Police report released in DUI arrest of Cobb country club murder suspect

CHAMBLEE, Ga. - Chamblee police have released the incident report for the DUI arrest of Bryan Anthony Rhoden on July 3. Rhoden is the suspect charged in the deaths of three people found on the tenth hole of Pinetree Country Club’s golf course earlier that same day.

According to the report, Rhoden was driving a black 2017 Maserati ​Ghibli bearing a Georgia temporary tag heading northbound on Peachtree Road around 10:48 p.m. An officer driving in the other direction noticed the vehicle did not have its tail lights on and turned around, pulling the car over along Peachtree Blvd. near Johnson Ferry Road.

"I conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle by activating my emergency equipment. While conducting the traffic stop, the GA Temp Tag was not attached properly, and I could only see the Test Drive tag underneath the GA Temp Tag on the rear of the vehicle," the incident report reads.

The report identifies the driver as Rhoden who the officer said "appeared to be very nervous and could not provide me with his GA Driver’s License." The report states Rhoden told the officer he left it at home.

When the officer ran the temporary tag, the report states he found the VIN associated with the tag came back to a different 2017 Maserati Ghibli.

"Mr. Rhoden could not advise where he got the Temp Tag from other than it was from a dealership he could not name. Mr. Rhoden first advised that he purchased the vehicle 3 months ago, and then advised me he only had it for a month," the report states. The officer at the scene ran the VIN of the vehicle Rhoden was driving which came to a different owner with an expired registration and no valid insurance, the report states.

"Mr. Rhoden was unable to provide me proof of insurance on the vehicle on scene or the bill of sale for it," the report continues.

The report states the officer "could smell a strong odor of marijuana" when he approached the vehicle and performed a search of the car.

"At this time, I conducted a search of the interior of the vehicle that was accessible to the driver for marijuana. I observed a black book bag on the front passenger’s seat with several rolls of large amount of cash. There also were several pieces of jewelry inside the book bag," the report states. "Lastly, I observed another roll of a large amount of cash bound by a rubber band on the front passenger’s floor board."

The responding sergeant told the officer to conduct a DUI investigation as "he could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage from Mr. Rhoden." Rhoden told officers he drank "not much at all" and said he was head from Ruth's Chris Steak House in Buckhead to his home in Midtown Atlanta, which would be in the opposite direction he was traveling, the report states.

"He also advised me that he did not have any alcoholic drinks," the report states.

After conducting a series of field sobriety tests, Rhoden was taken into custody.

"Mr. Rhoden was charged with Less Safe DUI, the other traffic charges, and taken into custody by handcuffing his hands behind his back and searched incident to arrest. His handcuffs were double locked and checked for comfort. He was then placed in the rear seat of my vehicle. Mr. Rhoden was then read Implied Consent where he consented to provide me with his breath sample," the report states.

The report states Rhoden would later "provided a breath sample of 0.051 BrAC" when he was processed at Chamblee Police Headquarters.

While searching the car, the police report states officers found "two fraudulent drivers licenses inside a yellow wallet inside his book bag located on the front passenger's seat." Both had Rhoden's image, but one was for Georgia and the other for South Carolina. Each also had different names.

Jewelry, $11,762 in cash, and several debit and credit cards were also found in the book bag, the report states. 

"Mr. Rhoden advised that he makes approximately $180,000 a year as a music artist. He also stated that he has the GA IRS paperwork to document his income. Mr. Rhoden stated that there was approximately $8,000 in cash inside his book bag. He stated that the money and jewelry were used for his music videos," the report states. "He also stated that the fraudulent driver’s licenses were used for his music videos but could not advise me who made them for him."

Bryan Anthony Rhoden, 23, of Atlanta, was charged with headlights required, DUI less safe alcohol, driving use of license plate for concealing identity of a vehicle, driving a vehicle without a current license plate and was booked into DeKalb County jail during the early morning hour of July 4. His car was impounded and the jewelry, cash, and IDs were entered into evidence. 

He would be released from jail two days later but called back to the Chamblee Police Department Headquarters after police told him he could pick up the items found in his car. Instead, the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force picked him up and charged him with three counts of murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of kidnapping.

Cobb County police said Rhoden shot Gene Siller on the tenth hole of green because the golf pro interrupted criminal activity. Two others, 46-year-old Henry Valdez of California and 76-year-old Paul Pierson of Kansas, were found dead in the bed of a white Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck teetering on the bank of a sand trap, police said.

Arrest warrants state Rhoden bound the two men's hands, legs, and mouths with tape and forced them into the enclosed beds of the vehicle.

FOX 5 spoke to Rhoden's manager about the serious charges he's facing. D'Andre Veal said he wanted to extend his condolences to the families of the three victims as well as make it known that, from his perspective, police have the wrong man.

Rhoden has been booked into the Cobb County jail without bond.

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