5 in custody after 9-month-old girl shot to death at Cobb hotel, police say

Five men were in jail Friday for their alleged roles in a shooting that killed a 9-month-old girl at a Cobb County hotel this week, booking records show.

The child, who was not publicly identified, died Tuesday evening before she could be taken to a hospital.

Cobb officers were called around 8 p.m. to the Budgetel Inn & Suites on Circle 75 Parkway, just south of Windy Hill Road and west of I-75 in the Cumberland area. When police arrived, they met with the child’s mother, who said her baby had been struck by gunfire, officials said. Shattered windows showed where bullets had entered the hotel.

“The victim was beyond lifesaving measures and was later pronounced deceased on the scene,” officer Shenise Barner, a police spokesperson, said in a statement.

Police have not said what led to the shooting, but two suspects fired shots at each other, warrants state.

Ladarrius Brown, Jayvian Young and Noah Martin have been charged with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to arrest warrants and jail records, which contained the same case numbers.

Two others, Camron Harris and Anthony Smith, were arrested and charged with tampering with evidence, according to police. Harris was also charged with providing false statements.

Smith’s warrants state he “did tamper with a gun used in an aggravated assault and homicide by disassembling it, pouring bleach on it and concealing it in a plastic bag.”

Young and Martin exchanged gunshots with Brown during the incident, according to warrants.

Cobb police Sgt. Eric Smith said “detectives and officers are working diligently on bringing those responsible for this homicide to justice.”

Police did not respond to a request Friday afternoon regarding the arrest of Martin, who was booked into jail earlier in the day, becoming the fifth suspect.

Early Friday, the hotel was the scene of a separate deadly crime, according to police. One woman, Amatrian Hawkins, was killed and another was injured in a double stabbing, police said.

Frank Moore, 46, fled the scene but was later arrested by the Atlanta Police Department. Moore, who knew both women, was charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony. He was being held without bond late Friday.

The same hotel was the scene of another deadly shooting in November 2023. The victim, 26-year-old Demarcus Watson, died at the scene from a gunshot wound.