DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A man accused of felony murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, as well as shooting and wounding a DeKalb County Police officer went to court Friday morning for a preliminary hearing.
Otis Walker was on the run for a week following the August 1 shooting, before police officers were able to take him into custody on August 8 in Lithonia.
Walker's preliminary hearing, which had been initially scheduled for Friday afternoon, was rescheduled for Friday morning.
He has been bound over for trial and will remain in the DeKalb County Jail, with no further court appearances scheduled until the district attorney's office and the court determine an exact trial date.
Walker, 27, has been charged with felony murder for the shooting death of Aleka Simmons early in the morning hours of August 1. He also faces three counts of aggravated assault against an officer for firing on three officers who responded to the domestic incident.
Officers had initially been summoned to a domestic disturbance call at a home shortly after midnight in which a "domestic dispute between the boyfriend and girlfriend at the location escalated to the boyfriend shooting the female victim.”
As soon as officers arrived, they said they were fired upon by Walker. Officer Derek Nunn was struck three times by gunfire and was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Officers discovered Simmons in what they described as critical condition. She died as a result of her injuries as she was being loaded into an ambulance at the scene.
Walker escaped capture and was subsequently arrested on Thursday, August 8, at a Lithonia gas station.
RELATED: Police had been called to home 8 times in the three months before woman killed, officer shot
According to police, in the months leading up to the deadly shooting, officers had been called to the home eight times, including one call only an hour prior to the shooting incident itself.