ATLANTA — The man accused of a triple shooting inside the Peachtree Center Mall food court earlier this year appeared in court Tuesday morning for a plea deal proceeding.
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Jeremy Malone went before a Fulton County judge as prosecutors dangled a plea deal for his consideration.
The 34-year-old sparked mayhem in Atlanta’s Peachtree Center in June.
Police say he got into an argument with a man, shot him and continued firing into the crowded food court.
“Everyone started screaming and running and yelling and that’s when we knew it was a shooting,” one witness said.
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The victims included a 47-year-old man from Grayson, a 69-year-old woman from East Point and a 70-year-old woman from Atlanta.
Police say an off-duty Atlanta cop, who was inside the building, shot Malone before he could hurt any more people.
“This was an officer, as we watched citizens scrambling for safety, put himself in the line of fire to stop this threat,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum.
On the day of the shooting, Schierbaum told Channel 2 Action News the shooting suspect had a lengthy criminal record and was out on bond from a prior criminal arrest.
“He has served prison for armed robbery, and he has 11 previous arrest cycles. This is an individual who never should be possessing a gun, an individual who never should have placed this community at harm,” said Schierbaum.
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On Tuesday morning, the attorneys told the court that Malone had been offered a plea deal by the state if he plead guilty.
As part of the plea deal, Malone would be sentenced to 30 years in prison with 15 to serve for an attempted murder charge.
On four aggravated assault charges, he would be sentenced to 20 years in prison with 15 to serve. The remainder of both sentences would be on probation.
Malone has until January to decide whether he wants to take the plea deal or go to trial.