One of the four Atlanta police recruits let go after a dispute outside an East Point sports bar last month is facing charges after allegedly firing a gun multiple times into the air during the incident.
Wendy Celestin was charged with three misdemeanors after officers said he fired five shots into the air during a dispute with security outside U Bar, which bills itself as an upscale sports bar in East Point. The shooter fled the scene and eluded a pursuing officer on the highway, according to a police report.
Celestin was identified as the alleged shooter in the June 14 incident in court documents, and booked into the Fulton County Jail on July 4 and released two days later on a $3,000 bond.
As part of the bond conditions, Celestin is not allowed to possess firearms, drink alcohol or take any drugs. His attorney declined to comment on the charges.
According to an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an open records request, two of the four recruits involved in the altercation had been kicked out of the bar, and all four were standing outside. They seemed “extremely intoxicated,” police said in the report.
Celestin tried to reenter, saying he was an Atlanta Police Department officer and an officer in the military.
When he was denied entry he walked to his vehicle. After getting in his car, deputies on the scene said Celestin pulled out a gun and let off two shots into the air.
As he began to drive away, Celestin slowed down in front of the bar and fired three additional shots into the air, according to the incident report. One of the deputies pursued him onto I-285, but lost visual and returned to the bar.
The three other recruits — Schnieder Predestin, Justin Roberson and Tristan Dunrod — remained outside the bar, giving East Point Police Department officers a hard time, according to the report.
Roberson refused to hand over his identification initially, and told Predestin to shut up because his sister is a sergeant with Atlanta Police. Later on, Roberson approached a patrol vehicle and was asked to step back, which prompted Predestin to approach “in an aggressive way like he wanted to fight,” telling police not to touch his “brother,” according to the report.
At one point in the interaction, Roberson acted like he wanted to fight Predestin, and Dunrod tried to step in to break it up, and officers detained Roberson in the back of a patrol car, according to the report.
He then told officers they were all APD recruits and were going to graduate in a week and a half. According to the report, Predestin said he didn’t know who the shooter was, or that shots had even been fired.
At the scene, East Point officers collected five 9 mm shell casings. East Point police did not immediately respond to a question about where the fired bullets landed.
An APD captain arrived on the scene to deal with the recruits. Atlanta police confirmed the incident earlier this week and stated all four recruits had been separated “following off-duty conduct that did not meet the standards of our agency.”
Georgia Peace Office Standards and Training Council records show all four joined as non-sworn cadets in late 2024, with Roberson joining in September, Predestin and Celestin in October and Dunrod in November. They were all terminated three days after the incident.
Predestin, Dunrod and Roberson received their basic law enforcement certification on July 2, just weeks after being let go.
Celestin was enrolled to receive his certification, but both show a failing score. He did receive body camera training in February and May.
None of them had prior law enforcement experience in Georgia.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
