A suspect was arrested Thursday in the fatal shooting of a pro golfer on a country club course in Georgia, near where two other men were found dead in the bed of a pickup truck.
The man, Bryan Rhoden, was arrested in connection with three slayings and faces three counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of kidnapping, Cobb County officials said.
Rhoden is believed to be the only shooter, Cobb County Police Chief Tim Cox said Thursday evening. Cox did not disclose a possible motive, saying the case is still under investigation.
The investigation made national headlines after Gene Siller, an employee at the Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, was found with an apparent gunshot wound to his head. Siller was killed after having seen a crime involving two other men, police said in a statement this week.
He was on the green of the 10th hole about 2:20 p.m. Saturday, police said. Two other bodies, both with gunshot wounds, were discovered in the bed of a Ram 3500 pickup nearby.
The two other victims were identified as Henry Valdez, 46, of California, and Paul Pierson, 76, of Kansas. The truck was registered to Pierson, and neither of the two men appeared to have a connection to the country club.
"Mr. Siller happened upon a crime in progress involving the unknown suspect and the two deceased males who were found in the pickup truck," a police statement said. "It does not appear he was in any way targeted, but rather was killed because he witnessed an active crime taking place."
Cox said investigators believe all three men were killed in the area where they were discovered.
Police are investigating whether there was a connection between Valdez and Pierson, the victims found in the truck, and Rhoden.
"We definitely feel confident there was no relationship between the shooter and Mr. Siller," Cox said.
Rhoden was arrested around 5:30 p.m. in Chamblee, a city about 20 miles southeast of Kennesaw, by members of the Cobb County sheriff's fugitive unit, U.S. Marshals and Chamblee police, the sheriff's office said.
Siller, who was in his 40s, was a member of the Pinetree Country Club staff and previously worked as the director of golf and head golf pro at Summit Chase Country Club, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Siller's widow, Ashley, said Tuesday afternoon that "I loved him very dearly, and I am very sad."
