Atlanta police announced Friday that they have made an arrest in the shooting death of actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd.
Homicide detectives on Wednesday obtained a warrant for the arrest of 30-year-old Antonio Demetrice Rhynes on a felony murder charge based on evidence and tips from the public, and officers arrested him early Friday morning.
Byrd was shot multiple times in the back and found dead on the city’s southwest side at about 1:45 a.m. on Saturday, Oct.3. The actor, a favorite of famed director Spike Lee, was 70 years old.
“I’m so sad to announce the tragic murder of our beloved brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd … in Atlanta, Georgia,” Lee wrote on Instagram. “Tom is my guy. Here below you see him as the frightening character Errol Barnes in Clockers. Brother Byrd also did his thang in my joints Chi-raq, Sweet Blood of Jesus, Red Hook Summer, Bamboozled, He Got Game, Get on the Bus and Girl 6,” Lee continued. “May we all wish condolences and blessings to his family. Rest in peace Brother Byrd.”