AJC

AJC

Atibi Thomas of Atlanta shot a cop two years ago and will learn his fate this week.

The case isn't as simple as it sounds though. Thomas, who up until the point, had a clean record, college degree and planned on starting his second business, sold some rims to two men. They paid him in cash and arranged for the rims to be dropped off by Thomas on their side of town.

Nervous of holding so much money on him, Thomas left the cash with his father and then went to meet the men at a gas station. Apparently the two men were attempting to set Thomas up for a robbery. When the hired robber approached Thomas with his weapon drawn, he shot him and fled to the Popeye's next door.

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The gunfired happened in broad daylight and off-duty officer Keith Roach was parked outside in his tinted-window Tahoe. When he saw Thomas running towards the Popeye's he told him to lay down on the ground. Thomas ignored him. Thomas instead told a Popeye's worker in the drive-thru window that he'd been robbed and to call the police. At that point, Officer Roach, in uniform wearing a Atlanta Police shirt, weapon drawn told Thomas to get down on the ground. This time he complied.

However, during the attempted arrest with his thoughts still racing, Thomas said that he saw Roach's tattoos and figured that he was not a cop but in on the robbery. From there he began to tussle with Roach and shot him three times. Roach was wearing a bulletproof vest and survived, still fighting with Roach.

Then, a Popeye's customer who happened to be a Vietnam War veteran with a son on the police force, entered the fray, hitting Thomas with his car. It did not work.

At that point the older man grabbed Officer Roach's weapon, misfired a shot at Thomas, pistol-whipped him, let off another round and threatened to kill him. Once subdued, Roach was finally able to make his arrest.

In th aftermath, Thomas is pleading that he made a mistake and really thought that the cop was out to rob him. He has refused plea bargins and wants his record cleared. Officer Roach and his lawyers however want to send the message that you can't shoot cops "by mistake" and not be punished for it. Hense they want to see him in jail.

“I was in full uniform," said Roach in court. "There is no way he could look at me and not believe I was a police officer.”

“I hope the jury can understand that I am not a criminal,” plead Thomas who feels he has a 50-50 shot at remaining free.

Thomas is facing 25-years behind bars on a plethora of charges.