Houston County man pleads guilty, sentenced to life with possibility of parole after deadly shooting
Back in November of 2018, the Warner Robins Police Department found 29-year-old Natasha Reyes dead her kitchen floor with multiple gunshot wounds.
HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- 43-year-old Rodney Helms entered a guilty plea to malice murder in the Superior Court of Houston County on May 28.
According to the Houston County District Attorney’s Office, Helms was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
Back in November of 2018, the Warner Robins Police Department found 29-year-old Natasha Reyes dead her kitchen floor with multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses told police that Helms, a homeless man, was over at Reyes’s house earlier that day. Reyes had invited Helms inside of her home to get Helms out of the rain and to provide food.
Reyes found Helms stealing a handgun and personal items in her home. When Helms was confronted, he shot Reyes multiple times at close range with the gun he stole from her bedroom.
Helms fled the scene and was found walking towards a convenience store on Feagin Mill Road shortly after the murder and was taken into custody.
ADA Alicia Gassett released the following statement:
“I am thankful for the Warner Robins Police Department for doing an outstanding job investigating this case and bringing Helms to justice. I also want to thank our office’s investigators, Tom Daly and Jeffery Kujawa, for going above and beyond tracking down witnesses and helping me prepare this case for prosecution. Reyes was a kind young woman who thought she was helping someone in need only to have her life brutally taken from her. I hope and pray that this sentence will bring her family peace and closure to this difficult chapter in their lives.”
District Attorney William Kendall released the following statement:
“A job well done by the WRPD and staff at the DA’s Office. This case is especially tragic in that Ms. Reyes opened her home to a homeless man to offer shelter from the rain and food, and as a result she was murdered. We cannot bring back Ms. Reyes, but we hoped to have played a small role in seeking justice and removing a monster from our street. Those who prey on others and take advantage of their kindness should be held accountable for their actions, in this case Helms will spend a minimum of the next 30 years in prison.”
