By Joe Johnson
Superior Court judge this week denied bond to an Athens man who has been jailed since February for his alleged role in a shootout last year at Rolling Ridge Apartments in which he was wounded.
Quatavious Malik Borders, 22, of Acadia Drive, was charged for the Sept. 5, 2020 gun battle with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Judge Lisa Lott on Tuesday denied Border’s motion for bond on the grounds that if released prior to trial he would pose a risk to others in the community and there was a significant risk that he would commit additional felony offenses.
“This case involves an alleged gunfight,” the judge wrote in her order. “The Defendant in this case is a convicted felon and is not permitted by law to possess a firearm.
“Defendant is alleged to be one of the shooters in this gunfight,” Lott said. “Defendant is on probation for 2 felonies.”
The shootout was reported to police at 12:50 a.m. Sept. 5.
Officers initially responded to Rolling Ridge on a report of someone named “Snoop” waving a gun around during an altercation, and before arriving they received an update that multiple 911 callers reported shots being fired, according to a police incident report.
Upon arrival, officers learned that Snoop was a nickname for Borders, who they found lying on the floor of an apartment, suffering from gunshot wounds to his arm and foot, according to the report.
A witness reportedly told officers they saw Borders and 30-year-old Tishauwn Taquan Mahaffey fighting outside of Building 7, and that Borders pushed Mahaffey into some bushes “and began firing rounds at him with a handgun.”
The witness said that Mahaffey then chased Borders toward Building 12 while firing a handgun at the other man, according to the police report. In front of a breezeway at Building 12, officers located spent bullet cartridge casings, some live rounds, and the beginning of a blood trail that led to Border’s apartment.
Police obtained warrants for Borders about a week after the shooting, but he was not immediately arrested due to him receiving medical treatment for the gunshot wounds.
The warrants were turned over to the sheriff's office, and Borders was booked into the jail on Feb. 3.
Mahaffey was arrested four days after the shooting, and on Feb. 17 the Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office opted not to prosecute him on aggravated assault charges, but instead filed an accusation charging him just with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
His attorney, David Crowe said that Mahaffey “had a really good self-defense case,” and if he had not been armed, he could have been killed.
On that same day, the DA’s office filed a separate accusation charging Mahaffey with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute OxyContin.
As part of a plea bargain, Judge Lawton Stephens sentenced Mahaffey to six years in prison and four years on probation for both cases, according to the sentencing documents.
Police said that Mahaffey was a known member of the NBA (Never Broke Again) street gang, and the plea agreement he signed stipulates that he cannot have any contact with other gang members.
A formal accusation or indictment has yet to be filed with regards to Border’s alleged participation in the Rolling Ridge incident.