Pettaway's bond set $500,000

Antonio LeMarcus Pettaway, 19, of Mobile remained in the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton on $500,000 Wednesday after being charged with the murder of Jatyrain Aquamini Tolbert, 22, of Atmore following a shooting on July 25.

At his original bond hearing, District Judge Eric Coale ordered Pettaway held without bond and set an Aniah's Law hearing and a preliminary hearing for last Thursday to determine if Pettaway was eligible for a bond. Judge Coale issued his order Friday, setting the bond at $500,000.

Should Pettaway be released on bond, Judge Coale ordered him to have no contact with the victim's family, be placed under house arrest with a GPS monitor, only being allowed to go to church, work, school or seek medical treatment.

At the first bond hearing Aug. 4, Pettaway told Judge Coale he had hired Mobile Attorney Christine Hernandez to represent him and did not want a court-appointed attorney. However, at last Thursday's Aniah's Law hearing he was represented by Public Defender Wade Hartley.

Atmore police were originally dispatched about 5:05 p.m. to a motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Brooks Lane and King Street. When they arrived, they found Tolbert unresponsive suffering from gunshot wound. Tolbert was transported to Atmore Community Hospital and later pronounced dead.

During last Thursday's hearing Atmore Police Lt. Robbie Williams, who is over the department's criminal investigation unit, testified that three confidential informants identified Pettaway as the person who shot into Tolbert's vehicle.

Lt. Williams said witnesses said Tolbert was parked on Ann Street when Pettaway shot Tolbert. Tolbert attempted to drive off, made a turn a block later and ran into the back of a Frontier van. Lt. Williams testified that they discovered a single shot in the driver's side door of Tolbert's vehicle. The .9-mm bullet then hit the left rib area of Tolbert.

Lt. Williams also testified the disagreement between the two was over a Glock switch that Tolbert sold Pettaway that was designed to turn the semi-automatic .9mm gun into a fully automatic but apparently had a faulty switch.

Lt. Williams also testified witnesses were reluctant to come forward because they were afraid of Pettaway. He said he did interview three witnesses who were not related to Tolbert, who identified Pettaway from a photo line up.

He added that either on the night of July 25 or early hours of July 26 the girlfriend's house of one of the witnesses was shot 23 times and a molotov cocktail was also thrown at her house. He said the house was located in the Freemanville area and the sheriff's department is investigating that incident.

Hartley said there was no evidence tying Pettaway to the shooting in Freemanville.

When asked by Harley if he had interviewed Pettaway, Lt. Williams said he attempted to at the detention center but that Pettaway invoked his rights and wanted an attorney so Williams got no statement.

Hartley told Judge Coale he felt Pettaway was entitled to a bond, noting that he did turn himself in.

District Attorney Steve Billy asked that Pettaway be held without bond, saying he was a flight risk and a danger to the community. Billy also noted that Pettaway was out on bond on a felony firearm possession charge in Mobile at the time of the Atmore shooting.

"The witnesses are scared to death," Billy said. "If he gets out we may not have any witnesses alive to come to court."

Billy also told the judge that evidence in the shooting points to a capital murder charge.

Judge Coale found there was probable cause in the case and would send it to a grand jury. He said he would make his ruling on bond within 24 hours and issued his order on the $500,000 bond Friday afternoon.