Sweetow of the Atlanta Field Division, ATF today announced that ATF is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the theft of firearms occurring at federal firearms licensee City Motor and Marine located at 210 Second St., Donalsonville, Ga. on July 31.More »
ATF Offers $7,500 Reward For Information on Retail Gun Theft
July 18, 2012
RICHMOND HILL, Ga — Special Agent in Charge Scott Sweetow of the Atlanta Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced that ATF is offering a reward of up to $7,500More »
Undercover Firearms Investigation Nets More Than 60 Federal and State Arrests, 270 Illegal Firearms Taken Off the Streets
June 27, 2012
ATLANTA — Federal and state law enforcement officials today announced the takedown of a long–term storefront sting operation designed to focus on illegal gun trafficking in Atlanta, which resulted in the arrest of over 60 defendants and federal charges against 40 of those defendants on federal firearms and drug trafficking charges.More »
ATF Offers $5,000 Reward for Information on Retail Gun Theft
June 11, 2012
Newnan, Ga. — Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ray R. Brown of the Atlanta Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced that ATF is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the theft of firearms that occurred at Oz Cutlery, a federal firearms licensee located at 1 Court Square, Newnan, Ga. The burglary occurred on May 30.More »
Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Sawed-Off Shotgun Used to Shoot Victim in Face
June 7, 2012
ROME, GA – Joseph Henry Penson, 38, of Cedartown, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to being a felon in possession of a sawed-off shotgun that he used to shoot a man in the face and neck. More »
Man Who Carjacked a Flowery Branch Woman's Car After Burglarizing her Home Pleads Guilty
June 5, 2012
GAINESVILLE, GA – A man who carjacked his burglary victim’s car when she had the misfortune of returning to her home in Flowery Branch while he was burglarizing it, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, announced United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. Rodolfo Esquivel, 28, of Buford, Georgia, was indicted on February 28, 2012. More »
Woman Sentenced for Soliciting a Murder and Trafficking in Firearms
May 22, 2012
ATLANTA — A woman who trafficked in firearms and asked for help to kill a person who was bothering her, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, to serve 10 years in federal prison for dealing firearms without a license and for soliciting a murder–for–hire. Melissa Towana Wood, 50, of McDonough, Georgia, pleaded guilty to these charges on February 2, 2012 More »
Atlanta Residents Sentenced on Federal Narcotics Charges
April 25, 2012
Atlanta – Several metro-Atlanta residents were recently sentenced to serve time after being convicted on varying federal narcotic-related charges, according to information received from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern Judicial District of Georgia. More »
24 Defendants Charged with Gun Offenses After Undercover Investigation
February 28, 2012
AUGUSTA, GA – 15 federal indictments, unsealed today in federal court, have charged 24 defendants with federal firearms offenses. An additional 85 defendants were charged by the Augusta Division’s District Attorney’s Office on state burglary, theft, firearm and drug charges. The federal and state indictments follow a 7-month undercover investigation in the Augusta area dubbed Operation Smoke Screen.
More »
Budget Inn Arson Defendant Sentenced
January 31, 2012
ATLANTA — Sheree Dionne Murphy was sentenced yesterday in Clayton County Superior Court to serve five consecutive life sentences plus 20 years in the Georgia State Department of Corrections prison system.More »
First Round of Defendants Sentenced in ATF–Atlanta Undercover Investigation
January 17, 2012
ATLANTA — Several Atlanta residents were recently sentenced to serve time after being convicted on varying federal firearms and narcotic related charges, according to information received from agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). These sentences are a result of an ATF initiated undercover operation, called ATL Blaze.
Undercover agents, placed themselves in positions ultimately putting the word out that they were interested in buying firearms and drugs from the criminal element. The case yielded 257 handguns, 60 rifles, 46 shotguns, and 10 short–barreled sawed–off
shotguns taken off the streets of Atlanta.More »