Fatal Shooting At Holiday Inn On Park Place
Share this post by emailBy Alex P. Joyner
Staff Writer
Gwinnett Daily Post
Thursday, August 28, 2008
STONE MOUNTAIN - Police suspect foul play in the death of a man found shot in a hotel parking lot Wednesday evening.
Robert Lee Lovelace, 50, was found by police shot in a Holiday Inn parking lot in the 1700 block of East Park Place Boulevard in Stone Mountain about 6 p.m. Wednesday, Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. David Schiralli said.
Lovelace was transported to an area hospital where he died of his injuries. Police did not know where Lovelace’s last known address was.
Little is known about the circumstances surround the shooting, Schiralli said.
“We don’t have any suspects at this time,” he said.
Anyone with any information is asked to call Gwinnett County Police at 770-513-5300.
By ANDRIA SIMMONS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, August 28, 2008
A 50-year-old man was shot dead Wednesday afternoon outside a Stone Mountain hotel, according to Gwinnett police.
Robert Lee Lovelace, of Atlanta, was found lying on the ground bleeding about 3 p.m. at Holiday Inn Express at 1790 East Park Place in Stone Mountain. He was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center, where he died a short time later. Police think Lovelace was in a confrontation with two unidentified men just before he was shot.
The motive behind the slaying remains unclear. There were no known suspects Thursday, Gwinnett police spokeswoman Cpl. Illana Spellman said.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call Gwinnett police homicide investigators at 770-513-5300.
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August 31st, 2008 at 10:50 AM
By Alex P. Joyner
Staff Writer
Gwinnett Daily Post
LAWRENCEVILLE - Just hours before he was found shot to death in a hotel parking lot Wednesday, several colleagues of Robert Lovelace spoke with the Griffin car salesman who earned wealth and a legion of friends in a career that spanned 25 years.
Rested, Lovelace was looking forward to returning from vacation and hitting the sales floor again, they say.
“He was all excited about coming back,” said James Mills, a sales representative at Griffin-based Cronic Automotive Group where Lovelace worked for 12 years. “He had some appointments set up. He had a check here, waiting.”
He never got that chance.
Lovelace, 50, was gunned down in a Holiday Inn Express parking lot in Stone Mountain after an alleged altercation with two black men, according to police.
A guest who had just checked in heard the gunshot Wednesday, saw Lovelace bleeding on the ground outside and alerted hotel management, according to hotel manager Danny Detal. The shooting happened in a tucked-away, side-entrance parking lot without video surveillance. Lovelace was not a registered guest.
He was transported and died later at Gwinnett Medical Center.
Authorities have no motive in the slaying and have yet to release descriptions of the two suspects.
Mark Hopkins, who said he knew Lovelace for 15 years, said his friend “wasn’t your typical car salesman.” Instead, he said, Lovelace prided himself on a no pressure approach to solidifying deals. This earned Hopkins’ respect and money: He bought 18 cars from Lovelace. This, in part, afforded Lovelace a posh lifestyle, including a prodigious home in Buckhead at one point, Hopkins said. His most recent address was in the 1700 block of Riverside Drive in Atlanta, a scenic stretch of neighborhoods near Sandy Springs and the Chattahoochee River.
Lovelace, Hopkins said, enjoyed lifting weights and had a daughter who lives in California.
“He was a likable guy,” he said. “You’d meet him, you’d like him immediately.
“It’s a big shock. I just can’t imagine something like this happening. Something was wrong there, it’s my gut feeling.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call Gwinnett County Police at 770-513-5300.