A Little Rock man known to police as a Crips gang member saw his $1 million bail cut to $150,000 on Tuesday after his lawyer said the 32-year-old defendant was protecting himself when he fatally shot a man in a city nightclub last year.
Charged with first-degree murder, Marlo Jenell Atkins had confronted 39-year-old Patrick Dale "All Purpose" Smith at Club 428 at 4726 Asher Ave. because Smith had sold him "poison," purporting to be cocaine, that almost killed him, public defender Bret Qualls told Pulaski County Circuit Judge Cathi Compton at a bond hearing. Atkins shot Smith, also known as "Two Dollar" because the older man attacked him, Qualls told the judge.
Qualls asked for bail of $100,000, telling the judge that Atkins' mother who has cancer needs him to help care for her. Qualls also asked the judge to consider the covid-19 risks to Atkins if he remains in the Pulaski County jail where he cannot get vaccinated.
Atkins has been jailed since his July 2 arrest in North Little Rock by U.S. marshals, about two weeks after Smith was killed last June.
Deputy prosecutor Robbie Jones opposed reducing Atkins' bail. He told the judge security video from the club, where Smith was a regular, shows the fatal encounter while witnesses have identified Atkins as the shooter. The defendant is known to police to be a gang member, Jones said.
Atkins instigated the encounter with Smith, accusing Smith of selling him bad drugs, the prosecutor said. Smith tried to dissuade Atkins from a confrontation, either by denying the accusation or telling Atkins the club was not the place to discuss their differences, Jones told the judge.
Jones said police were able to identify Atkins because he told a club promoter his nickname was 60 and that he'd spent time in jail. Atkins, dressed all in blue, asked the promoter whether he could bring his gun with him into the club, the prosecutor said.
A check of jail records for the 60 nickname led police to Atkins who was identified by a witness, a friend of Smith's, who saw the shooting and tried to save the life of the father of four after he was shot. That witness said the gunman had called himself "Big 60" in the club.
At the time of the slaying, Atkins was on probation for methamphetamine possession stemming from an October 2017 arrest in North Little Rock and was free on bail awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of meth and drug paraphernalia following a September 2019 arrest in Little Rock.
Court records show Atkins has been sent to prison three times and has convictions for theft by receiving, drug possession, second-degree battery, aggravated assault and firearms possession.