A Superior Court jury in Walker County, Ga., found Eric Dodds and Kavon Collier guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the Aug. 1 shooting of Dakota Bradshaw in Rossville, according to Clayton M. Fuller, district attorney for the Lookout Valley Judicial Circuit.
Another man, Dajah Collins, pleaded guilty to the murder Tuesday, Fuller said during a news conference Tuesday in LaFayette. He said the case against Darious Woods, the fourth person charged in connection with Bradshaw’s death, is still open. Dodds and Collier were sentenced last week.
Both Dodds and Collier were 23-year-old residents of Huntsville, Alabama, who prosecutors say were visiting Tennessee before the murders. When asked about the motive for the shooting, Fuller said he could not provide an answer because of the open case surrounding the murder.
Dodds and Collier’s sentencing is scheduled for June 29, Fuller said. Both men face a minimum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus five years and a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Fuller praised the sentencing to a law enforcement team spanning three states, but said Northwest Georgia is not like other communities where crime thrives.
“The public needs to know that we’re not like these communities in Northwest Georgia,” Fuller said, referring to cities like New York; St Louis; Chicago; Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles; and San Francisco. “If you are a violent criminal and you come into our community, this team, if you hurt anyone in this community, this team behind me, we will do whatever we can to ensure justice. That’s a fact, and that’s a promise.”
(READ MORE: Two Alabama men arrested in connection with murder in Rossville, Georgia)
The press conference was attended by Fuller and agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, staff and deputies from the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, and other members of his law enforcement team.
The investigation was a huge undertaking and a lot of work, said Joe Montgomery, GBI special agent in charge.
“When you get to a crime scene, all you have is a body and nothing else,” Montgomery said of the investigators’ difficult task. “So these guys took to the streets.”
As part of the investigation, 70 search warrants were issued, he said, and several social media accounts and cellphones were examined for evidence. Investigators also collected surveillance camera footage from nearby businesses and confiscated an internal computer from a suspect’s vehicle, Montgomery said.
Dodds and Collier were wannabe rappers, Montgomery said, who revealed their bravery and connections to the murder in their social media posts.
Bradshaw, 29, is both a son and a brother and is known for always having a smile on his face, Fuller said. Bradshaw nearly graduated high school, the district attorney said, and was planning a career in cybersecurity.
Fuller said he knew the guilty verdict wouldn’t bring Bradshaw back, but he hoped it would bring some measure of peace to the family.
The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit includes Catoosa, Chattanooga, Dade, and Walker counties.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.
