Two of four juveniles arrested in the July 6 carjacking incident at the Peachtree City Walmart are being held without bond, while two others have had a bond set at $75,000.
Zavaire Baitley, 16 of Country Club Drive in Atlanta and Michael Long, 14, of Lower Dixie Road in Union City will remain in a juvenile detention facility until trial after they were denied bond by Fayette County Superior Court Judge Tommy Hankinson. In court Thursday, Hankinson granted a $75,000 bond for Demetrious Watson, 16, of Shaggy Hickory Trail, Palmetto and Nathan Gullatte, 16, of Phipps Road, Palmetto.
Watson and Gullatte were ordered to remain on house arrest and wear a GPS monitoring device so their whereabouts may be monitored.
Watson and Gullatte’s attorneys contended they were backseat passengers who were “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Counter to that argument, Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Hayes said there is evidence that all four defendants in the case met at a Chick-fil-A in Peachtree City to plan the carjacking ahead of time.
Long, Watson and Gullatte are charged with violating the Georgia street gang terrorism act, armed robbery and hijacking of a motor vehicle.
Baitley has been fingered as the gunman who stole the car from a driver in the Walmart parking lot and led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash at Cascade Road and Interstate 285. The chase reached speeds upwards of 100 mph, police said.
Baitley was charged with attempting to elude a police officer, armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, participating in a criminal street gang and numerous traffic charges stemming from the chase.
The driver was unharmed physically immediately following the incident.
Gullatte has a clean juvenile record, while Watson had a 2011 incident involving simple assault and battery, court officials said today. The juvenile histories of Baitley and Long were a bit more detailed, attorneys said.
Hayes said he expects to present the case to a Fayette County Grand Jury next month.
