Bond denied for man who entered Publix with weapons arsenal, court records show family violence case

ATLANTA — A Fulton County judge denied bond for a man who entered an Atlanta grocery store with an arsenal of weapons Wednesday afternoon.

Rico Marley, 22, is facing more than a half dozen possession and attempt to commit a felony charge.

Police say Marley was armed with six guns, body armor and ammo when he entered the Atlantic Station Publix around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

A photo obtained by Channel 2 Action News shows the confiscated weapons on a table at Publix, alongside Marley’s driver’s license and carry permit.

An Instacart shopper spotted Marley in the grocery store bathroom and saw one of the guns propped against the stall. It prompted him to alert employees and police.

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“I saw an AR-15,” said witness, Charles Russell. “And I was like, you know, this kind of startled me just again with the events that recently happened in the grocery store up in Colorado,”

Fulton County Magistrate Judge Rashida Oliver cited ‘danger to the community,’ in her bond denial Thursday. Marley did not appear in court.

Atlanta police said Wednesday night he’d undergone a mental evaluation prior to being booked in the Fulton County jail. His booking photos were made available Thursday morning.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Nicole Carr headed to Chamblee Thursday morning, where court records tie Marley to a 2018 family violence case.

A warrant describes an incident in which witnesses and police allege he could have seriously injured a step-sibling when he threw a bowl of food at the person’s head.

Marley was charged with simple misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct.

Four months later, the case was closed due to a clerical error in a court order, but Marley remained on ‘non-reporting’ probation for a year, according to records.

Marley does not appear to have an obvious digital footprint, and attempts to reach the family member involved in the dispute were unsuccessful Thursday.

Man with 6 guns, body armor arrested inside Publix at Atlantic Station, police say Investigators say the man, identified as Rico Marley, 22, walked into the store just after 1:30 p.m. holding a rifle. He then went into the bathroom.

Cox Media Group