Local escorts’ plan to rob Johns turns deadly, police say

3 suspects charged in deaths of 2 men; one other injured.

The scheme was simple: find a John, rob a John.

Officials from across Georgia believe two escorts and an accomplice pulled it off a number of times in recent weeks, but three robberies turned violent, leaving two men dead and another injured. The suspects are Kiera Williams, 18, her boyfriend Cameron Jones, 20, and their acquaintance Ashanti Dorsey, 21.

All were jailed on murder and other charges Monday as authorities from various law enforcement agencies detailed the cases against them in a news conference. Police said they believe the victims met the women online and were killed once they met up.

The first to die was Mario Rashad Edwards, 28, of Covington who was found dead on Dec. 21 inside a vacant apartment in Forest Park. Police said he came to the city to meet Williams. Williams is charged with murder, and authorities have said Dorsey is also a suspect in the case.

Roderick Crawford, 46, of Barnesville south of Griffin, was last seen when he left home about 7 p.m. Dec. 28, ostensibly to check his work schedule. Crawford tried to call his wife about 20 minutes later, according to relatives. His SUV turned up in Clayton County on New Year’s Day.

Investigators looked into his phone records and found the last known location was in Upson County, which borders his home county of Lamer, according to Josh Ayer, assistant special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Columbus office.

“They began to locate phone numbers on the records of Mr. Crawford that tied him to one of the suspects, Miss Kiera Williams,” Ayer said.

Crawford was found shot dead Jan. 3 behind a house in Upson County, the home county of Williams’ boyfriend, Jones. Williams and Jones were charged with murder in his death. Officers found the couple inside an abandoned house in DeKalb County.

Two days earlier, a man arranged to meet with Williams and she got in his car, police said. But when another man approached the car — a man later identified as Jones — the victim assumed he was about to be robbed and tried to drive away. Williams, who was still inside the car, allegedly shot the victim in the leg. The victim’s injuries were not life-threatening and he later identified Williams as the shooter, police said.

An acquaintance of Williams and Jones, Dorsey is also accused of murder in the Jan. 2 shooting of her boyfriend, Dontavious Morrison, who police allege she shot and killed in Riverdale during an argument at an apartment. Authorities said two women were seen running from the apartment after the shooting, but it isn’t clear who they believe the second woman was.

Officials with the Clayton County Sheriff ’s Office have said Dorsey is “a known prostitute and is a suspect in a series of robberies of men that solicited her services off of the internet.”

Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said investigators are working leads that will “probably lead us to further victims.” She urged other victims to come forward.