The accused shooter remained jailed after a judge heard testimony about the gun, the argument and the victim’s chest wound.
SNELLVILLE, Ga. — A police detective said a handgun malfunction may have stopped a Chick-fil-A shooting from turning deadly after a customer fired three shots during a dispute that began with a cigarette-smell remark.
The testimony came during a Gwinnett County preliminary hearing for Jamaal Jenkins, 44, who is charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and reckless conduct. The hearing focused less on a long-running conflict than on a few seconds inside a Snellville restaurant. Police said Jenkins and the wounded man did not know each other before they stood in line April 7 at the Chick-fil-A on Scenic Highway.
Snellville Police Detective Victor Martinez told the court that Jenkins started the contact. He said Jenkins told the other customer that he smelled like cigarette smoke, then insulted him. Martinez testified that Jenkins called the man a “weirdo” and used a racial slur. The detective said the victim then punched Jenkins one time in the face. That punch became the central fact cited by the defense. It was also the moment police say Jenkins moved from words to a gun. Martinez said Jenkins pulled a Glock 42 from his pocket and fired three rounds. One bullet hit the victim in the chest, according to the testimony.
The most serious detail came after the first burst of gunfire. “The defendant chased the victim and attempted to continue shooting until his handgun malfunctioned,” Martinez said. The detective said the malfunction likely kept the victim alive. The reports from the hearing did not include the victim’s name, age or full medical condition. They also did not say whether the victim required surgery or how long he was hospitalized. What police put before the judge was the sequence: a comment in line, insults, a single punch, a gun drawn from a pocket, three shots, one chest wound and an alleged attempt to keep firing as the victim tried to get away.
Gun malfunctions can become major facts in criminal cases because they may show what a shooter tried to do after the first shots. In this case, prosecutors used the alleged malfunction to argue that Jenkins remained a threat even after the victim had been hit. The public reports did not give a technical reason for the malfunction or say whether investigators tested the Glock 42 afterward. They also did not say how close Jenkins stood to the victim when the shots were fired. Still, Martinez’s testimony gave prosecutors a direct answer to the defense claim that Jenkins was reacting only to being punched. Their argument was that the reaction continued past the first danger and spread risk through a public restaurant.
Defense attorney Teombre Calland asked the judge to view the case through the punch. She argued that Jenkins acted in self-defense after being struck first. Calland said Jenkins had no felony convictions and was not likely to flee. She offered conditions that would keep him away from the victim and the Chick-fil-A location if he were released. The defense did not have to prove self-defense at the preliminary hearing, but it raised the issue that could return later in the case. Under the reports available from court, the defense did not dispute that a shooting happened. The question was how the judge should weigh the first physical contact against the alleged decision to fire in a crowded business.
Prosecutors took the opposite view. They said the public setting made the case especially serious because other customers were inside when shots were fired. A restaurant line gives people little room to move, and gunfire inside that kind of space can place workers, families and bystanders in danger even when only one person is targeted. The reckless conduct charge reflects that wider risk. It is separate from the aggravated assault charge tied to the wounded man. The possession charge reflects the allegation that Jenkins used a firearm while committing a crime. Together, the three charges gave the judge enough evidence to send the case to Superior Court.
The judge denied bond after hearing both sides. Jenkins stayed in the Gwinnett County Jail, and all three charges were bound over to Superior Court. A bond decision is not a verdict, and the prosecution still must prove its case. The next court date was not listed in the reports reviewed. The case may proceed through further hearings, possible indictment steps, plea talks or trial scheduling. At each stage, prosecutors can present evidence about the shooting and the defense can challenge that evidence or press a self-defense claim. For now, the public record rests largely on the detective’s courtroom testimony and the charges already filed.
The April 7 shooting also left unanswered questions. Police did not publicly release details about any surveillance video from inside the restaurant. They did not say whether the entire exchange was captured by cameras or whether other customers gave statements describing what they heard. The reports did not explain whether the alleged racial slur will affect charging decisions later. They also did not identify the victim or provide a final medical update. Those gaps leave the preliminary hearing as a limited but important window into the state’s case. It showed what investigators believe happened, what the defense plans to argue and why the judge kept Jenkins jailed.
Martinez’s testimony portrayed the case as a brief argument that escalated into deadly force inside a business open to the public. Calland’s argument portrayed it as a response to a blow to the face. The next stage in Superior Court will determine how those claims are tested and what evidence becomes part of the formal record.
Jenkins remained held without bond after the hearing. No next court date had been publicly listed as of Wednesday.
Author note: Last updated May 27, 2026.