Athens man indicted for alleged shootout

Nestor Bravo

By Joe Johnson

Athens man was recently indicted for a shootout last year in which an uninvolved passing car was struck by a bullet.

Athens-Clarke County police said evidence suggested that someone may have been shot during the incident, but a victim was not located.

Nestor Bravo, 26, who was identified as the person shooting from the porch of his home at 196 Lombardy Drive was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to an indictment filed April 13 in Clarke County Superior Court.

The incident occurred at about 11:30 p.m. Nov. 1, 2020 when police received multiple reports about shots being fired in the area of Bravo's residence.

According to the police report, an officer met with a man standing next to his vehicle that had been damaged by gunfire. It reportedly was parked on the road near the driveway of Bravo’s home, from where he allegedly fired a gun from the porch.

The report noted that the car’s driver stated that a green Honda or Nissan pulled out of the driveway of 196 Lombardy Drive and a male limped away from the residence and up the street and police saw a blood trail that began in the driveway of 196 and went up Lombardy Drive toward Danielsville Road, where the car crashed and its occupants fled, according to a police report.

When officers were searching 196 for the man who had shot from the porch, according to police, Bravo called out from a closet that he was coming out, at which time he was taken into custody. He was arrested when a dispatcher confirmed that there were multiple outstanding warrants for his arrest.

When searching the scene police found a pistol holster in the driveway of 196 and evidence that there had been a fight “based on the marks in the gravel,” Cpl. Daniel Whitney wrote in the report.

Additionally, multiple bullet cartridge casing were located, including one on the porch from where Bravo allegedly had been shooting.

Capt. Christopher Nichols, commanding officer of the Criminal Investigations Division, characterized the incident as an exchange of gunfire between Bravo and an unidentified person in the roadway on Lombardy Drive.

An occupied vehicle that drove by during the gunfight was struck by a bullet allegedly fired by Bravo, but the occupant was not injured, Nichols said.

Bravo was released from jail on Dec. 9 upon posting a total bond of $2,950.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on May 10.