Elleven45 lounge shooting: Bond hearing postponed, family in court
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The courtroom was packed Tuesday as friends and family members of the victims of the Elleven45 Lounge shooting in Buckhead gathered to see the accused killer, Karanji Reese, for the first time. However, they left disappointed as the bond hearing did not take place.
Reese, 21, turned himself in to police on June 5. He is accused of opening fire at the Elleven45 Lounge in Buckhead on May 12, resulting in the deaths of Marion Crayton and Nicholas Ridley, and injuring four others. Reese has been charged with murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The victims' family and friends packed the courtroom for Tuesday's bond hearing, but left disappointed after Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause announced it was being rescheduled because Reese's attorney was not notified of the hearing.
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Reese's attorney will not discuss the case but insists his client is innocent.
"We stand by Mr. Reese's innocence fully," he said.
Karanji Reese (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)
The hearing was postponed because the suspect's attorney was not notified of today's bond hearing. Marion Crayton's mother expressed her distress at seeing her daughter's accused killer in court for the first time, saying, "It was very hard seeing him because all I could think about is the accused is the one that is, you know, responsible. His second chance was my daughter's last chance. And so that just really makes me angry and sad."
"I just hate him honestly. I just hate what they did. I hate everybody who was involved, had nothing to do with nothing. Whatever beef they had my sister had nothing to do with it," said Tiffany Eason, Creighton's sister.
"I'm already grieving and to see him and have to sit and wait for so long. It's just a lot of emotions for me," Creighton's mother said.
"It's just upsetting to see him here and Mariam's not. We just miss her we are never going to stop. We want her name to be out there forever," said Telia Wheeler, Creighton's sister.
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The bond hearing has been rescheduled for July 5 at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta.