A Cobb County grand jury has issued an 18-count indictment against three people charged in connection with a triple homicide last summer at a Kennesaw-area golf course.
Bryan Anthony Rhoden, Justin Caleb Pruitt and Taylor Nicole Cameron were all indicted, with Rhoden facing 17 charges, including three counts of malice murder, seven counts of felony murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, three counts of aggravated assault and one count each of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and tampering with evidence, court records show.
Pruitt was indicted on two counts of felony murder and two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury and Cameron on one count of criminal attempt to commit tampering with evidence, the indictment states.
Investigators said they have tied all three suspects to the fatal shootings of three men at the Pinetree Country Club over Independence Day weekend. Pruitt was charged in December with two counts of kidnapping in connection with the triple homicide. He’s been in custody in South Carolina since September, when he was charged with two counts of trafficking cocaine, jail records showed. Rhoden remains in the Cobb jail, where is being held without bond. Cameron was not in custody as of late Friday, according to a Cobb sheriff’s office spokesperson.
According to Cobb investigators, Paul Pierson and Henry Valdez were found tied up and shot in the back of a Dodge pickup truck on the 10th hole of the golf course, not far from Kennesaw State University’s main campus.
A third victim, golf director Gene Siller, was killed after going onto the course to find out why the truck had driven onto the fairway and gotten stuck near a sand trap, investigators said.
Pruitt’s warrant, issued Dec. 15, alleges he acted as a “co-conspirator and accomplice” in helping bind Pierson and Valdez with duct tape and zip ties at a building along Jonesboro Road in Clayton County. He is also accused of helping transport the men some 41 miles to the golf course, where investigators say Pierson and Valdez were killed by Rhoden.
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
Siller, a beloved golf pro and father of two, had no connection to the suspects or the other two victims, according to police. Investigators said the 46-year-old “happened upon a crime in progress” when he was fatally shot as employees and club members looked on in horror.
Rhoden then allegedly had Cameron drive to the golf course to take the gun.
“Said accused did conceal the murder weapon while fleeing the crime scene and did solicit another individual to pick up the firearms so as to avoid apprehension and otherwise obstruct the prosecution of himself,” the indictment states.
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rhoden, a Florida native, was charged with murder days after the shootings when authorities said they linked him to the crime.
Hours after the golf course shootings, Rhoden was charged with DUI and several other traffic infractions after being stopped by Chamblee police in a black Maserati.
He bonded out days later but was re-arrested on murder charges after officials lured him back to the Chamblee police station under the guise of returning money seized during the traffic stop.
