Man accused of shooting girl at mall ordered held without bond

Walking slowly with a visible limp on her right side, a 16-year-old girl who was shot in the back March 4 at Peachtree Mall thought she was going to die that night, the teen said Tuesday after a Recorder’s Court hearing.

Pierre Marquez Tolbert, 25, pleaded not guilty to one count each of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a gun by a convicted felon and simple battery. Judge Mary Buckner ordered Tolbert held without bond on the assault charge and set bonds totaling more than $8,000 on the other charges for proceedings in Muscogee Superior Court.

After the hearing, the Spencer High School teen said she’s pleased that Tolbert is held without bond on the charges. “I feel like today in court he deserved it,” she said outside the courtroom. “I forgive him but after he shot me, he threatened me and everything.”

With her grandmother Lucille Bailey at her side, the teen said she feared for her life at Midtown Medical Center after the shooting. “To be honest I thought I was going to die that night,” she said. “I thought I was gone .”

The teen is still facing rehabilitation in an attempt to help her mobility. “I haven’t been like to rehab or nothing yet,” she said.

Police described Tolbert as the teen’s boyfriend before the shooting. “When we first met him, he seemed like he was a nice guy,” the teen said. “He wouldn’t do anything like that but for some people it’s different . You can judge them by what they do but in the inside they are different. To be honest I think he was on drugs. “

Officer Roger Smith testified he was called to 3131 Manchester Expressway on a shooting. A woman identified as Kierra Alexander was driving her 2006 Suzuki Forenza in the south parking lot of the mall when she stopped the vehicle, walked around to the right passenger side and pulled Tolbert from the car. Alexander testified that she was going in a different direction and he had to leave. “I told him he couldn’t ride,” she said.

That’s when Alexander said she was slapped with a gun and knocked to the ground. She sustained a knot near her left eye.

Smith said a shot was fired below the door handle, striking the teen in the back. She was sitting in the middle rear seat. “I was on the ground when the shot was fired,” Alexander said.

After getting behind the wheel, Alexander said about six or seven seconds went by before the teen said she was shot. A bullet hit her in the lower back twice from a .380-caliber pistol. Police never found the bullet that struck the teen.

Before the shooting, the teen and Tolbert were sitting in the back seat of the car. In addition to Alexander, the teen’s friend was in the front seat but she left the car and went inside the mall before the shooting. Tolbert was seen walking toward the Burger King after the shooting. He was sought by police for more than three weeks before he was arrested Sunday.

With the third reported shooting at the mall on Saturday over the last month, Alexander said violence is getting outrageous, period. “Bullets have no name on it,” she said. “A bullet can hit anyone. Tragically even if you’re in the smallest spot, you can still be seriously injured from a gunshot wound. I’m thankful my cousin is OK. Even though the bullet was 2 inches from her spine and she could have been paralyzed , it’s just a blessing that God was with us that night.”

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Man accused of shooting girl at mall ordered held without bond."