A 16-year-old girl, who police say shot and killed a man who was trying to sell his PlayStation system over Craigslist, will be charged as an adult.
On Tuesday, the Fulton County district attorney’s office released a statement saying it would pursue full charges against the girl, whose name has not yet been release.
“This case has been forwarded to our office for review,” District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. said in the statement. “After consulting with the Sandy Springs Police Department, we have determined that the suspects in this matter should be prosecuted together. As such, we have decided to seek prosecution against the 16-year-old minor as an adult.”
Howard’s office said an SB440 hearing, used to determine whether a minor can be prosecuted as an adult, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 23 in the Fulton County Courthouse. The hearing will be in courtroom 8C.
Sandy Springs Police say the 16-year-old — along with her 20-year-old boyfriend Nathaniel Vivian — shot and killed 28-year-old Daniel John Zeitz last Friday as part of a botched robbery. The couple attempted to strong-arm a PS4 gaming system that Zeitz advertised for sale on Craigslist.
Zeitz, an avid gamer, was from Roswell.
According to police, Zeitz met the couple at about 9:30 p.m. last Friday at an apartment complex on Treelodge Parkway.
Sandy Springs police Sgt. Ron Momon said the pair tried to rob Zeitz of the PS4, and Vivian, who was in the driver’s seat of a car, struggled with Zeitz, who was standing outside the car, for the gaming system.
During the struggle, the girl fired a shot from a .25 caliber handgun, and the bullet passed through Vivian’s hand and struck Zeitz in the side of his chest, killing him.
Vivian and the girl were later arrested when they went to Northside Hospital for treatment of Vivian’s gunshot wound to the hand, Momon said.
Momon said Vivian claimed to be a robbery victim, but upon further questioning by detectives, “told them he was shot while he and his girlfriend were at the Legends of Dunwoody Apartments to rob a man of his PS4 video gaming system that was advertised on Craigslist.”
The 16-year-old’s 16-month-old baby was only a few feet away at the time of the robbery and shooting, according to Sandy Springs police Sgt. Ron Momon.
Momon said Vivian did not have an adult criminal record prior to the robbery and shooting. He also said he didn’t know if Vivian was the father of the 16-month-old child, who was turned over to family members after the shooting.
He declined to release any more details about the 16-year-old, but said she is currently being held at the Metro Regional Detention center in Atlanta.
Vivian is being held without bond in the Fulton County Jail.
The gun was recovered from the suspects’ car.
Zeitz was known by the name "Phobos" in online gaming circles, and one of his online gaming teammates set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Zeitz's funeral expenses. By Monday afternoon, the page had raised more than $15,000.
A video about Zeitz's killing posted by a friend Saturday on YouTube has been viewed nearly 20,000 times.
Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this report.
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