Coweta County, Georgia – A guy who opened fire outside a Coweta County pub in 2019 and shot an off-duty employee seven times was sentenced to 45 years in prison last week.
Kevintez Mathewis was caught on surveillance camera at Fat Boys Bar and Grill in August 2019, when he was ejected by security for being unruly. According to deputies, Mathewis was evicted many times that night and was spotted gesturing as if he was firing a gun into the bar. Witnesses reportedly informed detectives that he threatened to return and “shoot up the place.”
He did.
After firing a shot from behind the structure, Mathews returned armed. But before he could proceed, he was challenged by Ben McCoy, an off-duty bar employee who had fetched a gun from his SUV. McCoy caught Mathewis’ attention with a cry, potentially averting a mass shooting, but was shot seven times in the process.
Six years later, McCoy sat in court as Mathewis was sentenced to 45 years in prison as part of a plea deal.
“I wanted him to know what all that he took from me — that I won’t be able to get back,” McCoy told the reporter. “Like my ability to play the guitar… the slightest thing, if it’s sudden, it startles the crap out of me.”
Coweta County District Attorney Herb Cranford said McCoy’s actions saved lives.
“The brave actions of McCoy likely stopped what could have been a catastrophic incident from occurring inside the packed bar,” according to Cranford.
Fat Boys Bar and Grill has subsequently gone out of business. McCoy, who now works as a film extra, says he is still dealing with the stress from that night.
“Healing that needs to take place now is more mental than physical,” he told me. “Because there’s still a lot of trauma that needs to be dealt with.”
He described several of the folks inside the bar that night as personal friends, some even like family.
“I would like to think that people would do whatever they had to do to try to protect their family,” according to McCoy.
McCoy’s punishment marked the end of a six-year chapter, offering him some closure but not complete peace.
