The principal of an Alabama high school has been arrested and charged in the unsolved deaths of three people that occurred more than a decade ago.
Keante Harris, assistant principal at McAdory High School, turned himself in to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday on a fugitive from justice warrant.
His arrest stemmed from the January 2013 murders of Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson, Quiñones King and Rodney Cottrell, a trio of Alabama residents found dead in Clayton County, Georgia.
The three were lured to a home, forced inside at gunpoint and tortured by Harris and three other accomplices, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release, adding that the other three suspects were also arrested.
Identified as Kenneth Thompson, Kevin Harris and Darrell Harris. All were arrested in three states, the sheriff’s office said.
Keante Harris, assistant principal at McAdory High School, turned himself in to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday on a fugitive from justice warrant.
“On January 13, 2013, the Union City Police Department was conducting general patrol in the area of Interstate I-85 (Fulton County) when they observed a 2010 Dodge Charger that appeared to be abandoned,” officers wrote about how they handled the 11-year-old case.
‘Upon further inspection, Union City officers located (3) bodies in the vehicle.
‘The investigation determined that the three victims were tortured and murdered in Clayton County and dumped in Fulton County.
“The victims were lured to a residence on Magnolia Drive in Jonesboro, where they were forced into the residence at gunpoint,” the update posted Friday continues.
“Later, they loaded them into the back seat of a Dodge Charger and drove them to Fulton County.”
The bulletin goes on to explain how Chief Kevin Robert, Chief of the Clayton County Police Department, and his team were able to solve the case, before providing the Clayton County Prosecutor with the information necessary for the four murder charges.
County prosecutors proceeded to provide the Sheriff’s Office with 12 arrest warrants: three for Harris and three for the other suspects.
Despite the update, it is unclear if the suspects, several of whom have the same last name, are related.
Cheryl Colquitt-Thompson was found dead along with two men in 2013
The victims were lured to a residence on Magnolia Drive in Jonesboro, where they were forced into the residence at gunpoint. The second victim was Quiñones King (in the photo)
They were later loaded into the back seat of a Dodge Charger and driven to Fulton County. The third victim was Rodney Cottrell (pictured)
“Upon receiving this information, Sheriff Levon Allen immediately activated his ‘Elite Fugitive Unit’ to locate and apprehend the four outstanding suspects,” the cops wrote, culminating in the arrest of the quartet.
Allen added: “I am pleased to announce today that, thanks to hard work and diligent investigations, within 48 hours all four murder suspects were arrested in three states, without incident.”
The top cop went on to thank the department’s ‘local and overseas law enforcement partners’, whom he credited for ‘[coming] together to bring these suspects to justice.”
Each is charged with three counts of malice murder in the triple homicide case in Union City, Georgia, which occurred on January 13, 2013.
Harris is one of two assistant principals at McCalla High School, which has about 929 students.
It all started when the three victims, all Montgomery residents, were found in a silver Dodge Charger near I-85 in Fulton County.
Two of the victims died from asphyxiation, while the third was found strangled in the trunk of the car, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to Fox 5 this week.
The victims are believed to have been murdered at a residence in Clayton County before being left in the vehicle.
In a verbal statement to WSFA 12, Tony Garrett of Central Alabama CrimeStoppers described how he still remembers the pain the victims’ families felt that day.
“This case really helped me grow as the director of CrimeStoppers because I was able to start to feel what the family was feeling, not really, but I was able to go through their emotions,” he said.
“We are still offering the reward for this case, so we are waiting for them to come back to us to see if they had any informants or if they received information to solve the case,” he added.
Troopers said they are in contact with the victims’ families, who said they will talk when they are ready.
The case was approached with the same urgency as other more current cases, he said, citing advances in DNA and other technologies for not-so-quick arrests.
‘We are seeing DNA investigations, agencies combining more resources. “We’re seeing that it’s a better solution or a better way to do research, so we’re seeing the technology catch up and we’re seeing better communication,” he said.
Police added that they were in contact with the victims’ families, who said they will talk when they are ready. They were seen attending a Crime Stoppers event in central Alabama on Monday to celebrate the arrests, but did not speak to the media.
Meanwhile, Harris is one of the assistant principals at McCalla High School, which has about 929 students.
The three victims, all Montgomery residents, were found in a silver Dodge Charger near I-85 in Fulton County (crime scene pictured).
A Jefferson County Schools spokesperson referred all questions about the case to the sheriff’s office, revealing that Harris, seen posing in a mugshot, has been placed on administrative leave.
“We have been informed that Mr. Keante Harris was arrested Wednesday afternoon,” Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin said in a statement Monday.
‘At this time we are still collecting data on the details of this situation. However, early indications are that the charges are not related to this individual’s employment with Jefferson County Schools.
‘Per standard procedure, Mr. Harris has been placed on paid administrative leave. As more data becomes available, we will act in accordance with our district policy.’
DailyMail.com has contacted the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
