A man was arrested Wednesday after being accused of shooting and killing a Decatur man at a DeKalb County motel last week.

Ricky O’Neil Holmes, 32, of Monroe, faces a felony murder charge in the death of 38-year-old LePaul Alexander Cheeks, according to a news release by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. Cheeks was fatally shot last Thursday at the Scottish Inn Motel off Wesley Chapel Road, according to a DeKalb police incident report.

The two were neighbors at the motel, according to the sheriff’s office. Cheeks’ girlfriend, who was at the scene when police arrived about 7:15 p.m., told officers that Cheeks and the suspect were involved in an argument prior to the shooting.

The woman only knew Holmes by his nickname “Trouble,” the report said.

After the argument, Holmes told Cheeks several times that, “I got something for you,” before leaving to get an AR-15, the woman told officers. Holmes is then accused of shooting Cheeks twice, including once in the head. He died at the scene.

U.S. marshals, Fulton County deputies and Georgia state troopers assisted with Holmes’ arrest, which took place at an undisclosed motel in Lithonia. He was taken to the DeKalb County Jail, where he remains without bond.

In other news:

Credit: Duluth Police Department

About the Author

Keep Reading

President Donald Trump speaks ahead of the signing of the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025. (Nathan Posner for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Nathan Posner for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Featured

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., speaks during a town hall on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Atlanta at the Cobb County Civic Center. (Jason Allen/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Jason Allen/AJC