Intruder killed by homeowner in Henry County

By Mike Morris and Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Henry County investigators now believe they know what prompted a pre-dawn home invasion that left a man dead.

Inside the home, police found 5 pounds of marijuana, a pound and a half of cocaine, and $174,000 cash, according to Henry police Capt. Jason Bolton.

The homeowners, Milton and Sandra Robbins, both 35, were arrested Friday evening, Bolton said. The husband and wife have been charged with trafficking cocaine and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Three men got out of a dark-colored SUV along Hill Lane in Ellenwood just before 5:30 a.m. and forced their way through the front door of a house occupied by Milton and Sandra Robbins and two teenage children, police said.

"Once inside, one of the suspects exchanged gunfire with the homeowner," Bolton told the AJC. "The suspect was shot and killed by the homeowner."

The man killed has been identified as 35-year-old Marlin K. Maner of Decatur.

The two other men fled in an Infiniti FX "believed to be driven by another suspect who remained in the truck," Bolton said.

The search continues for all three men.

Bolton said "multiple shots" were fired during the incident. Sadarrevin Kendrick, 20, who lives next door, said he heard five gunshots. None of the Robbins family was injured in the incident.

"At first I heard two and thought it was over," Kendrick said. "Then there were three more. Boom, boom, boom."

Staff writer John Spink contributed to this article.