CHAMBLEE, Ga. — Before the suspect of the Cobb County country club triple homicide was taken into custody on murder charges, he was arrested hours after the shooting for an unrelated crime.
Bryan Anthony Rhoden was released a few days later before authorities realized he was the person allegedly connected to the Pinetree Country Club shooting.
11Alive has now learned more details about what happened the night of the shooting when Rhoden was pulled over during a traffic stop and taken into custody.
A police report from Chamblee Police said on July 3 around 10:48 p.m., officers pulled over what appeared to be a black 2017 Maserati Ghibli in the 4800 block of Peachtree Road. However, during the traffic stop, they learned the temp tag on the car didn't match the VIN.
Rhoden was behind the wheel and "he appeared to be very nervous," according to the report. He told the officer he left his license at home.
"I asked Mr. Rhoden to exit the vehicle, until I could identify him and also to further investigate the traffic stop," the officer said in the report.
"Mr. Rhoden could not advise where he got the Temp Tag from other than it was from a dealership he could not name," the report adds.
They said Rhoden couldn't provide proof of insurance or the bill of sale for it.
The report claims Rhoden told officers he was coming from Ruth's Chris Steak House in Buckhead. He told officers he didn't have alcoholic drinks.
During the traffic stop, Rhoden was given a standardized sobriety test, where he took several wrong steps, police said. Officials also searched his car after smelling marijuana and found jewelry and more than $11,000, the report indicates. He told the officers he used the money and jewelry for his music videos, Chamblee Police said.
Officers said they also found several fraudulent IDs with Rhoden's photo on them inside his car but he could not say where he got them from. Rhoden was then given a breathalyzer test and it came back 0.051 BrAC with his sample, police said.
Rhoden was taken into custody - but it's important to note the name of the suspect in the country club shooting was unclear at the time.
Cobb County Police said on July 3 that the country club shooting happened just before 2:30 p.m.
Jail records show Rhoden was booked into the DeKalb County jail just before 2 a.m. on the charges related to the traffic stop, including DUI and false ID.
Chamblee Police said Rhoden was released on the 6th at 8:35 p.m. However on July 8, Chamblee officers said Cobb detectives obtained warrants charging the suspect in connection with the triple homicide.
Chamblee Police said they used a sting operation to lure him back to the police department and arrest him.
He is now charged in the deaths of the two people found shot to death in the bed of a Ram 3500 pick-up truck located at the country club's golf course. One of the victims was identified as 76-year-old Paul Pierson, who was the owner of the Ram 3500, according to police. The other man was later identified as 46-year-old Henry Valdez of California.
The other victim, golf pro Gene Siller, was found on the green of the 10th hole with a gunshot wound to his head. Detectives learned Siller was in no way targeted in the shooting and was killed because of what he might have witnessed.
