4 Arrested, 1 At Large In ATL And DeKalb Human Trafficking Probe

ATLANTA, GA — Four men are in jail, and a fifth man is at large, after Atlanta Police say they trafficked a 15-year-old girl and possibly trafficked three other people.

Police announced the news Friday at a press conference, naming Harold Poole as the outstanding suspect.

Atlanta Police Special Victims Unit Inv. Tracy Lewis said the probe began on Feb. 29 when police were dispatched to the Children's Hospital of Atlanta.

The unidentified teenage girl was reported missing in December 2023 and was located in February, Lewis said. The girl told police she had been trafficked and identified suspects by name, Lewis said.

The suspected trafficking of the girl began in DeKalb County before entering Atlanta in Fulton County, Lewis said.

Forensic interviewers were able to link the girl's case to a prior case with another suspected trafficking victim, Lewis said. In all, Lewis said there are potentially three other people, ranging in age from 14-16, who may have been trafficked by the suspects.

Lewis identified the men arrested as Albert Wells, Eugene Smith, Taalib Blount and Levi Sears.

Wells was arrested on March 22 and was charged on suspicion of rape, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, enticing a child for indecent purposes, contributing to delinquency of a minor, pimping person under 18-years-old, pandering person under 18-years-old and interference with custody, Fulton County Jail records show.

Sears was arrested on April 2022 and was charged on suspicion of rape and child molestation, jail records show.

Jail records for Smith and Blount were not immediately available Friday.

DeKalb Police and the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office partnered with Atlanta Police on the probe.

"This case is a prime example of why it's critical that law enforcement prioritize human trafficking investigations," Casey Benson, investigator with the DeKalb County District Attorney's office, said at the press conference. "Traffickers prey on the most vulnerable people in the community, people that feel like they have no one to trust and nowhere to turn."

Benson sent a message: "If you victimize people in our community, we will find you, we will stop you and we will hold you accountable."

Police ask anyone with information on Poole's whereabouts to call Crime Stoppers Atlanta, (404) 844-8477.