A suspected leader of what law enforcement investigators believe is an Augusta chapter of the Ghost Face Gangsters was granted a $150,000 bond Friday, March 18.
Judge John Flythe previously denied bond for Rondle Culpepper, 40, but Friday after a Richmond County Superior Court bond hearing, Flythe granted the bond with some specific restrictions – house arrest; electronic monitoring and supervision by a probation officer; no drugs or alcohol, which is to be verified by testing; no contact with any co-defendant, witness or anyone in a gang and an agreement from Culpepper consenting to inspection of all electronic devices.
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John Regan, gangs resource prosecutor with the state’s Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, argued against bond Friday, saying “Stoneface” Culpepper was the highest-ranking member of the Ghost Face Gangsters in Augusta who communicated about gang members with leaders throughout the state. While incarcerated, he has arranged for money to be deposited in fellow gang members accounts, and asked about co-defendants’ actions and case developments, Regan said.
Culpepper is one of 77 people indicted in June 2021 in a massive 138-court indictment that accuses them of gang activity and racketeering in the distribution of heroin, methamphetamine, Xanax, marijuana, stolen property, and people. Allegations of extortion, assaults and two kidnapping are also included in the charges.
Culpepper is specifically charged with aggravated assault in the indictment in a January 2021 stabbing. He has a criminal history that includes battery and aggravated assault, Regan said.
But defense attorney Keith Johnson countered that Culpepper’s aggravated assault charge that is included in the gang indictment was a bar fight that got out of hand, not a gang activity of any kind. Culpepper was granted a $20,000 bond in the case back in January 2021, and Culpepper went back to work the same day, Johnson said.
Culpepper does have a criminal history, but he has also always maintained steady employment and supports his family, Johnson said. When he was last imprisoned, Culpepper completed courses in skills training and self-improvement, not accomplishments seen as typical gang activity, Johnson said.
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Bonds have been set for many of the people named in the indictment, especially those accused of singular or minor participation. But still, months into the case, there are still people named in the indictment who have not yet been arraigned in Richmond County Superior Court on the charges.
However, the cases against as many as 54 of those accused in the gang indictment are moving. The prosecutor said Friday that some cases could be ready for trial by the end of the summer.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
