Rockmart quadruple murder case continues through courts
Death penalty proceedings in the case of a Polk County man accused of killing four people on Jan. 24 is still moving its way through court.
Jack Browning, the district attorney for the Tallapoosa circuit covering Polk and Haralson counties, notified the court in July he would be seeking the death penalty against Daylon Delon Gamble.
Gamble is charged with murder in the deaths of Helen Rose Mitchell, 48, and Jaequnn Davis, 19, both of 503 Williamson St., and of Arkeyla Perry, 24, and Dadrian Cummings, 26, both at 319 Rome St. in Rockmart.
He was captured in Indianapolis, Indiana, days after the shootings and brought back to Polk County.
Tallapoosa Superior Court Judge Meng Lim issued a gag order in the case. That type of order is typically issued to prevent those involved with the case from speaking about it. The idea is to limit prejudice or potential bias for prospective jurors as a result of pre-trial publicity.
However, some of the details of the case have been presented in pre-trial hearings.
In a challenge to the legality of arrest warrants in the case heard in April, Gamble’s attorneys sought to have those warrants dismissed.
Judge Lim denied the motions and ruled there was probable cause to issue the warrants and enough evidence to proceed in the case.
During that hearing, GBI Special Agent Amanda Carter testified that Gamble was hanging out those who were killed. A man who left one of the two homes at 7:44 p.m. told Carter they’d all been hanging out. Shortly thereafter, at approximately 8:01 p.m., Polk County 911 received reports of the shootings at two nearby locations — 503 Williamson St. and 319 Rome St.
The four people, who were at two different close by locations, had been shot in the head. Another man, Peerless Brown, was also shot in the head but survived.
Witnesses stated Gamble had been drinking and taking drugs at the time of the crime, Carter testified. No other motive for the shooting has been presented by investigators.