Dating app setup leads to life sentence for Canton man
Prince Hawar Rolle booking photo (Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - A Canton man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a Cherokee County jury found him guilty of shooting an apartment resident with a stolen gun during a violent dating app ambush.
What we know:
A Cherokee County jury found 27-year-old Prince Hawar Rolle, of Canton, guilty on Wednesday of all 10 federal and state counts he faced during a two-day trial.
The specific counts included criminal attempt to commit murder, armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, aggravated battery, criminal damage to property in the first degree, and two counts of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The backstory:
The charges stem from a shooting and armed robbery at River Ridge Apartments. Canton Police Department officers responded to the complex just after 4 a.m. on June 26, 2025, where they located a man who was shot in the abdomen.
The victim had invited Rolle to his apartment after communicating with him hours earlier on a dating app.
When they arrived, a second unidentified accomplice held the victim at gunpoint while Rolle searched the bedroom and stole cash and a loaded Smith & Wesson handgun.
Rolle then used the stolen handgun to shoot the victim. As he left, Rolle fired another round at the victim and his roommate, who had been awakened by the gunfire. The victim suffered serious injuries and was hospitalized at Kennestone Hospital for about a month.
Because the victims could not provide names or detailed descriptions, police used digital evidence to identify Rolle.
A detective found an image on Rolle's dating app that linked him to a Chrysler PT Cruiser captured by a Flock camera near the complex.
Search warrants for Rolle's cellphones revealed cell-tower data placing him at the scene, TextNow messages, and a text to another person stating he had stolen a gun and money but that someone was shot.
Dig deeper:
During the trial, the state called nine witnesses and introduced 66 exhibits, including Ring camera videos, text messages, and tower records. The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before returning a guilty verdict.
Superior Court Judge Tony Baker sentenced Rolle to life in prison plus an additional 10 years to serve, which is the maximum allowed under Georgia law. Under state law, Rolle must serve 30 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Judge Baker also ordered Rolle to pay $213,738 in restitution for the victim's medical expenses.
What they're saying:
"Investigators did outstanding work assembling the extensive digital and forensic evidence necessary to identify the defendant," said Assistant District Attorney Rachel Murphy, of the Gang/Organized Crime Unit, Office of the District Attorney. "Their efforts ensured the jury had a complete understanding of the events that occurred and the harm inflicted on the victims."
"Technology often plays an integral role in modern day prosecutions such as this one," said District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway. "Without the FLOCK camera evidence utilized by the detective in this case, a dangerous man would still be free to terrorize our community, and this victim would never have received the justice that this sentence provides."
What we don't know:
Authorities have not yet identified or located the second man who acted as Rolle's accomplice during the armed robbery and false imprisonment. Law enforcement officials have also not disclosed whether the stolen Smith & Wesson handgun used in the shooting was ever recovered.
The Source: The information in this article comes from the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office.