Bond denied for man claiming self-defense in alleged gang shootout at Wings Cafe

Arguments and testimony at a Friday bond hearing offered conflicting descriptions of a man accused in an alleged gang shootout at Wings Cafe that resulted in three deaths.

Markques Patterson, 29, is shown on surveillance video arriving with alleged members of the Blacc Team gang outside the Bloomfield Drive nightclub Dec. 12 and entering with them, said Sandra Matson, a Bibb County prosecutor.

Matson said the group stood together in “a pack,” as if they had each other’s backs.

Inside, the group got into a fist fight with alleged members of the Crips gang. At some point, Patterson and another man on the Blacc Team side drew guns and fired into the crowd of between 50 and 100 people, aiming for Crips members, Matson said.

Simultaneously, an alleged Crips member also fired a gun, she said.

George Henley, also known as DJ Fresh, and his girlfriend, Nastajah Taylor, were shot. Henley, 34, died. Taylor, 23, was shot four times but survived.

Derrick Jackson, 38, also was fatally shot, as was 25-year-old Cory Hollingshed, Authorities have alleged Hollingshed was a Crips member.

Patterson and 23-year-old Jaquez Terrance Foster, another man charged in the case, were injured. A total five people have been charged in the shootout.

Kevin Bradley, Patterson’s lawyer, argued his client acted in self defense and is entitled to a bond.

Patterson’s mother, fiancee and his fiancee’s brother testified during the hearing Friday, describing Patterson as a loving and attentive father who helped provide for his household.

His fiancee said she and Patterson have been together for 10 years and share two daughters. He serves as a father figure for her 14-year-old son.

At the time of his arrest, Patterson was working in the home health care field and was helping to support his family, she said.

Bradley argued Patterson doesn’t have any gang ties, isn’t a flight risk and has no prior felony record.

Matson read aloud a list of misdemeanor convictions on charges ranging from simple battery and criminal trespass to DUI and marijuana possession.

Judge Howard Simms denied bond for Patterson, noting that although he might not be a flight risk, there might be a risk to public safety based on arguments at the hearing.

He also expressed concerns of witness intimidation.

Bradley filed a motion Tuesday seeking to have news cameras excluded from the hearing because witnesses feared they would become “targets for acts of violence” if they testified. The Telegraph opposed the motion, which Bradley withdrew before the hearing began.

Matson said she plans to present the case to a grand jury Tuesday for an indictment.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Bond denied for man claiming self-defense in alleged gang shootout at Wings Cafe."