Hit-and-run Suspect Faces Judge

The man suspected of killing an 11-year-old girl in a hit-and-run accident faced a judge and the victim's family Friday.

Twenty-three-year-old Tory Fairchild made his first court appearance Friday.

Police said Fairchild was behind the wheel of a stolen Chevrolet Impala Sunday on Hightower Road in northwest Atlanta, when he allegedly hit 11-year-oldTerriona Ison, stopped briefly, and then drove off.

Police said they found Fairchild on Thursday afternoon at a friend?s house, and brought him in.

?We had some officers in the zones that took a personal interest in the case, and talked to confidential informants, and people they knew that may have some information, and eventually we were put on the track of the right person,? said Joe Cobb of the Atlanta Police Department.

During Friday's hearing, Fairchild appeared close to tears and then stood silent as the long list of charges against him was read. Prosecutors also listed a string of earlier convictions from Fairchild's record.

The families of the victim and the families of the suspect were seated just feet apart from one another in the hearing room at the Fulton County jail. The magistrate declined to set bond for Fairchild.

After the hearing, Ison's father, Terence, said he had forgiven Fairchild and that his family was grateful for tips from witnesses and the neighborhood that led to Fairchild's arrest.

"I just started shaking, and I just wanted to look him in his eye to let him know that I was there," said Terence Ison.

Fairchild is being held at the Fulton County Jail, and he faces numerous charges in connection with the incident, including felony murder and felony hit-and-run.

A bond hearing for Fairchild is scheduled for February 2.

Terriona Ison's friends and family will gather for Ison's wake Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Willie Watkins Funeral Home in Atlanta's West End.

Ison's funeral will be held Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. at the Cathedral of Faith Church of God in Christ on Avon Avenue.