Man appears in court, accused of shooting teen, firing into other apartment

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - During a Friday morning preliminary hearing in Fulton County, FOX 5 News learned a man accused of killing a teen will face additional charges.

Prosecutors say a bullet fired by Darryl Bynes, in the early morning hours of March 29, went into an occupied apartment. They say it happened as Bynes shot and killed 19-year-old Omarion Banks.

Atlanta Police say the shooting happened just before 1 a.m. at a complex on Fairburn Road. They believe Banks started going into the wrong apartment, mistakenly.

“At the time he that he's passing by the front door, [Bynes] notices the front door starts to open,” says APD Detective Gordon Payne. “So, he pushes the front door closed and locks it he then retrieves a firearm, a pistol he had sitting on the couch.”

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Payne responded to the scene that night. He says Bynes told him he walked outside, yelled to Banks, and started shooting when he thought the teen had a gun.

According to Payne, Banks' girlfriend has a different account. She'd just video-chatted with her boyfriend. He told her to open the door. She looked outside and didn't see him.

“She was looking around waiting for him to come up when she heard a single gunshot, then heard someone yell, 'I've got the wrong apartment'. Then heard, 'Nah, you've got the right apartment', then heard two more gunshots,” Payne testified.

Bynes' attorney said his client was acting in self-defense, trying to protect his wife and their five children.

Bynes faces several charges including malice murder, and now criminal damage in the first degree. He is expected back in court on June 28.

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