Bond denied for man accused of shooting Roswell officer more than 12 times

“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 said.

It was not clear how prosecutors made that determination.

Espinoza’s attorney said his client should be given an ankle monitor and released to a mental health facility, Channel 2 reported.

But prosecutors said Espinoza was aware while speaking with police after the shooting and had the mental capacity to buy a gun while on bond and shoot at the officer, according to the news station. That weapon was a so-called “ghost gun," purchased online with no serial number, prosecutors said, according to video of the hearing posted by 11Alive.

For those reasons, Judge Emily K. Richardson determined Espinoza was a flight risk and a danger to the community and denied the request for bond.

On the evening of the February shooting, Labonte was investigating a report of a suspicious person in a parking lot near the ACE Pickleball Club on Market Boulevard off Holcomb Bridge Road.

Prosecutors said the suspect walked into the recreational facility and drew a gun, then put it back into his vest. A woman eventually convinced him to leave following a brief conversation, in which prosecutors said Espinoza mentioned his desire to kill members of a certain group, according to the 11Alive video of Tuesday’s hearing.

When Labonte approached him for questioning, Espinoza “pulled a handgun and fired multiple shots at the officer,” according to the GBI, which is investigating the incident.

Labonte was rushed to a hospital but later died.

Espinoza’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment after Tuesday’s hearing.

According to police records and warrants, Espinoza had a history of incidents at an apartment complex on Raintree Drive in Roswell. In one instance, just a month before Labonte’s shooting, family members said Espinoza was going through a mental crisis and called police.

Other incidents involving Espinoza occurred at the complex between 2021 and last July, ranging from breaking items to discharging a firearm in a public space, police said.

In June 2022, he was given probation and ordered to undergo anger management sessions after breaking items inside an apartment.

In April 2024, he was arrested on a battery charge. Three months later, officers again responded to a domestic dispute at those same apartments. While he wasn’t charged, officers learned Espinoza had warrants for simple battery, criminal trespass and public drunkenness from several of the previous incidents. He was booked into the county jail, according to the report.

Then in January, police got a call that Espinoza was armed and suffering from a mental health crisis. According to that police report, he said he wanted to be taken to the hospital to be “evaluated and medication levels changed.”

Labonte was the first law enforcement officer from Georgia to be killed in the line of duty this year. In 2024, six Georgia officers died on the job.

Only once before had Roswell police lost an officer in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks law enforcement deaths. On June 14, 1986, Leslie G. Warden was killed when he was struck by a drunken driver while assisting at a crash scene on I-285.

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