FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The man accused of shooting and killing a Roswell police officer last month was denied bond on Tuesday morning.
Channel 2′s Sophia Choi was in the courtroom for the bond hearing that she says lasted a matter of minutes.
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Edward Espinoza is accused of killing Officer Jeremy Labonte on Feb. 7 after flashing the gun at the Ace Pickleball Club near Market Blvd.
Espinoza’s attorney argued that he needs extreme mental healthcare that the Fulton County Jail is not capable of providing to him. The attorney argued that Espinoza should be given an ankle monitor and released to a mental health facility.
After the shooting, Channel 2 Action News obtained police records of other incidents involving Espinoza in which they expressed concern for his mental health.
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During the hearing, prosecutors argued that Espinoza was mentally aware in his interview with police after the shooting and had the mental capacity to buy an illegal ghost gun while out on bond, as well as fire more than a dozen shots at the Labonte.
“His first two rounds go into the upper part of the officer not covered by the officer’s vest. The officer falls. So then at that point, this defendant walks carefully around leaning over him and fires more than a dozen shots into the officer,” prosecutors described.
The judge ultimately determined that Espinoza is both a flight risk and a danger to the community, so he was denied bond and sent back to jail.
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