Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Suspect In Golf Course Slaying Arrested In Georgia
Bryan Anthony Rhoden, 23, is in police custody following the triple murder at an Atlanta-area golf course on July 3.
An Atlanta man identified as the suspected “lone shooter” in a triple murder that unfolded on the fairway of a country club golf course last weekend, and which left a professional golfer dead, has been apprehended.
Bryan Anthony Rhoden, 23, was arrested in Chamblee, Georgia on Thursday in the July 3 shooting of pro golfer Eugene Siller, 41, and two others.
Rhoden was charged with three counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of kidnapping.
Siller, the director of Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, was gunned down on the course’s 10th hole of the course last Saturday. Witnesses said he was shot after he confronted the suspected gunman, who had sped onto the course in a Dodge Ram pick-up truck. Siller sustained a bullet wound to his head. The 41-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
The bodies of Paul Pierson, 76, who was identified as the pick-up truck’s owner, and Henry Valdez, 46, were later found in the back of the vehicle, which was abandoned on the course. Authorities previously said the pair had “no relation” to Pinetree Country Club. The suspect fled the scene.
An arrest warrant was secured for Rhoden on July 8. He was arrested the same day in the Chamblee area. The 23-year-old has “ties” to the Atlanta-area, officials said.
Authorities suspect Siller wasn’t intentionally targeted, but was shot after witnessing “an active crime taking place.”
“We definitely feel confident there was no relationship between the shooter and Mr. Siller,” Cobb County Police Chief Tim Cox told reporters.
Local officials scrambled to locate and identify a suspect in the hours and days following the country club shooting spree.
Rhoden’s name had come up “within a few days of the investigation,” according to police. Authorities also acknowledged Rhoden was reportedly arrested for drunk driving after the triple murder, but wasn’t immediately identified.
Cox, however, declined to comment on the arrest. The Cobb County police chief also wouldn’t specify as to the chain of events that fueled the deadly shooting.
“The arrest in this case is due to the tireless efforts of the men and women of the Cobb County Police Department, our community members, and our partners in both local and federal law enforcement,” Cox said.
He also thanked the public for providing “useful” tips, which he said generated leads for detectives.
“Our partnership with the community is what continues to help us properly investigate such horrific and horrible crimes,” Cox added. “And this resulted in a successful apprehension of this individual.”
The U.S. Marshal Service, the FBI, Homeland Security, the ATF, and the Secret Service also assisted local law enforcement in apprehending Rhoden.
Law enforcement declined to provide further information. The investigation remains active.
“Our investigators will continue to work the case until its completion and move it forward to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution,” Cox stated.
Siller, who was married, was a father of two young children, according to CNN. He joined Pinetree Country Club as the course’s director in 2019.
“We are truly heartbroken to hear about the senseless murder that took place yesterday at the Pine Tree Country Club in Georgia that took the life of PGA member Gene Siller," PGA of America President Jim Richerson said in a statement.
A GoFundMe campaign had raised nearly $673,000 for Siller’s family as of Friday.
It’s unclear if Rhoden had retained legal counsel. The Atlanta man is being held without bond at a Cobb County detention center, according to online jail records.
Stephanie Green, a senior assistant district attorney for the Cobb Judicial Circuit, declined to comment on the case when contacted by Oxygen.com.
Anybody with any information related to the open case is urged to call Cobb County homicide investigators at 770-499-4111.
