Man accused of shooting APD officer would still be in jail if plea was handled differently

ATLANTA — A police officer remains in the hospital after he was shot six times in the line of duty, including once in the back of the head.

On Tuesday, a judge denied bond for the accused gang member charged in the shooting, Christian Eppinger, 22.

Eppinger is accused of shooting David Rodgers, an Atlanta police officer, on Monday as Rodgers tried to arrest him.

Eppinger made his first appearance in Fulton County court on Tuesday, where his attorney attempted to convince the judge that, if given a bond, Eppinger would not be a threat to the community.

“He is soon to be a father and has earned his GED,” attorney Natalie Fiacco said. “He has no adult history, so we are asking for a reasonable bond to be set.”

But prosecutors fired back, describing Eppinger as a documented gang member who has been involved in violent crimes since he was 13 years old.

“Mr. Eppinger is a documented member of YSL street gang,” prosecutor Rushondra Davenport told the court.

YSL stands for “Young Slime Life,” a street gang that prosecutors say Eppinger has been a member of since 2019.

They also claim that the letters YSL are tattooed on Eppinger’s right cheek.

During the hearing, prosecutors also talked about how the 22-year-old frequently used his social media accounts to brag about his gang affiliation.

On Monday, the Atlanta Police Department’s Fugitive Unit was in Southwest Atlanta when Rodgers attempted to arrest Eppinger on an armed robbery charge at the Colonial Square apartment homes along Old Hapeville Road.

Authorities say Eppinger pulled a gun and fired six shots into Rodgers. He’s also accused of firing at a second officer.

After a short search, police made an arrest.

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Prosecutors say Rodgers was hit four times in the shoulder, once in the knee and a sixth time in the back of his head.

He continues to recover from his injuries at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne spoke with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Tuesday about Eppinger’s record.

In 2016, when Eppinger was just 16 years old, he was accused of pointing a gun in the face of a young mother with her small child during a carjacking, and crashed her car as he fled from police.

Eppinger was indicted as an adult on a long list of charges but was allowed to plead as a first offender to reduced charges in a deal that netted him a five-year prison sentence plus probation.

“In light of what (the Department of Community Supervision) tells us and his plea agreement, did the system fail?” Winne asked the DA.

“Yes,” Willis said.

“Under first offender he can be resentenced for that 2016 case, right?” Winne asked Willis.

“That’s correct. He can be resentenced up to the max,” Willis said.

“Are you thinking of doing that?” Winne asked Willis.

“Absolutely. We’re going to have his first offender revoked,” Willis said.

Willis said one charge alone in the indictment — armed robbery — would have netted him a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence had it not been pled down to robbery.

“He would have been still in (jail). He would’ve had to do nine years of the 10,” Willis said.

Willis said under the circumstances at the time, the deal was reasonable for someone so young.

“The victim was in full agreement. In fact, if you read the transcripts, her testimony during that hearing is quite moving,” Willis said.

But the DA says a new unit she has started will specifically address young offenders facing cases like Eppinger faced in 2016.

“I believe if this office had come through, the office today, he probably would not have been sentenced the way he was back in 2016,” Willis said.

The Georgia Department of Community Supervision said Eppinger reported to their Atlanta field office in May 2021 after his release from prison to begin his term of probation.

But since then, he has failed to report to DCS for probation supervision. A probation revocation warrant was requested but had not been fully processed at the time that Rodgers was shot.

“A preliminary review identified issues not consistent with our standards in the warrant process specific to this case that the (d)epartment is currently addressing. Due to potential personnel action, no further details can or will be provided,” a DCS spokesperson said in a statement to Winne.

“A revocation should’ve been held,” Willis said.

It is important to note that Willis was not district attorney at the time when Eppinger was first arrested in 2016.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne and reporter Michael Seiden contributed to this article.

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