ATLANTA — A gunman accused of trying to rob a couple outside a popular Atlanta restaurant and then shooting one of them will spend decades behind bars.
Police said that on Aug. 28, 2017, Thaddeus Todd tried to rob a man and woman as they got ready to go into JCT Kitchen off of Howell Mill Road in West Midtown. But as the victim, 25-year-old Bruno Bafico tried to run back in the restaurant to get help, Todd was accused of opening fire on him.
The moments that followed sent patrons of the restaurant diving to the ground once they realized what was happened. Meanwhile, one witness described seeing kitchen staff making room to hide under tables.
Despite being shot, the Fort Lauderdale resident survived. But he was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital that day in critical, but stable condition, for injuries to his stomach and thigh.
That was in 2017. On Thursday, Todd pleaded guilty to 31 counts and was sentenced to 40 years in prison in a non-negotiated plea.
The charges included:
- Four counts of Participation in criminal street gang activity
- Four counts of Armed robbery
- Five counts of Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
- Four counts of Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony
- Five counts of Possession of a firearm by first offender probationer
- One count of Hijacking a motor vehicle
- One count of Criminal damage to property in the first degree
- One count of Hit and run
- One count of Reckless driving
- One count of Driving while license suspended or revoked
- One count of Criminal attempt to commit murder
- One count of Criminal attempt to commit armed robbery
- One count of Aggravated battery
- One count of felony Theft by receiving stolen property
The Fulton County District Attorney's Office later linked Todd to more crimes as well. Todd was identified as the gunman in the armed robbery outside a Whole Foods store in Buckhead. When police arrested him, he had a handgun in his possession. Later, police linked the gun to the shell casings collected at the JCT Kitchen.
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