ATLANTA — A Fulton County judge ruled Friday during a preliminary hearing that there is sufficient evidence for the 21-year-old man charged in the deadly mass shooting at a Buckhead nightclub last month to stand trial on nearly a dozen charges, including murder.
Judge Brandy Brooks heard testimony from an Atlanta police homicide detective who investigated the May 12 shooting at Elleven45 Lounge and she also watched surveillance video of the shooting before she made her decision that there was enough evidence to charge Karanji Reese, 21.
Reese, who surrendered to APD on June 5, showed no emotion and remained silent as he listened to testimony by Atlanta Homicide Detective LaToya Francis.
Francis, a 12-year veteran of APD, described the grisly scene she witnessed after she entered the club.
“I noticed that there were two individuals laying on the ground and one with a sheet over their body,” she recalled. “There were approximately seven shell castings and one live round recovered.”
Prosecutor Michael Sprinkle also presented surveillance video from the night of the shooting that investigators said showed Reese enter the club with a group of friends minutes before the deadly shooting.
During her testimony, Francis identified Reese as he arrived at the club with a group of people around 2:15 a.m. As soon as the group entered the club, they were seen huddling up inside the packed business.
At around 2:25 am, investigators say 20-year-old Nakyris Ridley is seen speaking to an unidentified man before he approaches Reese and begins punching him multiple times, prompting Reese to pull out a gun and start shooting.
Ridley can be seen falling into a booth after getting shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The gunfire also killed 21-year-old Mari Creighton, a college volleyball player and student at Albany State University. Her family said she went to the club to celebrate her niece’s 22nd birthday. Taylor Holmes was shot in the leg but survived her injuries.
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Francis also testified that she interviewed the head of security for the club and he explained to her that they use very thorough pat-down procedures for patrons who enter the club. Francis added that there isn’t any video that showed security performing a pat-down on Reese.
During cross-examination, Reese’s attorney, Malcolm Conner, questioned Francis about her investigation, specifically pointing out that although multiple witnesses heard the gunshots, no one at the club claimed that they actually saw Reese fire the weapon. Conner asked the judge to dismiss the charges against his client, claiming that no one had definitely identified him as the shooter.
He also pointed out that one of the shell casings was different than the others, which could point to a second shooter. Channel 2 has asked APD if detectives are searching for a second shooter, but a spokesperson declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
After the hearing, Channel 2 spoke with Reese’s aunt who criticized the investigation.
“APD needs to do their job instead of going by hearsay from the streets because Karanji did not do that,” said a woman who identified herself as Reese’s aunt but did not want to give her name because she fears for her own safety. “He’s innocent. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know. I don’t know. But I know he didn’t do it and they know he didn’t do it!”
Mari Creighton’s family also spoke with Channel 2 Action News about Friday’s hearing.
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“She was there to celebrate her niece’s birthday,” said Mari’s mother, Tracey Eason, who excused herself from the courtroom before prosecutors played the surveillance footage. “And that’s what angers me because she was just an innocent bystander going out to celebrate her niece’s birthday.”
“At this point, I’m just angry that it even happened,” added Mari’s sister, Tiffany Eason. “It doesn’t matter how it got in there. It was in there and my sister lost her life behind it.”
Reese is facing 11 charges. He’s expected to be back in court for a bond hearing on Tuesday.
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