In the summer of 2017, the life of 18-year-old Allyn Gray Riddle was tragically cut short in his Rocky Mount, Virginia home. A recent graduate of Franklin County High School, Riddle had aspirations of joining the United States Navy as a Military Police Officer and was working at UPS in Roanoke. He was known by friends and family for his love of hiking, music, and soccer, and for seeing the beauty in things others might overlook.
On the evening of August 18, 2017, the Franklin County
Emergency Communications Center received a distressing call reporting a gunshot wound at a residence on Beechdale Road. When deputies arrived, they discovered Allyn Gray Riddle inside with a fatal gunshot wound. The investigation that followed quickly pointed to two young men: 20-year-old Aaron Seth Dean of Callaway and 19-year-old John Isaiah Hodges of Rocky Mount.
The motive behind the senseless act, as revealed by investigators, was a scheme to steal guns from Riddle's family. During an interview with Franklin County Sheriff's investigators, Aaron Dean confessed to the murder. He explained that the shooting and theft were part of a misguided plan he and Hodges had concocted to become vigilantes targeting drug smugglers. Both Dean and Hodges were subsequently charged with second-degree murder.
In December 2018, Aaron Seth Dean faced the consequences of his actions. He was sentenced to three life terms in prison for the murder and robbery of his friend. Initially facing a capital murder charge, which could have carried the death penalty, Dean pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and other felony charges. John Isaiah Hodges, his accomplice, was also set to stand trial for his role in the crime.
