One of three men charged with murder in what police say was a motorcycle gang shootout at a Macon Road sports bar testified he fired in self-defense after he was threatened.
Demark Ponder was seeking immunity from prosecution for acting in self-defense when he took the witness stand Tuesday in Judge Bobby Peters’ court. He and two others are charged in the Oct. 9, 2015, fatal shooting of Dominic Mitchell at the 4th Quarter Sports Bar, 6969 Macon Road.
Ponder, 48, said he was a pledge or probationary member of the Outcast motorcycle club when he joined seven others in a ride to the bar, where a brawl broke out inside. He could not see what caused the fight, he said: “It was kind of dark in there, poorly lit.”
It was during this brawl that a man he didn’t know pointed a gun at him and threatened to shoot, calling him a racial slur. “I’m going to kill you, n----r,’ he said the man told him. He flinched and turned away, firing two shots, he said. “I close my eyes and twist and I didn’t look back,” he testified.
Along with James Daniels, a codefendant, he ran out the front door to his motorcycle. On his way out, he saw a man who had let him into the club loading what appeared to be an AR-15 rifle, he said.
At first the gunman fired ahead of him, and he told Daniels they should wait until the shooting stopped to drive away, he said. When the shooting stopped as the gunman reloaded, he and Daniels started driving off, and the gunfire resumed, he said.
“I was shot in my right leg,” he said, adding he rode to the hospital from the bar.
Ponder, of LaGrange, Ga., and Daniels, 36, of Pine Mountain, both were wearing all black and riding white Harley-Davidson motorcycles when they arrived at St. Francis Hospital, police said. Ponder told officers he was shot while riding on the interstate.
Mitchell died from two gunshot wounds to the chest after the Outcasts and Strikers biker gangs fired around 75 shots at the bar about 11:20 p.m., police said. Two others also were wounded.
Ponder said he and Daniels both were probationary members of the Outcasts. He identified a third defendant, Daginald Wheeler, 53, as a gang leader whom they called “Headquarters.”
Their clothing was in keeping with the gang’s attire, he told prosecutor Ray Daniel: “We wore all black, sir…. That’s part of our dress code.” A police detective, David Stokes, testified the fight and shooting all occurred within 90 seconds, and were not happenstance. “It was not an accident,” he said. “It was an intentional assault, for lack of a better word.”
Investigators said the Strikers already were inside the club when the Outcasts arrived armed with guns. Some of the newcomers when in the front door while others went around the back of the building, police said.
Peters denied Ponder’s motion for immunity, and jury selection for the trial continued. Each defendant is charged with murder, robbery, aggravated assault, using a gun to commit a crime and three counts of violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, according to their indictment. Weeler faces an additional count of violating the gang prevention act, and Ponder is charged also with lying to police about his gunshot wound.
USA - BN.
Demark Ponder was seeking immunity from prosecution for acting in self-defense when he took the witness stand Tuesday in Judge Bobby Peters’ court. He and two others are charged in the Oct. 9, 2015, fatal shooting of Dominic Mitchell at the 4th Quarter Sports Bar, 6969 Macon Road.
Ponder, 48, said he was a pledge or probationary member of the Outcast motorcycle club when he joined seven others in a ride to the bar, where a brawl broke out inside. He could not see what caused the fight, he said: “It was kind of dark in there, poorly lit.”
It was during this brawl that a man he didn’t know pointed a gun at him and threatened to shoot, calling him a racial slur. “I’m going to kill you, n----r,’ he said the man told him. He flinched and turned away, firing two shots, he said. “I close my eyes and twist and I didn’t look back,” he testified.
Along with James Daniels, a codefendant, he ran out the front door to his motorcycle. On his way out, he saw a man who had let him into the club loading what appeared to be an AR-15 rifle, he said.
At first the gunman fired ahead of him, and he told Daniels they should wait until the shooting stopped to drive away, he said. When the shooting stopped as the gunman reloaded, he and Daniels started driving off, and the gunfire resumed, he said.
“I was shot in my right leg,” he said, adding he rode to the hospital from the bar.
Ponder, of LaGrange, Ga., and Daniels, 36, of Pine Mountain, both were wearing all black and riding white Harley-Davidson motorcycles when they arrived at St. Francis Hospital, police said. Ponder told officers he was shot while riding on the interstate.
Mitchell died from two gunshot wounds to the chest after the Outcasts and Strikers biker gangs fired around 75 shots at the bar about 11:20 p.m., police said. Two others also were wounded.
Ponder said he and Daniels both were probationary members of the Outcasts. He identified a third defendant, Daginald Wheeler, 53, as a gang leader whom they called “Headquarters.”
Their clothing was in keeping with the gang’s attire, he told prosecutor Ray Daniel: “We wore all black, sir…. That’s part of our dress code.” A police detective, David Stokes, testified the fight and shooting all occurred within 90 seconds, and were not happenstance. “It was not an accident,” he said. “It was an intentional assault, for lack of a better word.”
Investigators said the Strikers already were inside the club when the Outcasts arrived armed with guns. Some of the newcomers when in the front door while others went around the back of the building, police said.
Peters denied Ponder’s motion for immunity, and jury selection for the trial continued. Each defendant is charged with murder, robbery, aggravated assault, using a gun to commit a crime and three counts of violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, according to their indictment. Weeler faces an additional count of violating the gang prevention act, and Ponder is charged also with lying to police about his gunshot wound.
USA - BN.
Comments
Post a Comment