GBI crime lab rules Newnan resident's death accidental

By ELIZABETH RICHARDSON erichardson@newnan.com A fatal shooting that took place Saturday night on Forest Circle, just off Shenandoah Boulevard near Highway 34 East, has been ruled accidental, say Coweta County authorities. The victim, Roland W. Haas, 58, suffered a single gunshot to his right leg, which ruptured his femoral artery, according to Major James Yarbrough of the Coweta County Sheriff's Office.
Haas, a resident of the Park Manor Apartments, was reportedly leaving his apartment Saturday just before 10 p.m. when he pulled his vehicle to the side of Forest Circle just past the area of the apartments and just short of Shenandoah Boulevard. Passing motorists saw Haas on the side of the road and heard the pop of a gunshot. A motorist stopped and asked if he was OK and he said that he was. That motorist traveled to a nearby gas station and called 911. A second passing motorist returned to a nearby apartment and notified police. Yarbrough said an officer happened to be on Shenandoah Boulevard and responded to the scene immediately. That officer found Haas lying face down at the back of his car. Haas was pronounced dead at the scene by Coweta County Assistant Coroner Della Dean, according to the major. His body was transported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab in Atlanta for autopsy. On Monday, the GBI ruled Haas' death accidental, according to Yarbrough. Authorities believe the victim was in medical distress at the time of the shooting. He was in diabetic shock, he suffered heart disease and had "several other things going on," according to the major. Haas was a published author who penned a book titled "Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin." His online biography said he was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 2,1952, and that he grew up in Lakewood, Ohio. Haas also stated in the online posting that he last worked for the U.S. Army Reserve Command in Atlanta.

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