Teen arrested in face-shooting case
Relative turned in suspect,
who was out on bond in murder case
By
Marcus K. Garner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Police completed a
day-long manhunt for Antoine Wimes early Tuesday
evening.
The
17-year-old was arrested for allegedly shooting a Chattahoochee Hills
woman in the face Monday evening. The woman’s toddler was severely
beaten, police said.
Wimes and Donovan McCoy, 21, both attacked 22-year-old Shenegua “Nikki”
Neely, looking for money, police said.
Wimes’ sister is Neely’s best friend, police said.
The
whole thing was drug- and gang-related, Chattahoochee Hills police Chief
Damon Jones said.
“I
own this world, like Scarface,” Wimes shouted to reporters when he was
taken in to the Chattahoochee Hills police station earlier Tuesday
evening.
He
emerged to find his mother and another woman waiting outside, as police
loaded him into the back of a squad car.
“I
love you Tot. I love you, Mama,” he said, as he looked through the
barred windows and held both his thumbs up.
Wimes was out of jail on $250,000 bond for murder and aggravated assault
charges from February for a shooting in southwest Atlanta, Fulton County
jail authorities said.
Wimes’ family told police he cut off his ankle monitor early Monday
morning. He was staying with his family in Chattahoochee Hills, police
said.
By
Monday night, he and McCoy, were at Neely’s home at 7555 Barnes Road,
Jones said. Neither had a car, and police believe they hitched a ride to
Neely’s home.
“We
speculate that a person must have dropped them off, but didn’t know
why,” Jones said. “They must have left when they heard shooting.”
A
knock came at Neely’s door sometime after 8:30 p.m., Monday. McCoy and
Wimes were outside, and demanded money, police said.
When
Neely didn’t comply, she was shot twice — once in the face, and once in
the upper torso with a .9 mm pistol, police said.
Police responded to reports of shots fired, and found Neely lying in a
pool of blood. The baby, one-year-old Defante Neely, was bruised but
awake, Jones said.
“The
child had a lot of bruises to the forehead,” Jones said. “And
crushing-type wounds.”
A
briefcase was taken from the home, police said. But instead of money,
the briefcase contained a handgun.
McCoy, also known as “Dino” was arrested within an hour of police
reaching the scene, Jones said.
The
Michigan native has several prior arrests in his home state, but had
only been in Chattahoochee Hills for about three months, police said.
Fulton County Police and Sheriff’s departments, Union City police, and
Coweta and Douglas county sheriff’s departments were called into help
with the search. Crime scene technicians and K-9 search dogs were
brought in to look for Wimes.
By
late Tuesday afternoon, police had a mug shot of Wimes distributed to
metro Atlanta media outlets to help with the search.
Around 6:45, Wimes went to a relative’s home on Rico Road and Vernon
Grove Road, about a mile from Neely’s home.
Jones said Wimes asked to use the phone there, and the relative — having
seen his face on TV — called police. Wimes went across the street to an
abandoned house at 7575 Rico Road, and went into the attic to hide.
Police arrived on the scene and called for a Fulton County police dog.
While officers awaited the K-9, they told him to come out over the
loudspeaker, Jones said.
“We
told him, ‘come out with your hands in the air, or we’re going to send
the dog in,’” Jones said.
Wimes came to the front door, saying he gave up, but immediately ran
behind a nearby bush, keeping his hands in the air, Jones said.
“He
later told me he wanted to be shot by police,” Jones said.
Wimes and McCoy are each facing charges of aggravated assault,
aggravated battery, armed robbery and cruelty to children. They are
currently being held at the South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail in
Union City, and are expected to be transferred to the Fulton County Jail
for an initial court appearance later this week.
Neely is said to be in serious condition at Atlanta Medical Center, and
her child remains at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.
Jones thanked all the many different police agencies, media outlets and
community members who helped find the two suspects.
“We
had a pretty violent crime for this area,” he said. “We had everybody in
custody in 22 hours with everybody working together.”
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