May 22, 2020–6:34 a.m.
GBI NEWS RELEASE
The following individuals have been arrested in connection with the double homicide investigation in Rome, GA
Arrested 5/18/20: Desmond Lavonta Brown, age 28, charge – misdemeanor obstruction of a police officer.
Arrested 5/19/20: Devin Lashawn Watts, age 36, charges – theft of receiving stolen property; possession a firearm by a convicted felon.
These arrests were the results of search warrants executed on apartments and vehicles based on leads that were developed and tips received from the GBI Tip Line. This investigation remains active and ongoing.
According to Floyd County Jail records, Brown was arrested after he disobeyed law enforcement and entered an automobile at an apartment complex on Dodd Boulevard.
Watts allegedly had a firearm reported stolen in Pickens County and put the gun in a closet of one of the apartments.
Watts was convicted of aggravated assault back in 2004, according to jail records.
Neither man has been charged in the murders.
5/22/20 UPDATE: Brown was additionally charged on Thursday with possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and a probation violation.
Investigators are seeking assistance in locating a vehicle that belonged to the victim Vanita Richardson. The investigation has shown that both Richardson and Truvenia Campbell were in this vehicle during the evening hours of Tuesday, May 12, 2020.
The vehicle’s location is not known at this time but investigators believe that it could be somewhere in the Metro Atlanta area. Anyone with information concerning this vehicle or the investigation, please contact the GBI tipline at 1-800-597-8477.