Background: News footage of the Memphis, Tenn. home where Andrew Rainer was found dead on Oct. 3, 2021 (WHBQ). Inset (left): Rainess Holmes (Shelby County Sheriff’s Office). Inset (right): Andrew Rainer (Canale Funeral Directors).
A Tennessee man who fatally shot a college student in the chest while robbing him learned his fate after pleading guilty to the crime.
In a Facebook post, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office announced that Rainess Holmes III, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges stemming from the 2021 robbery and shooting death of 22-year-old Andrew Rainer. Holmes was one of four men who burst into the home where Rainer was staying as a guest and robbed the residence at gunpoint. The DA said that Holmes was not the man who fired the fatal shot.
According to a police affidavit obtained by local Fox affiliate WHBQ, Rainer was one of five people at the residence in the early morning hours of Oct. 3, 2021. Police said that around 5:40 a.m., several men broke into the house wearing hoodies — their faces covered — and demanded that everyone keep their heads down so they didn’t look at them. The DA said the men asked for “electronics and other valuables.”
When one of the men tried to force Rainer to open up his iPad with his passcode, Rainer refused. The man then shot Rainer in the chest. Immediately following the shot that would eventually take his life, Rainer attempted to fight with the gunman, who fired another shot that hit Rainer’s girlfriend in the hand.
All told, the men got away with several items, including phones, game systems, and other electronics along with the iPad. Rainer’s body was found at the bottom of a flight of stairs. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the robbery, one of the surviving victims was able to track the stolen iPad to a hotel where Holmes was found with more of the stolen items.
Holmes was originally charged with first-degree murder among other charges when he was arrested. The DA stated that he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as well as three separate aggravated burglary charges. He was sentenced by a judge to 20 years in prison with no chance of parole. He was also sentenced to three years each for the burglary charges, to be served concurrently.
The DA said Rainer’s family was supportive of the terms of the plea agreement.
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