Alleged Shooter Pleads Not Guilty

A former security guard pleaded not guilty today to murder and other charges in the July 15  in Midtown that killed one woman and injured two others, including a 23-year-old from Lithia Springs.

Nkosi Thandiwe, who entered his plea in Fulton County Superior Court, is charged with murder, felony murder, armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery, hijacking a motor vehicle, and gun possession during the commission of a felony.

Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Thandiwe was . This morning, the 22-year-old had a new lawyer by his side: John Garland of Garland, Sameul & Loeb. Garland declined comment.

The earliest the case could go to trial is late 2012, Superior Court Judge Kelly Amanda Lee said, explaining she has nine murder cases to try before Thandiwe's.

Several family members of , the 26-year-old Decatur woman who was shot and killed during the incident, attended the court hearing. Many carried cards with a picture of Watts and words written in her memory.

"I just wanted to come and see what happened," Watts' uncle Ken Owens told Patch following the hearing.

Owens said the family expected Thandiwe to enter a "not guilty" plea. "We have to let it take its due course."

Lee ordered Thandiwe to undergo a mental evaluation on Dec. 1.

Thandiwe was working as a security guard at the  when he allegedly shot and killed Watts in the building's parking garage in July. Police say he fled the garage in her car, shooting two other women as he exited onto Crescent Avenue.

The shooting left Lauren Garcia, the 23-year-old from Lithia Springs, with . She was  in September. 

Another victim, Tiffany Ferenczy, was shot in the leg.

All three women worked at the Proscenium building.