The Drug Task Force caught Jorge Antonio Landeras-Ruiz selling five pounds of methamphetamine at a shopping center in Tyrone. He pled not guilty and came to trial last Monday in Fayette Superior Court. That’s where he met Warren Sellers. He wishes he hadn’t.
Warren is our drug prosecutor in the Fayette County District Attorney’s Office. When I decided to run for D.A., the officers of the Drug Task Force pleaded with me for help. It was becoming obvious that big-time drug dealers were drooling over potential profits in Fayette. Law enforcement needed an aggressive prosecutor to oppose bonds for these dealers and to slam them at trial.
I knew just the man. Warren Sellers had prosecuted cases in the Municipal Courts of Fayetteville, Peachtree City, and Tyrone for years. He was tough. He was smart. He was always prepared. When I was elected, one of the first things I did was to approach Warren. Would he close down his successful law practice and accept less money to help Fayette County fight drug dealers? To my delight, he agreed to do just that.
For nearly three years he has prosecuted every felony drug case in Fayette Superior Court. He makes himself available to the officers around the clock. He knows every detail about his cases. He prepares meticulously.
So, Jorge Antonio Landeras-Ruiz decided to square off with Warren Sellers in court last Monday. It wasn’t a fair fight. When the fur quit flying, this drug dealer had been convicted of trafficking. The sentence? Thirty years in prison and a one million dollar fine. The defendant went to jail whimpering. Warren grabbed another file as if to say, “Who’s next?”
What motivates this man? Warren loves his wife and three children. They’re all in Disneyworld right now, thanks to the Make- A- Wish Foundation which sponsored a trip to honor Warren’s son who battles Mitochondrial Disease. Warren is as great a dad as he is a prosecutor. When he gets back, he’ll fight more drug dealers. He’s not about to raise his family in a place where drug dealers win. Aren’t you glad he’s ours?
