Chase, crash leads police to teens wanted in Buckhead pool party shooting

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Police say three teens arrested after a chase led police to a home in Paulding County on Monday are responsible for shooting three people at a Buckhead pool party last month.

It all started when a house was shot up along Nebo Road in Hiram in Paulding County in the early morning hours of June 25.

Deputies said Cobb County officers came to them about an investigation into a shooting in their county that was somehow tied to the Nebo Road house.

Cobb officers had the home under surveillance and provided information to Paulding deputies that they saw people with guns inside the home. They also had information about the vehicles the people inside were driving.

Around 2 p.m. Monday, Cobb officers saw people leaving the home and alerted Paulding deputies.

[RELATED: Police identify 3 people shot at pool party in Buckhead]

Around 2:15 p.m., Paulding deputies spotted the car along Nebo Road near South Paulding Middle School.

As deputies tried to approach the car, it sped out of a driveway, hit a parked car and took off.

Following a short chase with deputies, the car eventually crashed near the corner of Nebo Road and Jack Weldon Drive.

The driver of the car then ran into the woods nearby. After searching for several hours, someone spotted the driver near the intersection of Seals and Ridge roads.

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Deputies immediately went to the scene and took the man into custody. He was identified as Christopher Eli Koen.

Investigators said they later learned the car had been stolen from Cherokee County and found a small amount of marijuana inside.

Shortly after the car left the house along Nebo Road, more deputies surrounded the home and called the people inside to come out.

Investigators arrested at least three people inside the home who also had several firearms, they said.

Atlanta police said on Tuesday that three of those were teens tied to a shooting at a Buckhead pool party in May that injured three people.

[RELATED: Police searching for 3 suspects linked to Buckhead pool party triple shooting]

James Daniels, 17, Nicholas Poole, 19, and Bryce Dowell, 18, remain in the Paulding County Jail awaiting transfer to Fulton County.

Koen, the driver who fled, is facing nearly a dozen charges tied to the chase in Paulding County. He is likely to face more charges in Cobb County.

Three people shot outside of a Buckhead pool party

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