Friday, April 2, 2004
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Friday, April 2, 2004 |
| Teen murder victim remembered as happy, caring person By JOHN MUNFORD A Starr’s Mill High School student who was gunned down in what police are calling a drug-related robbery in Newnan is being remembered as a happy, caring person. Heather Rhodes, 17, was dating one of the men who lived at the Lakeside Apartments, where the Tuesday night shooting took place, said Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager. One suspect has been arrested and warrants have been issued for another suspect, police said. Rhodes, who lived with her parents at 107 Rock Mull in Peachtree City, was a member of two school clubs: Vocational Opportunity Clubs of America and Future Business Leaders of America. A senior, she was set to graduate this year. Sgt. Dave McNaughton, the resource officer at Starr’s Mill High School, remembered Rhodes as having a “happy go-lucky attitude.” McNaughton said he was stunned when a Coweta sheriff’s deputy called him with the news of Rhodes’ death. “She was very sweet and kind,” McNaughton said, adding that she seemed to be well-liked among students and teachers who knew her. She also worked at the school store, selling supplies during lunch breaks, McNaughton said. Another teacher at the school who worked closely with Rhodes and thought “she was wonderful,” added that Rhodes was nice, responsible and well-mannered. Rhodes was also described as “very energetic and very polite.” Rhodes was shot by one of two suspects who entered Apartment 821 at Lakeside Apartments around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, said Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager. She died on the scene, but two others wounded in the tussle were taken to Atlanta area hospitals, Yeager said. Grief counselors were made available at Starr’s Mill for students and faculty members, school officials said. A murder warrant has been secured for Roderick Thomas, 25, of Clayton County and other arrests are forthcoming, Yeager said. One person was put in custody Wednesday and was cooperating with detectives, Yeager added. Detectives executed a search warrant Wednesday in an attempt to cull more evidence in the case. Ironically, Coweta deputies were nearby serving a warrant on a separate case when they were summoned to the shooting scene, Yeager said. The deputies were working with an out-of-county agency on that case, he added. When deputies got to the scene, one of the men who survived the shooting was in the apartment where the assault took place and the other man was in a different apartment, Yeager said. Two men knocked on the door before entering the apartment, with one brandishing a shotgun, and at some point, shots rang out, hitting Rhodes and the two other men there, Yeager said.
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