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Murder at Barberitos /// Part 1 /// 927
00:44:01
In an eight day span in January of 2018, the city of Warner Robins, Georgia experienced three homicides. Warner Robins Police mistakenly believed all three homicides were committed by one perpetrator. When the suspect was arrested, eventually a long list of charges were dropped against the suspect. The murders of Janak Kumar Patel and Parker Killman Moore are still unsolved. Police have a lot of evidence but still need the public’s help. Any information is good information. Warner Robins Police Department (478) 302-5378
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- [00:00]
Sam
Sa.
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Nick
Welcome to True Crime Garage wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Thanks for listening. I'm your host, Nick, and with me as always, he'll tell you he's the king of these barrio streets. Here is the captain.
- [00:53]
Captain
It's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.
- [01:01]
Nick
Today we are drinking Blueberry Field Party by head brewer Forest Swan in the beer slingers down at Georgia Beer Company. Blueberry Field Party is a fruited blonde ale. Georgia soil is ideal for blueberries and blueberries are ideal for blonde ales. This is a great springtime beer. It tastes and feels like a springtime beer and will be super refreshing when the days start to heat up. ABV 5.2% garage grade A solid 4 out of 5 bottle caps. This one was delivered to us by some kind and generous folks that attended our Brian Schaer event. I believe they drove all the way up from Florida. So thank you very much. And here we go. Captain. Here's some cheers and thanks to our good friends that helped us fill up the old fridge for this week. First up, a shout out to Olivia from Enumclaw, Washington.
- [02:02]
Captain
The big talk, hands in the air
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Ad Host
goes to Ashley from Bagley, Minnesota.
- [02:07]
Nick
And here's a cheers to a Cara Boyd's in Maryland. And last but certainly not least, we have Marcy hokenstra from Sacramento, California. Everyone we just mentioned went to true crimegarage.com and helped us out with this week's beer fund for the beer run. And for that we thank you.
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Ad Host
Yeah, for everything.
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Captain
True crime. Check out truecrime garage.com while you're there. Sign up on the mailing list and
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Ad Host
check out the merch store. Treat yourself.
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Captain
And that's enough of the business.
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Nick
All right, everybody gather round, grab a chair, grab a beer, talk some true crime.
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Narrator
Three shootings in a little over a week and now investigators saying they could be connected.
- [02:56]
Police Chief Brett Evans
Macon Regional Crime Stoppers is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Daniel Bruce Franz II. He's the man accused of killing Vincent Jr. At the Tanglewood Apartments on January 13th. That was the first of three deadly shootings this month.
- [03:12]
Narrator
Hours later, down the road, a gunman shot and killed Janak Patel, a cashier at the Chevron gas station. Warner Robins Police Chief Brett Evans says they haven't named a suspect in that shooting, but says it could be related to the Tanglewood apartment shooting.
- [03:26]
Police Chief Brett Evans
Then Sunday night, 23 year old Parker Moore was killed during a robbery at Barbaritos. Police cannot say for sure whether the Barbara Rudos shooting death is related to the other two. But Chief Evans did say they cannot rule out that friends was involved in all three homicides.
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Narrator
As police continue to search for answers, Chief Brett Evans says the three shootings hit close to home for everybody in Warner Robbins, including his officers.
- [03:51]
Captain Chris Rooks
Our families are intertwined in this community. Every day we eat at the same establishments, we go to the same movie theaters, we shop at the same facilities, we eat breakfast and a lot of the same place. So it's very personal to us. Please understand that.
- [04:10]
Police Chief Brett Evans
Warner Robinson Mayor Randy Thomps is also concerned about people being protected. Today he said he would ask council to remove the ban against city employees carrying weapons in city buildings.
- [04:20]
Captain Chris Rooks
This is our home and this not only does my heart hurt for the families and the people that have been affected by this string of senseless, tragic events, but it anchors me that our citizens safety and security is threatened.
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Nick
This week we are headed out to Warner Robins, Georgia. Warner Robins is near Macon, Georgia and is located within portions of both Houston and Peach counties. It is one of the state's larger cities with a population of about 85,5000. Folks. We're going back to 2018, 2018. For the people of Warner Robins, that year was going to kick off in a really bad way. We're going to see a dramatic uptick in gun violence and robberies in January of 2018. So let's start this timeline. On Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 6:12pm Warner Robins Police Department were dispatched to the Tanglewood Apartments at 1005 Alberta Road. This to investigate a report of shots fired inside apartment number 90. They didn't know it at the time, but they were responding to what would ultimately be the Warner Robbins first homicide of the year. There at that apartment they found a man shot dead inside. The victim in the Tanglewood Apartments shooting was identified as Vincent Jr. Age 28 of Warner Robbins. There were strong indicators at the scene that he may have known the suspect, but the suspect was unknown to police at this time and was described as a young black male, probably in his 20s, with a slim build and wearing a dark hooded shirt and blue jeans. The two were heard arguing before shots were fired. It's believed that there were eyewitnesses as well as ear witnesses. In this case, the suspect fired several shots at the victim, killing him and then fleeing the scene. Vehicle information on the suspect was not known and he may have fled on foot. Warner Robbins Police Department were busy looking for the suspect and the one who was taking the Lead on this captain, was Detective Carter Gravett. Police were actively looking for the suspect who murdered this 28 year old, Vincent Jr. On a Saturday evening.
- [07:39]
Captain
Do we know much about this apartment complex?
- [07:42]
Nick
From my understanding here, this apartment complex is situated in a well populated area. So nearby you're going to have a lot of businesses, a lot of strip malls and things of that nature. So whether this individual fled on foot or in a vehicle as said at the time, was unknown, but could have been, if having fled on foot, could have been hiding anywhere nearby. And that kind of leads into the next piece of our timeline here because less than three hours later. So this is at 8:56pm that same night, police officers responded to a 911 call of a robbery with shots fired at the Chevron gas station. This is located at 806 Alberta Road. Notice that those are the same roads. So this is a Chevron gas station, also known as Food Mart Number three. Inside they found a store clerk shot. Paramedics attempted to revive the victim, but they were unsuccessful. The victim's name is Januk Patel, J A N, A K. But he went by the name of Jack Patel. So Jack was working alone that night. So less than three hours after the first call, Warner Robins police were responding to what would be the city's second homicide of the year with Detective Justin Clark taking the lead on this one. Again, it's the Chevron gas station, slash convenience store. So it's a little bit of a larger gas station, pumps out front, you have snacks and drinks and beverages inside. The clerk in this case was shot dead, as we said, less than three hours after the fatal shooting at an apartment complex nearby. When we say Nearby, this is 0.4 miles, these two locations.
- [09:47]
Captain
So we have a crime scene at the apartments and we have a crime scene at this gas station. And it's possible that they're connected?
- [09:55]
Nick
Well, absolutely, because what we have here is the Warner Robbins Police Department Assistant Chief John Wagner, who said it hasn't been determined whether the two shootings are related. Quote, it certainly is odd that they were close in proximity. He said, we are certainly not ruling that out, end quote.
- [10:17]
Captain
Do we have surveillance footage at the apartment complex? I think any of these large apartment complex should have at least outdoor surveillance.
- [10:28]
Nick
In this case, it doesn't sound like that was available to police or existed. But what we do have is the suspect description from the Chevron gas station homicide.
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Ad Host
Right.
- [10:43]
Nick
So in this case, the suspect is described by police as a black male wearing dark clothing with his face partially covered and they Say that they know that the suspect fled toward Greenbrier Road. They used a tracking dog in attempts to locate the suspect, but this was unsuccessful. So at the Chevron Captain, they did have surveillance cameras working. Surveillance cameras, wow. That's right. Amazing. So using those, they can confirm that the description of the suspect that they put out is very accurate. Okay. And they eventually would go on to release a still image of the suspect at the Chevron robbery and homicide where that went down. So based off of video footage, what they know, law enforcement, is that the suspect walked in gunpointing at the lone clerk. The gunman demanded money and demanded it to be fast. When handing it over, Jack Patel handed over the money. And then the gunman, who could have simply have just turned and fled, having got what he wanted, decided to do something so cold, something so evil. So with the money already in his possession and Jack Patel giving him no problems at all, totally compliant to the gunman, the masked gunman shot and killed Jack before fleeing the scene.
- [12:19]
Captain
Yeah, it makes you wonder if this killer thought that Patel recognized him.
- [12:25]
Nick
It's a possibility. Could have recognized his voice. What we can see of the actual suspect, he's completely covered head to toe, with the exception of his eyes and the bridge of his nose. Jack Kumar Patel of Warner Robbins was just 25 years old. As we said, he was working alone that night. This was supposed to be his last shift. He had already lined some things up and was moving on to greener pastures with just one shift left to cover when he was robbed, shot and killed. That night, the Chevron station on Alberta Road in Warner Robbins was blocked off with crime scene tape. And that crime scene tape remained up the following morning on Sunday morning. So on Saturday, January 13, 2018. Captain, the City of Warner Robbins, Georgia experiences the first two homicides of the year on the same night. The previous year, the city had only six homicides for the entire calendar year. Five days later, Warner Robbins police announced that they are looking for a local man wanted in the slaying at the Tanglewood Apartments. Police said that Daniel Bruce Franz II has been charged with murder in the shooting death of 28 year old Vincent D. Jr. On January 13th. France had also been charged with aggravated assault. Okay, quote, France has been seen in the Middle Georgia area and is more than likely armed and considered dangerous. The department said in a statement to the public. The 27 year old Franz is described as a black male with a light complexion who weighs about 160 pounds, is 57 in. Tall. Vincent Jr. The victim from the apartments was a city of Warner Robins employee in the public works department. And police said anyone with information about Franz's whereabouts is asked to call Detective Gravette or call the Macon Regional Crime Stoppers. Okay, so taking emotions out of this, and to put it in its simplest of forms, we got a lot going on here in a very short period of time. We have two homicides both on that Saturday. Then a suspect in one of those homicides is identified and police asking for the public's assistance in locating the suspect by Thursday. Again, his name is Daniel Bruce Franz ii. Armed and dangerous. So we have an active manhunt going on when the unimaginable happens. So on our timeline, this is Sunday, January 21st. So just eight days after the first two homicides. This is just a little bit after 9:30pm on that Sunday when Warner Robbins police were dispatched to a Barbaritos restaurant located at 3123 Watson Boulev after shots were reportedly fired there. Police arrive on the scene and they walk into a nightmare of a situation. So this restaurant was still open at the time of the incident. They would have closed that night at 10pm we have employees and customers in the Barbaritos when the shots were fired. Once on the scene, they find 23 year old Parker Killian Moore shot and unresponsive. He was found lying behind the counter near the open cash register. Also inside we have another injured worker. He is severely injured. He's described as a 21 year old man who was shot in the head. But somehow he was able to tell police what happened. This young man had to be rushed off to the hospital to save his life. But he tells police he was shot first by the robber while he and others were trying to get the money that the robber had demanded. So they're trying to get cash out of the register to give to the armed robber.
- [17:01]
Captain
Right.
- [17:01]
Nick
And then I will use the words that the Macon Telegraph used. Parker Killian Moore was fatally wounded by a parting shot that the bandit fired. A parting shot?
- [17:15]
Captain
What does that mean?
- [17:17]
Nick
Sounding a lot like the Chevron gas station situation where he demands money, gunman demands money, gets the money, and then shoots Parker Killian Moore anyway when he could have just turned and fled without shooting anyone.
- [17:32]
Captain
Yeah, and I don't know if this is in the reports, but he probably didn't get much money and it's pretty pathetic. It's a pathetic move by somebody that's, in my opinion, less than human. To get a small amount of money and take somebody's life.
- [17:51]
Nick
Absolutely. And we'll stick with this here, Captain, and then get into some far more in depth and detailed information about this robbery homicide as we have several witnesses in this case, some that we were able to speak with to get firsthand accounts of the events of that horrific night. But we'll stick with what was publicly reported here for the moment. The Macon Telegraph reported a third employee who was inside the restaurant ran to a nearby Dunkin Donuts, telling the employees there to lock the doors and call 91 1. We had four customers, reportedly that were also inside the Barberitos when Moore was shot. Video surveillance was pulled from Barbaritos from the Dunkin Donuts, from a convenience store across the street to nearby hotels and other nearby businesses. The suspect was seen on surveillance video at 9:28pm coming from alongside a hotel near the restaurant, going through some bushes, cutting through some bushes, and then running to the back door of the Barbaritos. And then the video also shows him fleeing south bound just minutes later. Warner Robbins police, patrol officers, detectives and crime scene investigators continue to work that crime scene well into the night and then into Monday. Crime scene investigators use special equipment to make a 3D image of the scene. Detectives and uniform officers canvassed a parking lot in a nearby field, looking in trash containers for possible evidence. The killing of restaurant worker Parker Killian Moore was the city's third homicide of 2018, and it was January 21st. This is three homicides in just eight days. And there was very nearly a fourth homicide that night. The other man that was shot came within just a centimeter or two of losing his life. Thankfully, he was able to be saved.
- [20:14]
Captain
Well, we're going to learn a little bit about this suspect from the surveillance inside. But to me, if I'm investigating this, I want this surveillance from outside because it's more likely I'm going to be able, I'll be able to identify the vehicle.
- [20:30]
Nick
Yeah, you were hoping to see. So the, the surveillance footage that they, they have that captures the suspect approaching the barbaritos and fleeing the barbaritos, they don't, they're unable to pull any vehicle information from that footage, or at least as far as we've been told and what has been released to the public. What you do have, which is interesting because we don't always have this in many of the cases that we've looked at, is you do get to see him approaching the business and also fleeing the business. So it does give you some idea of, if it's just general information, it still gives you some information as to where he came from and where he may have gone. You also get to see him, his movements and how he chooses and approaches the business and then later flees the business. So let's get to a this is a news conference regarding the three January 2018 homicides. It was scheduled for that Tuesday. Remember, police and crime scene techs are still at the scene of Barbaritos well into Monday. So the next day on that Tuesday, Warner Robins Police headquarters is hosting a news conference regarding these three homicides and we played a news clip of that press conference for you in today's trailer. At that press conference, we learn how the police were working these three cases. They announced to the public that the Barbaritos restaurant worker fatally shot in an armed robbery that Sunday night may not have been the killer's first victim. Warner Robbins Police Chief Brett Evans told reporters and the public that one man may behind the three killings. Warner Robinson Police Department investigators were trying to determine if the shooter at Barbari Goes is the same man who killed a Chevron convenience store clerk on January 13 in an armed robbery, said Warner Robins Assistant Police Chief John Wagner. The features of the suspects are similar, he said. The suspect in the Chevron slaying was described as a skinny black male about 6ft tall, wearing dark clothing and partially covering his face, according to a police release. The suspect in the Barbaritos killing was described as a Black male about 6ft tall who was wearing dark clothing and a face covering. Police released photos taken from surveillance video of the two armed robberies. They also announced reward money for leads in these cases. So within less than two weeks time we have three homicides, an active manhunt for one of the murders, several formal statements from police to the press and public, a press conference held within two days after the third murder, and reward money offered up for information and leads.
- [24:03]
Captain
Well, this has to be scary for the community because it seems like the motive is pretty simple money, but not large amounts of money. And so this individual is willing to kill people over little to no amount of money.
- [24:20]
Nick
Exactly. And what you have here Captain, is as of 21 days into 2018, you have half the number of homicides that the same city experienced and 365 days in the year prior.
- [24:54]
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- [29:40]
Captain
All right, we are back. Thanks for joining us here in the garage. Tall cans in the air.
- [29:45]
Nick
That's right. Cheers to the people in the back. Power to the people. All right, Captain, let me read portions of this from the front page of the Macon Telegraph. So this is January 24, 2018. I want to read from it because it clearly states the police's theory at that time and the ongoing manhunt for the one named suspect, police Chief Brett Evans said at a news conference. Daniel Bruce Franz II is wanted on charges of murder and aggravated assault in the January 13th slaying of 28 year old Vincent Jr. At the Tanglewood Apartments on Alberta Road. Police do not have sufficient evidence to seek warrants for Franz's arrest in connection with Sunday's fatal shooting of Barbaritos restaurant worker Parker Killian Moore during an armed robbery and the January 13th slaying of Chevron convenience store clerk Jack Kumar Patel, also killed during an armed robbery. However, Franz cannot be ruled out as a suspect in all three slayings, Evans said. Additionally, the climbing reward for information leading to the whereabouts and arrest of France has reached up to $20,000, said Regional Crime Stoppers. Warren Selby. Quote, we're here today to reach out to the community to say please help the Warner Robins Police Department and these men and women solve these cases and make the streets safer for our community. Macon Regional Crime Stoppers Warren Selby said at the news conference. He goes on to say, you may not think it's a significant piece of information, but crimes are like a puzzle. Every little piece goes together to make a big picture. End quote. Daniel Bruce Franz, who is known to law enforcement, has been seen in the Middle Georgia area and the state is likely armed and considered dangerous. Also, a separate reward of up to $10,000 was being offered in the Chevron slaying and $7,000 reward in the Barbaritos killing. Selby said the emphasis of the reward money is on locating Franz because an arrest warrant has been issued and his arrest could possibly solve the other two killings. Selby said photos of the shooter and the Barbaritos and Chevron armed robbery homicides taken from surveillance video are strikingly similar, as are the similarities in the physical descriptions, clothing, mannerisms and weapons. Chief Evans said reasons for a possible link between the Tanglewood apartments and the Chevron slayings other than proximity and time and location have not been disclosed by the police, and the police chief declined to elaborate.
- [33:11]
Captain
Well, with so many crimes, you only have to get this individual for one. Yes, you want all the crimes solved, but if you can at least bring charges and get a conviction on one of these crimes, then maybe you're able to. Well, one, you get the guy off the street and so now you're protecting the community. But maybe you can make a deal if he pleads guilty to one of the other crimes.
- [33:38]
Nick
Yes. Permission to offer up a little foreshadowing here, Captain?
- [33:42]
Captain
Go for it.
- [33:44]
Nick
Thank you. I want to circle back to what was said at the press conference here. Crime Stoppers. Warren Selby said you may not think it's a significant piece of information, but crimes like a puzzle, every little piece goes together to make a big picture. End quote. This most certainly can be true. Emphasis on the word can. Crimes are oftentimes like a puzzle. Each piece is very important and valuable. He said every little piece goes together to make a big picture. That is true as well, but not all of the time. Sometimes every little piece does not fit together. Remember, my friends, that every little piece, as it was called at the press conference, every little piece of. Of evidence is a clue, but not every clue is in fact evidence. Okay, so nothing but bad news, right? For the city of Warner Robins, nothing but bad news in that 10 day span. Once we get from the first call to the press conference, nothing but bad news for 10 days straight. But finally we get a little bit of good news and we get a very dangerous individual off of the streets. So this would be just hours, just hours after that press conference with Warner Robbins Police department when accused killer Daniel Bruce Franz II was arrested. So this is late that night. Franz was located at a home on Scott Boulevard after a manhunt and a $20,000 Crime Stoppers reward offered for information leading to Franz's whereabouts and arrest. Accused killer Daniel Bruce Franz II was arrested alongside of two others. This is Michael Joseph Brent, age 20, who lives at the residence and a Montrevius deschane Lewis, age 22. He and this other guy were charged with hindering apprehension of Franz at that home. The men told police that Franz was not inside the home several times before eventually allowing officers to enter the home. This is all according to Warner Robbins police. They find Franz in the kitchen and he's taken into custody without incident. So he's, he's arrested, he's found at this home. These two guys, they're harboring him there for whatever reason. When the police approach the home and try to get in, they're like, yeah, he's not here. Don't you know, look elsewhere.
- [36:40]
Captain
Lying pieces of.
- [36:41]
Nick
There you go. And. But they eventually let the police in, they find the guy, they're looking for Franz in the kitchen, haul his ass in. He's arrested on murder and aggravated assault charges. This is all from that January 13th slaying of 28 year old Vincent Jr. At the Tanglewood Apartments.
- [37:01]
Captain
And it makes you wonder how much information they had about all these crimes and how much they were covering for this guy.
- [37:11]
Nick
Yeah, those guys. And then what we also are going to learn here now is, all right, so we're going to get a little more detail on the suspect and the incident that led to the murder at Tanglewood Apartments. This, of course, after the arrest. And this makes total sense here because one, this dude is wanted on other charges that are outside of the Tanglewood apartment murder. And two, as we said earlier, when this first, when the news first breaks, we know there's ear witnesses because they're calling in shots fired at this apartment complex. But there are eyewitnesses as well that are going to fill in the blanks as to what all occurred leading up to that homicide. Of course, police are not going to release all that information when they are searching for their suspect. But we know, reviewing this case that they had a lot of information. Why? Because just days after they announce who they are looking for and not just say, hey, this is who we're looking for by name, we've also already charged him with the murder.
- [38:23]
Ad Host
Right.
- [38:24]
Nick
So a little detail on the suspect and the incident is released after the arrest. Police said that Daniel Bruce Franz II was actually out. He was out free on bond at the time when these three people were shot to death in Warner Robbins in January of 2018. He is charged. The statement is he is charged in one killing and could be a suspect in the other two. He was also wanted by Centerville police on an outstanding warrant. Franz was charged with murder and aggravated assault in the January 13th slaying of 28 year old Vincent Jr. At the Tanglewood Apartments on Alberta Road. Franz, the accused, and Junior, the victim were heard arguing before shots were fired. Police said Franz's outstanding warrant for a felony obstruction was for a felony obstruction charge for throwing a fist and hitting a Centerville police sergeant in the face as the officer tried to arrest him back in August of 2017.
- [39:34]
Captain
In the face?
- [39:35]
Nick
Yeah. So he's, he's arrested, hits the police officer, he's charged with that, but then he gets out on bond, and while he's out on bond, three people are killed, and then he gets picked up for the murder of this Vincent Jr. So Warner Robins Police Chief Brett Evans said police do not have enough evidence to seek warrants for Franz's arrest in connection with the other two slayings that took place in January, but emphasized that France could not be ruled out as a suspect either.
- [40:09]
Captain
And like you said, he has extensive criminal history.
- [40:12]
Nick
Absolutely. Absolutely. And we need to fast forward just a little bit here to the following year, 2009, when Daniel Bruce Franz II of Warner Robbins was. He's going to court now for that murder charge for the murder of Vincent Jr. Now, to be clear at this time, he's suspected of having killed Jack Patel at the Chevron and Parker Killian Moore at Barbaritos, but has not been officially charged.
- [40:48]
Captain
Right.
- [40:49]
Nick
In those two cases as of his court date for this murder trial. At trial. It doesn't sound like this trial lasted too long here at trial, he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he was found guilty by a jury. He was also found to be guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Felon. They also released details of what occurred at the apartment. It says Franz shot and killed Vincent Jr, age 28, who was a Warner Robbins public works employee inside Junior's apartment. Okay, so this all goes down we said earlier, apartment 90. This was Junior's apartment at the Tanglewood Apartments. The argument, according to testimony, was, was over a bag of marijuana. And according to the Houston County District Attorney's office, the two had actually been friends. With friends like this, who needs enemies, right? The two had actually been friends for many years. But on that evening, witnesses testified that the men were arguing in the living room and that Junior had followed Franz into the kitchen and robbed him of a bag of marijuana at gunpoint.
- [42:17]
Captain
Jesus.
- [42:18]
Nick
Okay, so the bad guy, the guy that's ultimately charged with murder, is in the kitchen and the victim comes in with a gun. And says, you know, give me that bag. Or takes the bag off of him. Afterward, the victim, Junior, he goes into the living room where there are other people present inside this apartment, and he brags to those people that he just took, stole or robbed the other guy of the marijuana.
- [42:46]
Captain
Yeah. So evil, dumb son of a.
- [42:48]
Nick
Then Franz comes from the back of the house and he shoots Junior once in the left lower chest and then twice in the middle of the back, which ultimately causes the death of Vincent Junior. Franz then fled and as we now know, was picked up days later after a manhunt looking for this man.
- [43:14]
Captain
Surprisingly, he didn't try to punch police in the face again.
- [43:18]
Nick
Yeah, without incident.
- [43:21]
Captain
But you said that he was charged in the one case and he's going to get 25 years.
- [43:29]
Nick
Yes, he gets 25 years in prison. It's a voluntary manslaughter conviction. And what is going to happen here is from everything I've reviewed and from what the police were telling the public and the D A as well while they were pursuing this murder charge and they had a court date for this trial, they were actively putting together a case against him for the other two murders. So we're going to go and charge him with this murder. They get the conviction and now they're still building a case against him. In the Chevron murder case and the Barbaritos murder case,
- [44:32]
Narrator
Three people were killed in less than 10 days. One at the Tanglewood apartments, one at a Chevron gas station, one at Barbarito's restaurant. Two of those crimes officially remain unsolved. Zach Merchant is live in Warner Robins with the latest on where those cases stand.
- [44:49]
Reporter Zach Merchant
Frank, the Barbarito is here behind me just off of Watson Boulevard. It's seen a steady stream of cops customers all day today. But back in the night of January 21, that was not the case. This entire area was blocked off by police after 23 year old Barbarito's employee, Parker Killian Moore was shot dead in the restaurant. And he wasn't even supposed to be there. He was filling in for someone else's shift. Now, over six months later, his mom, Lia Maas, is still searching for answers.
- [45:17]
Sam
I mean, I wake up thinking about him. I go to sleep thinking about him. I think about him all day long.
- [45:25]
Reporter Zach Merchant
Six months after 23 year old Parker Killian Moore was gunned down while at work in the Warner Robins, Barbaritos, his mom, Liam Moss, says she wants answers and so far hasn't gotten many.
- [45:34]
Sam
The feeling that they had somebody that they were charging that did this to my child would, you know, I don't know what that's going to feel like because I haven't had that yet. But it's discouraging and heartbreaking that they don't.
- [45:50]
Reporter Zach Merchant
Police have not charged anyone for Moore's murder, but Captain Chris Rooks with the Warner Robins Police Department's investigations unit says police think they know who did it. Daniel Franz. He was arrested and charged with murder for the fatal Tanglewood apartment shooting in January. Hours after that homicide, someone gunned down a Chevron employee only a few miles away. And Rooks says he's certain the Chevron shooter also pulled the trigger in Barbaritos. Captain Rooks now says Franz is the primary suspect in those two unsolved killings.
- [46:18]
Captain Chris Rooks
It is important to know that we feel like the person that's responsible for these crimes. He is in jail, but of course, we have to work the case and develop the evidence to be able to charge him. That is still full force.
- [46:33]
Reporter Zach Merchant
Ma says she doesn't think anything will erase her grief, but an arrest would help bring some measure of closure. And if Franz ends up being charged, she says she wants him to pay.
- [46:43]
Sam
If he did do well for me, and I want. I want the death penalty. That's what I would like to say. An eye for an eye.
- [46:51]
Narrator
All right. Captain Rooks would not say exactly what's holding up the case for fear of compromising the investigation, but he says the department is still working hard and asking the public for tips. Captain Rooks also says more than $14,000 in reward money has been paid, paid out for tips related to the case. And there's still more money available. If you have information, you can call Macon Regional Crime Stoppers. That number is 1 877-68-CRIME.
- [47:40]
Ad Host
Join us back here in the garage for part two.
- [47:43]
Nick
And until then, be good, be kind, and don't litter.
- [47:56]
Sam
Sam.