A man wanted for the shooting deaths of three men at Pinetree Country Club on Saturday has been arrested, Cobb Police said early Thursday evening.
A spokeswoman for the Cobb Sheriff’s Office said that agency, the U.S. Marshall’s Office Southern Regional Task Force and Chamblee Police arrested a man identified as Bryan Rhoden in Chamblee at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
The spokeswoman said the suspect was being questioned by Cobb Police.
Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox held a brief press conference Thursday evening, but said little about the details of the triple homicide or a motive, citing an ongoing investigation.
He said Rhoden has been charged with three counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of kidnapping.
Cox said police investigators obtained an arrest warrant Thursday afternoon for Rhoden, whom he said has ties to metro Atlanta, and whom they believe is “the lone shooter.”
Gene Siller, 46, the director of golf at Pinetree Country Club, was pronounced dead at the 10th hole of the golf course Saturday afternoon after suffering gunshot wounds, police said, adding that he had been alerted to a white Ram pickup truck that was located on the green.
Police said two other men, Paul Pierson, 76, of Kansas, and Henry Valdez, 46, of California, were found shot to death in the back of the truck. Police said Pierson was the registered owner of the vehicle.
Police said Wednesday that they believe that Siller was killed because he witnessed a crime in progress, but did not elaborate.
They also said Wednesday that they didn’t think the suspect was a threat to the general public.
Cox declined to answer questions Thursday evening about how police identified Rhoden as a suspect, saying only that “his name came up within a few days” of the shooting.
He also would not describe the chain of events that took place at Pinetree on Saturday, saying that “at this time I’m not going to release any information about that.”
He said only that the discovery of the bodies of the two men in the pickup was made “in a pretty rapid time frame.” But when asked to provide details of the kidnapping, Cox declined to take any more questions.
He said citizens have been helpful in providing tips, and said he understood why “some members of the public have felt some frustration” about the lack of information about a triple murder.
But Cox said that a successful arrest and prosecution in this case is the primary objective in a homicide investigation that remains active.
UPDATED:
At his first court appearance Friday night, Rhoden was ordered to be held without bond by a magistrate judge. His next court date is July 27.
Related story:
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
