Arrest made in connection with body in trash bin

BUTLER — Authorities say a Talbot County man destroyed some evidence related to a Snellville man’s death after he dumped the body in a trash bin in middle Georgia.

Eric Riley, a 35-year-old truck driver, was arrested Monday night and charged with concealing the death of Lashon Lee Douglas Jr., 20, and tampering with evidence. GBI agents discovered some evidence that Riley had allegedly destroyed when they served a search warrant at his home in Box Springs on Monday, said Rodney Wall, special agent in charge of the GBI office in Columbus. Wall would not describe the evidence or say how it was destroyed.

Riley and Douglas knew each other personally, but authorities did not disclose details of their relationship.

Two different neighbors who have lived near Riley for 11 years said he is a well-mannered man, a hard-working tractor-trailer driver and an animal lover. He has a pet dog and keeps dozens of goats, some chickens and pigeons on the property behind his double-wide mobile home, said Frances Erenheim, a retiree who lives across the street.

“I don’t think he done it,” said Erenheim when reached by phone Tuesday. “I can’t believe it really, not of Eric.”

Douglas’ body was found on March 18 in a large metal trash container on Ga. 137 in Taylor County, south of Atlanta between Columbus and Macon. Family members said they didn’t know why he would have traveled more than 100 miles from home. The Pebblebrook High School alumni loved music and theater, and had just moved to Snellville to live with his mother and learn to become a hair stylist, his father, LeShon Douglas Sr., told the AJC on Saturday.

The coroner who examined Douglas found no immediate cause of death. A GBI spokesman said that additional charges might be filed against Riley once toxicology and final autopsy results are known.