Police arrest victim's grandson in fatal robbery

WOODSTOCK - Cherokee County authorities have arrested the grandson of an 84-year-old man beaten to death at his home over the weekend. <br> <br> Justin Kelly Thomas, 18, of Austell, was charged Monday in connection with the death after neighbors and friends of the victim contacted detectives. <br> <br> Doyle Thomas was found bludgeoned to death Saturday in the master bedroom of the Arnold Mill Road home just east of Woodstock. His 82-year-old wife, Ella Thomas, was badly beaten but survived. <br> <br> She remained in stable condition late Monday, said Nicole Ebbeskotte, spokeswoman for the Cherokee County Sheriff&#39;s department. <br> <br> ``The family is a good family,&#39;&#39; said Sheriff Roger Garrison, who described the incident as one of the most gruesome and disturbing in his 11 years as sheriff. ``They&#39;re beside themselves that this could happen.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Investigators said robbery was the motive for the brutal attack. The suspects broke a window and a door to get in and ransacked the house, officials said. <br> <br> The victims&#39; son, who found the elderly couple, drove from his home in Gwinnett County when he couldn&#39;t reach them on the phone. After discovering his parents, he called 911 at 10:40 a.m. <br> <br> Officials said the man is not the suspect&#39;s father, however. <br> <br> Three other people, who were not immediately identified, were in custody Monday but they had not been charged. More arrests were expected, authorities said. <br> <br> There were no witnesses to the robbery but Garrison said investigators have video evidence of Thomas trying to cash a check at a SunTrust bank around 10 a.m. Saturday. <br> <br> Garrison said the bank refused to cash one of the stolen checks because the amount, $50,000, was so high.

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