Arrests Made In Canton Double Homicide Investigation

CANTON, GA — Investigators with the Canton Police Department have arrested three suspects following the June 25 shooting that left two men dead and another injured in a residential area just outside the central business district.

Jeremy Ulysses Zellous, 29, is charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, making false statements and tampering with evidence, Canton police said. Detectives have also charged Ball Ground resident Brody Austin Samples, 23, with violation of bond through Pickens County and 35-year-old Joseph C. Goldback Jr. of Jasper with obstruction of an officer.

Brody Samples is the younger brother of 26-year-old Tony A. Samples, one of two shooting victims who died in the June 25 altercation just outside downtown Canton, Police Chief Mark Mitchell said. Another man, William Kendrick Randall, 23, of Canton, was also killed in the shooting.

Officers were dispatched to a shots-fired call around 11:20 p.m. Sunday on Crisler Street and arrived to find multiple people afflicted with gunshot wounds. One male was found dead in the grassy area adjacent to Crisler Street and another male wounded at a home off Jefferson Circle. Another male found shot inside a vehicle was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. A third shooting victim was transported to the hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The police department notes the shooting was not random, as the individuals involved knew each other. The double homicide also occurred "after a confrontation involving two opposing groups," it added.

An exact motive in the shooting has not been uncovered, however.

"This is an extremely complex investigation with multiple people involved," the department reiterated, adding more than 70 rounds of ammunition was fired during the shooting. "Detectives continue to work to identify individuals who fired weapons during the incident."

The department also said the trio arrested are persons of interest in the fatal shootings and that more arrests are "imminent."

Canton officers will continue extra patrols and "maintain a steadfast presence" in the area to ensure its residents and those attending one of the three churches in the area are safe.

Anyone who has information about the double homicide is asked to call the Canton Police Department at 770-720-4883.

Photo: From left to right are Jeremy Ulysses Zellous, Brody Austin Samples and Joseph Goldback. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office