Coweta County gun range murders: Firearms taken during deadly robbery recovered

Investigators said the firearms stolen from a gun range where three people were murdered just over a week ago have been recovered. They said additional arrests and charges are also possible.

Police arrested 21-year-old Jacob Christian Muse on Friday, charging him with three counts of malice murders in the deaths of Tommy, Evelyn and Luke Hawk.

EVERYTHING KNOWN ABOUT THE COWETA COUNTY GUN RANGE TRIPLE MURDER

The joint task force working the case executed a search warrant on Muse's College Park home on Friday. Inside, police said investigators found the handguns and long guns stolen from Lock, Stock & Barrel Shooting Range on April 8. ATF agents were able to verify the serial numbers on the firearms as those taken during the crime.

Jacob Christian Muse, 21, of College Park

Jacob Christian Muse, 21, of College Park (Provided by Coweta County Sheriff's Office)

While Muse has been the only one charged in connection to the crime, police said more arrests might be possible as the case progresses. In addition, more charges could be brought against Muse.

Investigators said Muse used to live in Grantville and event was a customer of the gun range, having purchased a weapon at the store and spent time of the family-owned gun range itself.

Three murdered during Grantville gun range robbery

Few details are being released about the crime that claimed the lives of three people on April 8 at a Coweta County gun range.

What known is that sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., at least one person entered the Lock, Stock & Barrel located at 514 Bohannon Road in Grantville. The range, which is located roughly 24 miles north of LaGrange and roughly 50 miles south of Atlanta, was closed at the time.

Tommy and Evelyn Hawk and their grandson Luke.

What happened during the short time the person was inside has not been released, but what was found by police officers when they arrived about 8 p.m. Police said they found the owner, 71-year-old Tommy Hawk, and his wife, Evelyn and their teenage grandson Luke dead.

Grantville police said someone stole as many as 40 weapons and a camera DVR.

Richard Hawk, the Coweta County Coroner, responded to the scene. He also is the son of Tommy and Evelyn and the father of Luke.

The Grantville Police Department, which is a force of about a dozen officers, soon got help from the Coweta County Sheriff's Office, the Troup County Sheriff's Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the ATF, and the FBI. 

A reward was also quickly established and grew with the help of both state and community donors. 

The task force said they tracked the clues to Muse and were able to arrest him just week after the triple murder.


 

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