In the early afternoon of March 6, 2017, a sense of normalcy was shattered in Little Rock, Arkansas, when 19-year-old Deontre Rhodes was gunned down. He was discovered lying face-down on a sidewalk near the intersection of West 32nd Street and John Barrow Road, suffering from a gunshot wound. Emergency services transported him to a local hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal.
For years, the case grew cold, leaving his family, particularly his mother, in a painful state of limbo, relentlessly seeking answers and justice for her son.
The silence in the investigation was finally broken nearly six years later. On January 4, 2023, the Little Rock Police Department announced a significant development in the case with the arrest of 33-year-old Rodney Franklin. This breakthrough brought a renewed sense of hope to a family that had long awaited any news. Franklin was taken into custody and subsequently charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Deontre Rhodes.
Following his arrest, Rodney Franklin entered a plea of not guilty to the murder charge. The legal proceedings were set in motion, with a court date scheduled for March 6, 2023, a date heavy with significance as it marked the sixth anniversary of Rhodes's untimely death. The arrest, while not erasing the years of grief, offered a measure of solace to his loved ones, who could now look towards the possibility of closure and seeing the judicial process unfold.
