On a summer evening in Atmore, Alabama, the life of 22-year-old Jatyrian Aquamini Tolbert, a male, came to a tragic and abrupt end. On July 25, 2023, at approximately 5:05 p.m., what initially appeared to be a two-car collision at the intersection of Brooks Lane and King Street quickly revealed itself to be a homicide. When Atmore Police Department officers arrived at the scene, they discovered that Tolbert, the driver of one of the vehicles, was suffering from a gunshot wound.
He was rushed to Atmore Community Hospital, but his injuries proved fatal.
Investigators soon learned that moments before the crash, the sound of a gunshot had pierced the neighborhood air. It is believed that Tolbert was shot once while sitting in his car. Gravely wounded, he attempted to drive away before crashing his vehicle. The shooting was not a random act of violence; authorities believe it stemmed from a dispute over a faulty 'Glock switch,' a device that converts a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic weapon, which Tolbert had allegedly purchased from the suspect.
The investigation led police to identify 19-year-old Antonio LeMarcus Pettaway II of Mobile as the primary suspect. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and on August 3, 2023, Pettaway surrendered to authorities. He was subsequently charged with the murder of Jatyrian Tolbert and held at the Escambia County Detention Center. At the time of the shooting, Pettaway was already out on bond for a prior offense involving bringing a weapon onto a high school campus in Mobile.
The legal proceedings that followed have been a source of anguish for Tolbert's family, who remember him as a funny and caring person who loved to dance and race, and as a father to two young daughters. Despite the district attorney's arguments that Pettaway posed a threat to witnesses, a judge reduced his bond from $500,000 to $75,000 in May 2024, leading to his release. This decision was met with outrage from the victim's family and the community. The case remains under investigation as Tolbert's loved ones continue to seek justice for his death.
