Two Charged With Murder In Canton Double Homicide

CANTON, GA — Detectives with the Canton Police Department have charged two additional people, including the brother of one of the victims, with murder in the shooting death of two men late last month at a home just outside the downtown area.

Brody Austin Samples, 23, of Ball Ground and Temarlos Marquarous Turner, 22, of Canton are both charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault. These two men join Jeremy Ulysses Zellous, 29, who has also been charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, making false statements and tampering with evidence related to the case.

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 previously told Patch. Another man, William Kendrick Randall, 23, of Canton, was also killed in the shooting.

Police did not specify which of the three men allegedly pulled the trigger in the fatal altercation, and investigators are still working to determine the motive in the case.

Police initially charged Brody Samples with violating his release on bond through Pickens County and 35-year-old Joseph C. Goldback Jr. of Jasper with obstruction of an officer. Canton police spokesperson Pacer Cordry said Samples was already in custody due to that charge and Turner was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Jasper.

Officers were dispatched to a shots-fired call around 11:20 p.m. Sunday, June 25 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 was 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.

Along with the June 25 shooting deaths, the police department also said it's working to determine if the shots fired Tuesday evening on Crisler Street are connected to the homicide investigation. Police arrested and charged three people in connection with that incident.

Canton police say the investigation remains active, and anyone with information about the case is asked to call 770-720-4883. Return to Patch for updates.

Photo: Brody Austin Samples, left, and Temarlos Marquarous Turner. Credit Cherokee Sheriff's Office