A New Jersey resident was arrested Thursday for the recent murder of a Newton County man, according to the Newton County Sheriff's Office and Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

Rodney Young, 40, was arrested in Bridgeton, N. J., by local law agencies for the murder of Gary Lamar Jones, 28, who was discovered dead in his home by his mother, Doris Jones, on Sunday evening. Young is charged with one count of murder, one count of malice murder and burglary.

Young is currently being held in New Jersey pending an extradition hearing.

Young and the victim's mother knew each other from New Jersey, according to GBI spokesperson John Bankhead. Jones, who will eventually be buried in New Jersey, was originally from the state and has family there.

"Old fashioned police work led us to him," Bankhead said.

A GBI agent and an NCSO investigator traveled to New Jersey to continue the investigation of Jones's murder. They were assisted by the New Jersey State Police, the Bridgeton Barracks and Bridgeton City Police, said NCSO public information officer Investigator Sharron Stewart.

Stewart said Young had a criminal history with acts that could be considered dangerous.

Pastor Eric Lee of Springfield Baptist Church in Conyers, where Jones was an active member of the singles ministry and sang in the choir, said the arrest answered a lot of questions, but raised a slew of other questions.

"He was caught in something he was innocent of," Lee said. "We're relieved someone is in custody, but we are still grieving."

A memorial service was held for Jones at Springfield Baptist on Thursday evening.

"I want to thank the NCSO and GBI for taking the life of Gary Jones so personally and treating him with the utmost integrity, dignity, respect and honor," Lee said, "and for bringing this to a swift conclusion."

No one had called in with a tip and claimed the $10,000 reward offered by Springfield Baptist Church and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, according to Stewart.

Jones's death marked the fifth homicide in Newton County, compared to 10 homicides for 2007 and four in 2006.