An Uber Eats driver accused of fatally shooting a recent Morehouse College graduate was denied bond Tuesday.
Robert Bivines had been with the delivery company for only a week when Atlanta police say he shot and killed 30-year-old Ryan Thornton late Saturday. Bivines, 36, faces murder and aggravated assault charges.
Police said he and Thornton got into an altercation outside the man’s Buckhead condominium before the shooting.
“The victim went down to meet the driver, received his order and began walking away from the vehicle,” Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos said in a statement. “As the victim was walking away, it appears words may have been exchanged between he and the delivery driver.”
Thornton went back to Bivines’ car and that’s when things turned deadly.
Atlanta police said four shots were fired through the passenger-side window. Bullets landed in Thornton’s torso.
As Thornton fell to the ground, Bivines drove away in his white Volkswagen, police said.
Thornton was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Bivines, accompanied by his lawyer, surrendered to police Monday afternoon. Attorney Jackie Patterson said his client shot in self-defense.
Patterson told Channel 2 Action News that Thornton — allegedly upset about how late his order arrived — was not happy about the delivery time, threatened his client and motioned toward his pockets.
“My client had no choice but to defend himself,” he said.
Patterson said Thornton jerked the food out of his client’s window when Bivines handed it to him.
In court Tuesday, Bivines got emotional as a judge told him she could not grant him bond.
“This is the lowest point of his life,” Patterson said of his client, “but I told him to hold on, a change will be coming.”
Bivines’ next court appearance is March 6.
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