Dawson v. State

Benham, Justice.

Ladaris Hawkins was found dead in a College Park hotel room on October 15, 1998, having suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the back of his head. Three days later, Phillip Dover, Ronald Gutkowski, and Gerrold Shropshire were found dead in an Atlanta hotel room, each having suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the back of his head. About two weeks after the trio was killed, appellant Timothy Dawson was stopped for a traffic violation near Memphis, Tennessee. When appellant told the officer he had a loaded gun in the glove compartment, a weapons violation in Tennessee, the officer…