The mother of the man arrested in connection to the shooting death of the owner of a northwest Atlanta lounge spoke to FOX 5 News on why she turned him into police.
The mother of 23-year-old Otis Ricks talked to FOX 5 News on Saturday. She did not want to shown on screen, but says she turned her son into police because of an overwhelming sense of guilt.
"I just want to tell her family that I am so sorry you lost a loved one, because she didn't deserve it," she told FOX 5's Chris Shaw during the interview speaking of the death of 53-year-old Vanessa Elaine Thrasher.
Police believe Ricks is one of three men they say entered the O.T.'s Lounge and Soul Food Grill on New Jersey Avenue and Joseph E. Boone Boulevard around 2 a.m. Thursday and got into an altercation which left the Thrasher, the owner of the establishment, dead.
The trio was caught on surveillance video. It was that very video which Ricks' mother saw and knew her, the man in the white shirt, was her son.
"As a mother and a Christian, I had to do what God would want me to do. So, when I got home, I called 911 myself, and I cried and I told them, please send me an officer. Because I knew one of those pictures was my son," she said.
Authorities believe the men entered the establishment with the intention of robbing it, but witnesses say Thrasher fought back. Sources tell FOX 5 that Thrasher tried to fight off the gunmen even after she had already been shot several times. She reportedly pulled out her weapon and shot one of three suspects before they left the lounge. Our sources believe that angered the gunmen and they turned around and shot her again -- a total of seven times -- including once the head.
Thrasher had been scheduled to testify on Monday in 2011 shooting that occurred in her bar's parking lot. Her security bouncer was caught in the crossfire as two men argued over a pool game.
Atlanta police had been assigned to perform extra surveillance of the club to protect Thrasher. Howard said he had offered to put Thrasher in a safe location, but she declined.
The gunman who is injured and another man are still being sought by police. Ricks' mother said her message to the others is to do the right thing and turn themselves into police.
Ricks waived his first appearance scheduled Saturday morning. He remains in the Fulton County Jail without bond.
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The mother of Otis Ricks says she recognized her son in surveillance shown on FOX 5 and decided to turn him into police.
Otis Ricks
Vanessa Elaine Thrasher, 53, the owner of O.T.'s Lounge and Soul Food Grill was gunned down in her establishment early Thursday morning.
