The body of a man found in the DeSoto Hilton last week was confirmed as that of missing soldier Robert Hornbeck. An autopsy conducted by a medical examiner from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ruled the death to be accidental, caused by "sharp/blunt force injuries" that are "consistent with being struck and pinned down by the blower of the room sized air conditioning unit where Hornbeck was found." While the recovery location of Hornbeck`s body is "unusual," investigators they currently have "no reason to believe that he was the victim of any crime." However, the investigation into "how and why Hornbeck entered and moved deeply into the industrial air conditioning unit is ongoing." Hornbeck went missing Easter morning after a night on the town; shortly before noon this past Friday, detectives were called to investigate the death of a white male whose body was found in a downtown hotel. Witnesses had reported the detection of a foul odor in the lobby of the hotel for the past two days. While attempting to locate the origin of the odor, employees found the body and called police.
• A pizza delivery man was robbed at gunpoint when he attempted to deliver a pizza to an apartment on Middleground Road. The man told police that someone had ordered a pizza and given the address of the apartment. He said he had pulled up to the apartment and exited the vehicle with the pizza when a man came out from the building, pointed a silver semi-automatic pistol at him and told him to put the pizza down. The suspect then told the victim to empty his pockets. The victim took out $20 and put it on the ground. The suspect then made some sort of sound like an owl, and a second suspect stepped from the bushes. The second suspect asked the victim where his cell phone was, and he replied that it was in his car. The second suspect told the victim to empty his back pockets, which he did. The suspects then told him to get on the ground. When he complied, they grabbed the money and ran north. The victim told police that the firearm had looked fake and that the first suspect seemed to be afraid of the second suspect.
• A deaf and mute man was threatened by a man who had attacked him. The victim’s mother called police and said her son had been attacked. She said the suspect hit her son with a length of PVC pipe, then aimed a gun at him and said he was going to "blow his f***ing brains out." A witness said the suspect was the aggressor. The officer observed a red mark on the victim’s shoulder. The mother said she believes her son is targeted because of his disability. The officer went to the suspect’s house and the suspect told him he attacked the victim because he made a gesture at him.
• An officer was dispatched to East 34th Street on a report of a person with a gun.The woman who called police said a car was speeding down the road in front of her house, where some children were playing. She said the car stopped at 33rd Street and the driver yelled, "What the f*** you looking at? I’ll shoot you!" The woman said she grabbed the children and ran the other way. At that point the car sped off.
• An officer responded to a report of a vehicle fire on McIntyre Street. When the officer arrived at the scene, a pickup truck was on fire. It sat between a house under construction and an abandoned building.The abandoned building had also caught fire. Neighbors advised that no one lived in the building. The Savannah Fire Department arrived on the scene and put the blaze out. The witness who reported the fire said he did not see anyone around the scene. Contact could not be made with the truck’s registered owner. The vehicle did not come back as stolen.