In January of 1992, a 25-year-old man named Rakesh Patel was killed during a robbery at his convenience store located on Franklin Road in Marietta, Georgia. His death marked the beginning of a violent crime spree that would terrorize Cobb County for two and a half months.
The man responsible for Mr. Patel's death was Ronald Freeman, who was 21 years old at the time. After killing Patel, Freeman continued his string of violent robberies and shootings.
His subsequent victims included Terri Waddell, a young gas station manager who was shot and killed in front of her four-year-old daughter, and Al-Tariq Shaheed, who was fatally wounded during a shooting at an apartment complex. Freeman also shot and killed 16-year-old Wheeler High School sophomore Charles 'Chet' Planchard III during a robbery at a Burger King.
Freeman's crime spree came to an end when he was apprehended by Fulton County police after being shot in the leg while attempting to flee his girlfriend's apartment. He was subsequently tried and convicted for the murders. A juror from the trial for Rakesh Patel's murder recalled the proceedings as lasting two weeks. Ronald Freeman is currently serving a life sentence plus 60 years at Calhoun State Prison for the series of killings.
