A Cobb County grand jury in Georgia issued a 15-count indictment against Bryan Anthony Rhoden, a man accused of shooting and killing three men at a Kennesaw golf course.
According to the indictment, aspiring rapper Rhoden, 23, was arrested on July 8, following the deaths of three people at the Pinetree Country Club golf course in Kennesaw. One of the victims, identified as the Pinetree golf director, Greg Siller, was shot and killed after he noticed a white Dodge truck stuck in a sand trap near the 10th hole.
Police said Siller did not know the suspect and was shot for walking into a murder scene, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Authorities also found Paul Pierson, 76, and Henry Valdez, 46, deceased in the bed of a truck that belonged to Pierson. The indictment states that Valdez was shot in the head while Pierson was shot in the buttocks, legs, back, and arm.
Rhoden bound and gagged the victims and put them in the truck bed, the indictment states, then transported them to the golf course. Rhoden then allegedly hid the handgun and contacted an unknown person to retrieve it for him.
“[S]aid accused did conceal the murder weapon while fleeing the crime scene and did solicit another individual to pick up the firearm so as to avoid apprehension and otherwise obstruct the prosecution of himself, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof,” the document read.
Siller was shot and killed at the 10th hole when he walked over to check out the situation. Rhoden is accused of shooting him in the head and neck.
Although no motive has been released, Rhoden’s lawyer, Bruce Harvey, said that his client’s version of events has not been heard, AJC reports.
“This is only the first step on a long journey and the issues will be joined soon,” Harvey said.
Previous Video Coverage on the Case
Someone who asked to remain anonymous previously told 11Alive News that his friend, Valdez, knew Rhoden. Valdez, of California, apparently owned the Hope for Humanity marijuana delivery company. At the time of his death, he was reportedly in Georgia on business.
Valdez’s roommate, Gary Pesner, said Valdez left out of state on July 2 and never returned. Valdez, according to Pesner, was a happy man who lifted the spirits of those around him.
“We did a lot of volunteer work together. We fed the veterans. Every Fourth of July I lead that, he stepped up to be my assistant,” Pesner, the owner of a company called Kaizen, told 11Alive.
“Everyone loved him. He just had this really unique energy around him. Where he would always like, build people up. Like it always made people feel better about themselves.”
AJC reports that another friend of Valdez, Alejandro Guerrero, 44, said Rhoden and Valdez’s relationship “revolved around the cannabis trade.” Guerrero added that Valdez had a “very small circle of people he trusted,” and one of those people included Rhoden.
Valdez previously did jail time in 2004, for marijuana distributing and manufacturing in Illinois (more than 5,000 grams). Yet, Guerrero said Valdez never looked at marijuana as something that should be criminal.
‘If anything, he was too open,” Guerrero said. “Cannabis is medicine, that’s how he looked at it.”
Valdez apparently felt comfortable enough doing business with Rhoden, according to Valdez, who said the suspect seemed like a nice guy.
The suspect’s music manager, D’Andre Veal, said that Rhoden, too, was supportive of those around him.
Rhoden remains behind bars without bail. He’s been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, firearm possession, kidnapping with bodily injury, and tampering with evidence. His bond hearing has been scheduled for July 29.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Bryan Rhoden/Cobb County PD]
