Man arrested, accused of fatally shooting neighbor at DeKalb motel

A man was arrested Wednesday after being accused of shooting and killing a Decatur man at a DeKalb County motel last week.

Ricky O’Neil Holmes, 32, of Monroe, faces a felony murder charge in the death of 38-year-old LePaul Alexander Cheeks, according to a news release by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. Cheeks was fatally shot last Thursday at the Scottish Inn Motel off Wesley Chapel Road, according to a DeKalb police incident report.

The two were neighbors at the motel, according to the sheriff’s office. Cheeks’ girlfriend, who was at the scene when police arrived about 7:15 p.m., told officers that Cheeks and the suspect were involved in an argument prior to the shooting.

The woman only knew Holmes by his nickname “Trouble,” the report said.

After the argument, Holmes told Cheeks several times that, “I got something for you,” before leaving to get an AR-15, the woman told officers. Holmes is then accused of shooting Cheeks twice, including once in the head. He died at the scene.

U.S. marshals, Fulton County deputies and Georgia state troopers assisted with Holmes’ arrest, which took place at an undisclosed motel in Lithonia. He was taken to the DeKalb County Jail, where he remains without bond.