Centerville man pleads guilty to rape in 13-year-old cold case
31-year-old Dendrick D. Solomon of Centerville plead guilty on March 20, 2025 to one count of rape. Solomon was sentenced to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault and violent behavior that may be disturbing to some readers.
WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Centerville man has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to rape in a 13-year-old cold case, according to Houston County District Attorney Eric Edwards. 31-year-old Dendrick D. Solomon of Centerville plead guilty on March 20, 2025.
The case began in May of 2010, when Solomon was 17-years-old. Solomon lived near the victim, but the two were strangers.
According to the DA’s office, on the night of the incident, the victim, who was forty years old at the time, woke up to use the bathroom and noticed that someone was in her living room.
The victim called out to Solomon and he told her to shut up. Solomon approached the victim in her bathroom and she attempted to fight him off. Solomon bit the victim’s finger and punched her in the face multiple times until she became unconscious. When the victim regained consciousness, Solomon was carrying out acts of sexual abuse on her.
The Warner Robins Police Department responded to the victim’s house and found her beaten. The victim was taken for medical care at Houston Medical Center. The victim’s fingernails were swabbed for potential DNA and the swabs were sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Department of Forensic Sciences. At the time, law enforcement was unable to develop a suspect and the case went cold.
In August of 2023, Lieutenant Justin Clark with WRPD received a notification from the G.B.I that they had discovered a CODIS match in the case. According to the news release, The CODIS match determined that the suspects DNA recovered from the victim was potentially belonging to Dendrick Solomon.
After thirteen years, law enforcement finally had a suspect and the case was re-examined. Officials obtained a sample of Solomon’s DNA which was then sent to G.B.I. for comparison. The G.B.I. was able to confirm that the DNA did in fact belong to Solomon.
District Attorney Eric Edwards released the following statement:
“This case is a powerful reminder that justice does not have an expiration date. For thirteen years, the victim in this case lived with the trauma of what was done to her, not knowing if her attacker would ever be identified. Thanks to continuous advancements in forensic science and the perseverance of law enforcement, today she has an answer—and justice has been served. I have the utmost respect for the victim’s courage in facing this process so many years later. I am grateful to the Warner Robins Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for their relentless work in bringing this case to resolution. I also want to recognize ADA Justin Duane for his efforts in ensuring that this violent offender will never again have the opportunity to harm another person. To all survivors of sexual assault: know that our office will never stop fighting for you, no matter how much time has passed.”
Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane released the following statement:
“What happened in this case is every woman’s nightmare—a complete stranger breaking into a house and brutally beating and sexually assaulting a woman. It’s horrifying. Although it took us a while, I am grateful to be able to say today that justice has been done. Mr. Solomon will spend the rest of his life in prison and the victim in this case now gets the vindication she deserves. Thank you to the G.B.I., Sgt. Mann and Lt. Clark for their work in this case and thank you to the victim advocates and medical personnel who do everything they can for sexual assault survivors.”
