Get notified by email when this case is updated.
.
Written by L. Chase
Published October 25, 2022 @ 8:19 AM ET
Floyd County (October 7, 2022) – Around 4:30 PM on Friday, Rome police officers responded to a 911 report of a man being shot in the 100 Block of Hosea Street.
Upon arrival at the scene, an officer found the suspect, Benjamin Tobias Cox Jr, 28 flagging him down in the home’s driveway. Cox had his shirt pulled up to indicate he was unarmed. Also outside the home was a female, possibly Cox’s wife, who was upset and concerned for Cox’s well-being.
Cox immediately said that he had shot his father-in-law in self-defense and was compliant to the officer’s orders and was detained without incident.
As police entered the home, they saw a fellow officer already administering CPR to an unresponsive man on the floor with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest, later identified as 42-year-old Kevin Vaughn. Upon searching the rest of the home, they located a distraught female who was presumably Cox’s mother and asked her to exit the house. She agreed and walked outside.
Cox was arrested and transported to the Rome Police Department. While en route to the police station, Cox stated that the man he had fatally shot had threatened to kill him. He also said that he had cameras in the home, including in the bedroom, where the shooting occurred. He informed the transporting officer that his father had access to the video footage and could show them everything that occurred during the incident.
Cox is being held at the Floyd County Jail as the investigation is still ongoing.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On October 7, 2022, at approximately 1635 hours, I arrived at [100 BLOCK] HOSEA ST SW, ROME, GA 30161, in response to a call for service of a shooting that just occurred at that location. Upon my arrival I was flagged down by a male standing in the roadway waiving. I approached the driveway and saw a male, later identified as Benjamin Cox Jr. with his hands up pulling his t-shirt up in a manor to show he was unarmed.
A female, possibly Cox’s wife, was in the front yard and was visibly upset. She was concerned for Cox and his well being.
Cox spontaneously stated he had shot his father in law in self defense. Cox complied to my orders, and he was detained without incident. I placed him in handcuffs to the rear, checked for tightness and double locked the handcuffs. I then searched him for additional weapons and placed him in the back seat of my patrol car. I then locked the car doors and asked a county officer standing near by to watch him while I assisted Sgt. Greene in the residence.
Upon entering the residence I saw a male adult laying on the floor just inside the right side entrance of the residence. The male on the floor had obvious bullet wounds to his chest, and visually he was not responsive or moving. Sgt. Greene was administering CPR. I entered the residence and began to clear the remaining rooms of the residence. In the residence I located a female adult, possibly Cox’s mother, who was visually upset. I asked her to exit the home while officers cleared the residence. She complied and went out the entrance I entered.
Other county officers arrived and assisted me in clearing the remainder of the residence. No one else was found in the residence.
I transported Cox to the Rome Police Department for questioning. While in route to the station Cox made spontaneous statements that the male he shot was threatening to kill him. Cox stated there are security cameras in the residence including in his room where the shooting occurred. Cox stated his father has access to the cameras and they would show everything that happened. Cox was handed over to Investigator Thacker at the Police Station.
[End of Narrative]