Rockdale County

Police make major reward increase in 1997 double homicide

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — The reward is now up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in one of metro Atlanta’s oldest cold cases.

Conyers police say a group of men robbed and then shot and killed 19-year-olds Jermaine Johnson and Rasheed Rasul on May 1, 1997.

The murders happened in what used to be an industrial area of Conyers.

Investigators tell Channel 2 Action News the shootings were done execution-style.

As the 20-year anniversary of the killings approaches, Rasul’s family issued a new plea to the public for information.

"There's a lot of people right here in Conyers and Covington that actually know the whole story of what happened. They're just scared,” said Rasul’s father, William.

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Rasul’s sister, Kamilah Maddox, said she did not lose her brother, he was stolen.

"He was taken, you know. He was taken. We weren't prepared for that. Who is ever prepared for that?" she said.

An investigator with the Conyers Police Department told Channel 2 Action News he and his team identified three suspects, including a pair of brothers from Covington.

But authorities need people to come forward with information to help make the case stick.

"To pretty much put the nail in the coffin, so to speak, on the case. I believe we've got about all the physical evidence and other things that we're ever going to have," said former investigator David Spann.

Spann, who is now the chief operating officer of Conyers, told Channel 2 Action News he is determined to help the victims’ families get closure.

"Anybody that's been in police work for a long time and been involved in criminal investigations has that one case that haunts them. This is that one case for me," Spann said.

"I just want some closure. And I'm just going to say this: I want the guys to rot in prison," William Rasul said.

Anyone with information about the murders is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 404- 577-8477.

Cox Media Group

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