Calvin Gullatte was in court Wednesday. The 20-year-old from Shelby, N.C., is accused of killing Sergio Trevon Leary in the early morning hours of Feb. 14 outside a Gaffney nightclub. A 20-year-old Shelby, N.C., man charged with murder for a Feb. 14 shooting outside a Gaffney nightclub claims he had nothing to do with the shooting, his attorney said in court Wednesday.

Calvin Gullatte, of Clay Street, Shelby, made his first appearance in a South Carolina courtroom Wednesday, seeking a bond in Cherokee County General Sessions Court so he can be released pending trial.

Circuit Court Judge Mark Hayes did not issue an immediate decision and no decision had been reported as of press time.

Gullatte was charged by the Gaffney Police Department with murder in connection with the 3 a.m., Feb. 14, shooting of Sergio Trevon Leary, 20, of Chamwood Lane, Boiling Springs, outside Peggy’s Place, a bar on North Petty Street.

In court on Wednesday, defense attorney Don Thompson acknowledged Gullatte was at the club but claimed his client had nothing to do with the shooting. Thompson said he was advised by Gullatte that some girls at the club started fighting and the club was closed down. Gullatte and his group of friends then left the club, he said.

“As they got halfway to their car, they heard gunshots,” Thompson relayed.

He further claimed police were provided the identity of a witness who would say Gullatte wasn’t the shooter.

Assistant Solicitor Kim Leskanic responded that an incident occurred shortly before the shooting during which a friend of Gullatte became engaged in an altercation with another man and struck him in the head with a handgun.

The victim of the alleged assault was a friend of Sergio Leary. Leskanic alleged that Leary responded by getting on his phone to call another of his friends to the scene to essentially help settle the score.

Shots were then fired and Leary was struck in the chest. He died at the scene.

Leskanic said police had witnesses who saw Gullatte fire the gun and she claimed Gullatte made statements that he fired a gun, but only fired it in the air.

Police investigators determined that all the shots fired that night came from only one gun, the prosecutor said.

In addition to denying the allegations, Attorney Thompson argued his client had extensive family ties in Shelby and no prior criminal record. He asked the court to set a bond of no more than $50,000.

Leskanic opposed bond on behalf of the state, arguing Gullatte represented a danger to the community and risk of flight. She further said the state was concerned about the possibility of witness intimidation in the case.

Gullatte’s bond hearing was held amid extra security.

In addition to the regular complement of courtroom security staff, a half-dozen detectives from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office helped escort Gullatte to the jail and helped stand watch from every corner of the courtroom.

Sheriff Bill Blanton said the extra security simply was added as a precaution.