When her pregnant daughter was killed earlier this month, Adrienne Rodriguez knew right away who she thought was responsible. He had been living in her home, she said.
On Monday, that same man was arrested and charged with malice murder, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said. The 22-year-old is accused of killing the woman carrying his child.
“They got him!” Rodriguez told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Monday. “They got him.”
Diamonte Oiy’Shawn Haithcoats is accused of shooting his girlfriend Shaniyah Monet Rodriguez on Feb. 2, according to investigators. Rodriguez, 20, was eight months pregnant and died from her injuries two days later.
Doctors delivered Shaniyah Rodriguez’s daughter, who remains in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital, Adrienne Rodriguez told the AJC. But baby Millianni has proven herself a fighter and is starting to breathe more on her own, one of her biggest challenges since the shooting.
Haithcoats was supposed to make a court appearance Tuesday. But he was combative with deputies and refused to speak with his public defender, Channel 2 Action News reported. Haithcoats is now due in court Wednesday.
On Monday, Haithcoats, who lived with his girlfriend and her mother, was arrested at a barber shop on Memorial Drive, the sheriff’s office said. He is being held without bond.
Adrienne Rodriguez said it was difficult to understand how Haithcoats could visit a barber shop so close to where he allegedly ended her daughter’s life.
Shaniyah was Adrienne’s second child lost to gun violence. On Aug. 24, 2014, her son, Nizzear, was shot in his bed just hours after celebrating his 13th birthday.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
“Most people don’t go through it once in life,” Rodriguez said Friday. “Out of all the people in the world, how the hell do I go through it twice?”
Shaniyah was shot at the Brannon Hill condominiums in the 6600 block of Singleton Lane. The notorious and derelict condo is among 272 of the metro area’s persistently dangerous complexes, according to an investigation by the AJC that looked into serious crimes, lax maintenance and other hazards in Atlanta neighborhoods.
Rodriguez said Shaniyah and her boyfriend had been fighting before her death. She had worried that Haithcoats seemed to not want his girlfriend out of his sight, but never imagined he could hurt her or their child.
In honor of her daughter, Rodriguez said her grandbaby’s middle name is Shaniyah. She is hopeful the infant will continue to make progress, though doctors have prepared her for the worst.
The funeral for Shaniyah was held Saturday.
“I finally broke down,” Rodriguez said.
Now, her focus is on her grandbaby. Rodriguez created a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of medical care.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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