WRIGHTSVILLE, Ga. — The eldest child of one of Georgia's most notorious hit men, Stoney Birt and "In the Red Clay" podcast host Sean Kipe, are set to participate in a Johnson County takeover in Wrightsville on Saturday.
The event will feature a book signing, a meet-and-greet, food trucks, "In the Red Clay merch, and free whiskey and brandy tasting outside the Johnson County Courthouse.
The event itself is free, but the merch and food are not.
It will start at 9 a.m. and run until noon on March 23, but Kipe and the crew will likely stay to hang out for a while after it's over.
Stoney Birt, the son of Dixie Mafia hit man Billy Sunday Birt, will have his book and products from his distillery at the event.
Birt's father was well known as the boss of the "Dixie Mafia," a group of criminals active in Georgia in the 1960s and 1970s.
Billy Sunday Birt is known as "the most dangerous man in Georgia history." by many law enforcement. He is thought to have killed at least 56 people, but some say it may even be higher.
Sean Kipe's 13-episode podcast with Imperative Entertainment captures Birt's story. It was Kipe's first podcast, detailing the history of the Dixie Mafia, Billy and Stoney.
"I think most people in the South has heard of the Dixie Mafia. It's sort of ingrained in the culture of the South and certainly in Georgia. But they were a group in the '60s and '70s predominantly of thieves, bank robbers, murderers, bootleggers," Kipe told 13WMAZ. "It's a really interesting look behind the curtain of someone who is prolific, you know, of a killer as Billy Burt was; it's a view that most people don't get access to."
Kipe said some of that story took place in Wrightsville and Johnson County. The chance to do an event there will give him and Stoney a bit of a full-circle moment.
"Wrightsville and Johnson County have ties to the beginning of the formation of the Dixie Mafia, "Kipe told 13WMAZ. "Some pretty pivotal moments in that story actually took place in that county."
It is even tied into the murder of former Jackson County district attorney Floyd Hoard after an illegal whiskey still blew up in Johnson County just weeks after Hoard was blown up in his front yard, which launched a statewide manhunt.
Johnson County Sheriff Roland Attaway connected the still owners to the Hoard murder case; the deputies found themselves at the center of the hottest case in Georgia at the time.
"There's just a lot of people down there who have great stories who lived it, breathed it, we're there, Kipe said. "We'll be meeting, greeting, talking to fans of the podcasts and the story and the books. And just really having a good time. Getting to interact with people who've been affected or touched in some way or another by this story."
"In the Red Clay" was Kipe's first podcast. He has since released two additional podcasts -- "Fox Hunter" about the murder of Rhonda Sue Coleman in Hazlehurst, Georgia and "In the Land of Lies" about the death of Emogene Thompson and the subsequent arrest of former Gwinnett County Police officer Michael Chapel.
This summer, he plans to release a new project investigating the disappearance of 19-year-old Justin Gaines from Gwinnett County. Gaines vanished from Wild Bill's in Duluth, Georgia, where he was a student at then-Gainesville State College.
Kipe says the event in Johnson County is a chance to connect with the community that has been a part of the Dixie Mafia story, and he is looking forward to being a part of the event.
"We'll have a lot of special guests hanging out and moving around meeting people. We want everybody to come out and have a good time," he said. "We're just sort of taking over the town of Wrightsville for the day."
To listen to Kipe's podcasts check out the links below: