Two Alabama men arrested in connection with Rossville, Georgia, homicide

Two Huntsville, Alabama, men have been arrested and charged in connection with an Aug. 1 homicide in Rossville.

Kavon Collier, 23, and Eric Dodds, 23, are charged with the shooting death of Dakota Bradshaw, who was killed in his Rossville home, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation news release.

At 1:17 p.m. Aug. 1, Walker County Sheriff's Office deputies and Rossville police officers responded to a call about shots fired in the 400 block of East Peachtree Street, where Bradshaw was found shot, the release said. The victim was taken to Erlanger hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

(READ MORE: 3 dead, 17 victims total after shooting on McCallie Avenue in Chattanooga)

Witnesses saw a red truck and a blue Dodge Challenger leaving the scene of the incident, the release said.

Law enforcement "cannot be everywhere," said Steve Wilson, Walker County sheriff, in a phone interview, so the public has to be its "eyes and ears."

    Contributed Photo by Walker County Sheriff’s Office / Kavon Collier
  

In the first 12 to 14 hours, there were not a lot of leads, he said, until witnesses came forward describing the suspects' vehicles.

"That led us to another thing and then another thing. We kept working and digging," Wilson said.

For this case and any other, anonymous tips can be reported to the Walker County Sheriff's Office website.

On Aug. 8, a warrant for Collier was obtained by the GBI. On Aug. 10, Collier was arrested after a search warrant was executed at an address in Huntsville by the United States Marshals Task Force, special agents with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Huntsville Police Department SWAT team and crime scene specialists.

(READ MORE: A map of Chattanooga shootings reported in 2022)

Collier was taken to the Madison County Jail in Alabama but waived extradition and is now being held in the Walker County Jail.

On Aug. 15, the GBI obtained a warrant for Dodds, and he was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshal's Task Force in Huntsville the next day. Dodds was taken to the Limestone County Jail and awaits extradition to Walker County.

Both suspects are charged with murder.

Wilson said the case has been a team effort, with multiple law enforcement agencies involved.

"It was a collaborative effort of local, state and federal agencies," Wilson said. "Many agencies in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, working together as one, to make the arrest in this murder investigation."

GBI officials could not be reached for further comment.

    Contributed Photo by Walker County Sheriff’s Office / Eric Dodds
  

Wilson said that in today's law enforcement, it's common to search for "digital footprints" on social media and cellphones. There were many hours of police work in this case, he said, which was complicated because the case covered three states. So far, Wilson said, law enforcement has executed about 55 search warrants across the three states involved.

Authorities have a motive in the case and believe they know why the two Alabama suspects were in Walker County, but Wilson said officials didn't want to "tip their hand" and publicize that information.

Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.