In the late hours of a Saturday in August 2024, 19-year-old Joshua Pedro Pelico of Dalton, Georgia, a Hispanic male, was shot and killed in what authorities have described as a quadruple homicide. The incident unfolded at Pleasant Grove Park in Whitfield County, where deputies were dispatched around midnight after reports of gunfire. Upon their arrival, they discovered the bodies of four young men, including Pelico.
The other victims were identified as 21-year-old David Antonio Delgadillo, also from Dalton, 17-year-old Daniel Segura-Cruz of Rome, and 18-year-old Robert Valencia, also from Rome. Investigators believe that Pelico and Delgadillo had arranged to meet the individuals from Rome at the park for a drug-related transaction. Evidence found at the scene suggested that both groups arrived armed, and what was intended as a robbery escalated into a fatal shootout. Authorities have stated that they do not believe the incident was gang-related.
In the days following the shooting, a 16-year-old from Rome was taken into custody and charged with four counts of felony murder. He was later identified as Juan “Diego” Cruz-Duque. In November 2024, a Whitfield County grand jury indicted Cruz-Duque on twelve counts of felony murder, armed robbery, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, possession of a schedule 1 controlled substance with intent to distribute, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The indictment alleged that Cruz-Duque had driven from Floyd County with Segura-Cruz and Valencia to meet Pelico and Delgadillo for a drug deal, and that he fired a weapon at Pelico and Delgadillo in an attempt to rob them of vape pens and money.
A second arrest was made in February 2025, when 18-year-old Andres Jared Guzman was taken into custody in Rome by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Guzman was also charged with murder in connection with the quadruple homicide and is being held at the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. The investigation remains active and ongoing as law enforcement continues to piece together the events of that tragic night.
