A Forest Park man has been convicted for the 2010 murder of a fast food restaurant employee, bringing a decade-long pursuit of justice to a close. On Tuesday, a jury found 33-year-old Rashad Rogers guilty of Malice Murder and Felony Murder in the death of 23-year-old Gary Andrews.
The Crime and Initial Investigation
On December 18, 2010, officers from the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a robbery call at Church’s Chicken on Flakes Mill Road at 8:59 p.m. Upon arrival, they discovered Andrews, an employee, unconscious and bleeding from a head wound inside the restaurant.
Witnesses reported that two black men, wearing surgical masks and armed with guns, entered the establishment demanding access to the safe. One of the suspects, described as having neck-length dreadlocks with red tips, put a gun to another employee’s head when the cashier couldn’t open the safe.
Andrews attempted to protect his coworkers by hiding them in the freezer. During the confrontation, he intervened, leading to the gunman shooting him twice in the head. The suspects then fled with cash from the register.
The investigation stalled and the case went cold.
Breakthrough and Arrest
In 2012, the DKPD Cold Case Unit revitalized the investigation, coinciding with an FBI probe into an April 2011 bank robbery in DeKalb County involving Rogers and accomplices Clifford Jackson and Clifford Durham. An informant revealed that the trio had discussed the Church’s Chicken murder, with Rogers expressing regret over the shooting, saying, “He shouldn’t have moved, I had to do it.” The informant also noted seeing a wig with red tips.
In November 2012, Rogers, Jackson, and Durham pled guilty to the federal bank robbery charges. Subsequently, murder warrants were issued for Rogers and Jackson on October 15, 2013. Both were transferred to DeKalb County Jail after completing their federal sentences. Jackson later pled guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter on June 10, 2024, receiving a 20-year sentence. Durham has since passed away.
Following the jury’s guilty verdict, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Shondeana Morris sentenced Rogers to life in prison.
Thom Chandler
The Georgia Sun is a news and infotainment website devoted to all things Georgia.
