Jonathan Bun, the teenager accused of killing a Clayton County sheriff's deputy last month, appeared in court Tuesday for his initial hearing.
Magistrate Judge Daphne M. Walker ordered Bun, 17, bound over to Clayton County Superior Court on charges of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the shooting death of Deputy Richard "Rick" Daly, 55. Walker said a bond hearing for Bun would be held Friday morning.
Bun, wearing a red jail jumpsuit and leg shackles, sat quietly during the 90 minute hearing. The judge asked him no questions, and he didn't speak during the hearing.
GBI special agent Jonathan Spurlock testified that Bun had admitted during questioning that he shot Daly.
Spurlock said Bun, who had a cell phone with him when arrested, told him he had called his mother and told her he was scared. When asked why he was scared, Spurlock said he told him it was because he "had just shot a cop."
Spurlock said Bun told him that he had stolen the .40-caliber Glock handgun used to shoot Daly. Spurlock said that the driver of the Honda Civic that Bun was riding in when he shot Daly said Bun pulled the gun from his waistband before the car even stopped and he asked Bun, "What the Hell are you doing."
Spurlock said Daly was shot within seconds of getting out of his patrol car and walking up to the passenger side of the Civic.
In asking Walker to bind the case over to Superior Court, Clayton assistant District Attorney Jason Green told Walker that the evidence is "clear and uncontradictory" that Bun killed Daly.
Prior to the hearing, the judge announced that Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson had recused herself from any involvement in the case because she had earlier been a juvenile court judge in cases involving Bun.
On July 20, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office fugitive squad was searching for Bun in connection with a January armed robbery and assault.
Police said that after deputies with a warrant for Bun pulled over a car he was riding in, Bun shot and killed Daly as Daly approached the vehicle.
The teen then allegedly fled into a wooded area, prompting a five-hour manhunt involving SWAT teams from dozens of area law enforcement agencies before officers with search dogs captured him.
According to testimony in court on Tuesday, Bun also pointed his weapon at a second deputy as he fled into the woods, but the Glock apparently jammed. That deputy fired at Bun, but did not hit him.
Bun has a significant criminal history dating back to the age of 10.
The 17-year-old has had at least a half-dozen criminal infractions since then, according to records The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained from the Clayton County Juvenile Court system.
The offenses include burglary, drug possession and, in the earliest record, carrying a knife to an elementary school.
Bun was taken from his home twice by the state with the intention of removing him from the community he lived in, juvenile court spokesman John Johnson said.
"Mr. Bun was committed to the state after only two months of serving probation," Johnson said.
"The court committed Mr. Bun to the state twice and on both occasions recommended that Mr. Bun be removed from the home and placed in a [youth detention center], residential home, or other facility," Johnson said.
Clayton Juvenile Court Judge Steven Teske told Channel 2 Action News, “We knew that he could not remain in the community, so as long as we had him, we wanted him out of the community.”
Bun's father, Hing Bun, also has a recent criminal history; he was indicted in April for allegedly bribing a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee last fall.
Hing Bun allegedly bribed the employee to remove him from a list of people needing to check in regularly with immigration authorities. He was facing deportation to Cambodia after he was charged with domestic battery.
When Jonathan Bun was accused of taking a knife to school in December 2004, the school disciplined him and dismissed the complaint due to "mental incompetence," court records said.
In August 2007, Bun ran away from home and was picked up for burglary and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. He was 13 at the time.
Just two months later, he was turned over to the state Department of Juvenile Justice for violating his probation.
Though sentenced to two years, he apparently served a shorter term because barely a year later, Bun was charged with being a party to burglary. Again, he was sentenced to two years of juvenile detention.
In the spring of 2009, when Bun was 15, his mother reported him to juvenile authorities, accusing him of destroying property at her home. A complaint of criminal trespass was referred to the court. Additional details of the incident were not available.
Last November, Bun was charged in South Carolina with underage possession of alcohol. He was given six months’ probation in that case.
Bun is being held without bond at an undisclosed location.
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