The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office reported four bodies were found with gunshot wounds near New Summerfield on Tuesday.

Three Jacksonville men have been charged with capital murder in connection with the deaths of four people in Cherokee County on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Sheriff Brent Dickson said during a news conference Jesse Pawlowski, 20; Billy Phillips, 37; and Dylan Welch, 21, are all in the Cherokee County Jail accused of killing two men and two women at a residence in the 1600 block of Texas Highway 110 North early Tuesday morning north of New Summerfield.

Dickson also identified the four victims as John Clinton, 18; Jeff Gerla, 47; Ami Hickey, 39; and Amanda Bain, 39.

All three men accused in the shooting were arraigned in the 2nd District Court at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Judge Chris Day said. Their bonds have been set at $1 million each.

Clinton’s body was in the driveway at the property, while the other three were found at a residence in the back of the land.

Dickson said the shooting was a result of a robbery that the three suspects intended to commit on Tuesday. He added the sheriff’s office believes the suspects met with Clinton before shooting him and then going into the home.

“I believe the robbery was planned and the murder was spontaneous. Our citizens are definitely safe now that these individuals are off the streets,” Dickson said. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep them safe.”

The sheriff called the quadruple homicide a “senseless killing.”

Dickson confirmed that Hickey and Clinton were mother and son. Gerla and Clinton were in a dating relationship and Hickey and Bain were also dating. While same-sex relationships are involved, Dickson said authorities don’t believe the shooting is part of a hate crime.

“We believe their intent was strictly robbery, not due to their nature,” Dickson said.

On Tuesday afternoon, investigators were searching for a vehicle, a 2017 red Dodge Challenger, stolen from the property.

Dickson said Wednesday that a tip from the public led investigators to 209 Devereaux St. in Jacksonville to find three people at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Two of the people left in a vehicle and were taken into custody on unrelated charges during a traffic stop.

The U.S. Marshal’s Office and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office special investigations unit then went to 209 Devereaux and arrested a third person at that residence, Dickson said.

Interviews with Pawlowski, Phillips and Welch led to search warrants for 1016 West Rusk St. in Jacksonville.

“At that location, the vehicle that was stolen from the crime scene was located along with a handgun we believe that was used to commit the homicide,” Dickson said.

Dickson said the sheriff’s office believes a 9 mm handgun was used in the shooting.

The sheriff’s office then received a search warrant for a residence at the Castle on the Lake RV Park in Jacksonville. At that location, more property, including clothing and firearms, from the crime scene was found.

Dickson said the 209 Devereaux address belonged to Pawlowski’s family, while Phillips lived at Castle on the Lake RV Park.

Pawlowski confessed to his involvement in the homicide, Dickson said. Pawlowski and Phillips have criminal histories and are friends, while Welch was described as their associate, he added. All three in custody are suspected drug users.

The three suspects took one vehicle to the residence where the shooting occurred and left the property in their vehicle and the stolen one, Dickson said.

The elderly woman who lives in the front residence made the 911 call after seeing a dead body in her driveway. Dickson said her home was not targeted, and she is believed to be the mother of one of the victims.

The crime scene had zero witnesses and the elderly woman didn’t hear gunshots.

The sheriff’s office is working to determine if multiple people fired weapons at the victims or if it was one shooter, he said.

Dickson said the community can sleep a little safer thanks to the men and women in law enforcement and community members who assisted with tips.

“You have bad people everywhere you go and today it was in New Summerfield,” he said. “With these three behind bars, we know they won’t be involved in that anymore. We had a lot of good outside resources help us and the community really stepped up and helped us out.”

He also thanked the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office for their hard work along with other law enforcement agencies that offered help, like the Texas Rangers, Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Jacksonville Police Department.

“Our department came in yesterday morning at 8 o’clock and members of our department left at 4 last night,” Dickson said. “And are back here at 9 o’clock this morning assuring that all the pieces fall together, in this case, to keep these guys behind bars and we give justice to the family members.”

Moving forward in the investigation, Dickson said several search warrants will be issued as the investigation continues to help the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office with the prosecution.