Suspect arrested in killing of 3 found at golf course

Authorities have arrested a suspect who had allegedly shot three men — a golf pro and two others whose bodies were found in the back of a pickup truck at a suburban Atlanta country club.

The suspect, Bryan Anthony Rhoden, was arrested at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Chamblee, according to authorities. He was charged with three counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of kidnapping, Chief

Tim Cox of the Cobb County Police Department said.

Cox said Rhoden had fatally shot the golf pro, Gene Siller, 46, a father of two young sons who was the director of golf at Pinetree Country Club near Kennesaw, as well as Henry Valdez, 46, of Anaheim and Paul Pierson, 76, of Topeka, Kan.

At about 2 p.m. Saturday, authorities said, Siller was walking toward the 10th hole at Pinetree when he saw a pickup truck on the course. The gunman shot Siller in the head and fled, leaving the truck on the course, authorities said.

When investigators arrived, they found the bodies of Pierson and Valdez in the bed of the truck. Both had been fatally shot, authorities said, noting that the two men had “no relation to the location at all.” Pierson was the registered owner of the truck.

Cox announced the arrest at a news conference during which he declined to describe the events that had led up the shooting or a possible motive, saying the investigation was continuing.

Authorities did not provide Rhoden’s age or hometown. Cox said Rhoden had “ties to the metro Atlanta area.”

Cox declined to say how Rhoden had become a suspect or whether he had a criminal record, but said his name had surfaced “within a few days” of the shooting. He described Rhoden as the “lone shooter.”

On Tuesday, police said Siller was not the gunman’s target but had been killed because he had “witnessed an active crime taking place.”

“We definitely feel confident there was no relationship between the shooter and Mr. Siller,” Cox said at the news conference Thursday.

Earlier this week, Derek Easterling, the mayor of Kennesaw, said the community was still “grieving for all of the victims.” Easterling described the neighborhood near the country club as quiet. The golf course is surrounded by rambling suburban homes on wooded lots.