Less than 24 hours after being arrested by Pensacola police, a judge ordered the alleged gunman in the July 5 mass shooting downtown to be held without bond pending a second hearing.
Nicholas Safford, a 26-year-old man from Alabama, will remain in Escambia County Jail after Judge Scott Ritchie ordered no bond for his possession of a weapon by a convicted felon charge during Safford’s first appearance July 8.
Ritchie additionally gave Safford a $10,000 bond on his count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and $2,500 bond for his misdemeanor count of discharging a firearm in public.
Safford is one of the three alleged gunman Pensacola Police believe were involved in a shooting in the early morning hours of July 5 in downtown Pensacola. The shooting injured six individuals ranging from 16 to 26 and killed 19-year-old Phillip Sheppard Jr.
According to Assistant State Attorney Amy Shea, Safford was the first person to pull the trigger that morning just hours after hundreds of people finished celebrating Independence Day. She told Ritchie that Safford was an “agitator” and his “aggression” helped lead to the crossfire shooting.
Shea also noted that the Office of the State Attorney’s charging of Safford with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon stems from the Alabama man allegedly either shooting at or point his firearm at Sheppard Jr.’s “female companion” during the shooting.
The State Attorney Office charged Safford with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon because they believed he shot at or pointed his firearm at Sheppard Jr.’s female companion during the shooting.
Both Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom and Shea have said no one has yet been charged directly with Sheppard’s death as the investigation remains ongoing and further suspects are sought.
Safford’s girlfriend, Lillian Meyers, also made her first appearance July 8 after she was arrested alongside Safford. She was given a $7,500 bond for her accessory after the fact charge and $7,500 for obstructing justice by tampering with evidence, both third-degree felonies.
Winstrom said in a press conference that one of the shooters gave Meyers a gun that was used in the shooting, and she took it away from the scene.
Shea told the judge she also intends to file a motion for pretrial detention in Safford’s case to prevent him from getting his bond changed and bonding out of jail before his case is resolved. Safford’s pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for July 10.
Meyers’ next court date is scheduled for arraignment on July 31.
Phillip Sheppard Jr.’s mother begins GoFundMe for funeral
Following Sheppard’s death July 5, his mother Natasha Ferrell began a $6,000 GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his funeral.
“My son was full of love and laughter, and his life was tragically cut short by an act of violence downtown,” Ferrell wrote in the campaign. “He was only 19 years old, and I never imagined anything like this would happen to our family. Losing him has left us heartbroken, and we are struggling to cope with the pain and loss every day.”
As of publishing July 8, the campaign has raised just over $5,000.
Sheppard’s GoFundMe campaign titled “Support for My Son’s Funeral and Memorial” can be located at https://gofund.me/faf1aaabb.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Benjamin Johnson is the breaking news, crime and military reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He covers local law enforcement, courts, breaking news and military within Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. He can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Alleged downtown Pensacola gunman denied bond in July 5 shooting
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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By Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal | USA TODAY Network
