In the late afternoon of Saturday, August 26, 2017, the Adel Police Department received a 911 call reporting shots fired at 301 South Oak Street. Upon their arrival, officers discovered two brothers, 51-year-old Carl Edward Kaiser and 46-year-old Bobby L. Kaiser, both suffering from gunshot wounds. The brothers were immediately transported to South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta for treatment.
Carl Edward Kaiser was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. His brother, Bobby, was treated for a non-life-threatening injury. A third individual, 37-year-old Cervantez Pertilla, was also involved in the incident. He had driven himself to the Cook Wellness Center in Adel with a gunshot wound and was later transferred to South Georgia Medical Center in critical but stable condition. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was requested by the Adel Police Department to lead the investigation into Carl Kaiser's death. An autopsy for Carl was scheduled to be performed at the GBI Crime Lab in Macon.
Years later, in January 2025, Bobby Leon Kaiser was found guilty on numerous federal charges related to a large-scale armed drug trafficking conspiracy that operated in Cook County. This organization, which had been under investigation since as early as December 2020, was involved in the distribution of significant quantities of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and marijuana. The trial revealed that Bobby Kaiser and a co-conspirator were running an open drug market from a gazebo and storage shed in Adel. It is unclear if the 2017 shooting that resulted in the death of Carl Edward Kaiser was directly related to this drug trafficking organization. No specific arrests or charges have been publicly announced in direct connection with Carl's murder.
