UPDATE: Jury reaches mixed verdict in three-man Decatur Court murder trial

After almost two days of jury deliberation, a murder case against three Columbus men accused of shotgunning an Army man to get his money finally has ground to an end.

The result: Willie T. “Jack” Jones was found guilty of murder, armed robbery and having a firearm while committing a crime. Judge John Allen sentenced him to life without parole.

Tavares D. “Black” Lowe was found not guilty of those same charges.

Shannon C. “Scooter” Fields was found not guilty of murder and having a firearm while committing a crime. The jury deadlocked on his charge of armed robbery.

A fourth man, Ronnie Charles Blue, 21, still faces the same charges, but his trial has been delayed because his attorney is ill.

They were charged in the death of 30-year-old Wayman Glenn James Jr., who June 15, 2010, was shot in the head outside 917 Decatur Court.

Assistant District Attorney Doug Breault gave this account of the slaying:

James was drinking with friends and showing off a wad of cash and a 9 mm pistol at the Decatur Court apartments when Blue decided to rob him. Blue sought help from Lowe, who lived on Decatur Court.

Lowe went to Jones and Fields and convinced them to join the plot, Breault said. Fields and Jones got a pistol and 12-gauge shotgun, donned black clothing and waited by the Decatur Court apartments for Blue to signal them. When Blue gave the signal, Fields and Jones approached James from behind, said the prosecutor.

Jones then shot James with the shotgun, Breault said: “He shot him in the head at very close range with the shotgun. ... The medical examiner will state the death was instantaneous.”

Breault said the police investigation led officers to Jones’ Terminal Court apartment where they found a shotgun and black clothes.

But no ballistics test showed the shotgun was used in the slaying. Defense attorneys seized on the lack of forensic evidence and challenged the credibility of witnesses present the night of the shooting.

“Not worthy of belief — that’s a phrase I want you to remember,” said attorney Robert Wadkins Jr., who represented Jones. “Every single person that’s going to get up there has a reason to lie.”

Wadkins said the only physical evidence linking his client to the crime was an expired bus pass police found in the apartment. He faulted police for not questioning a man whose valid driver’s license was found near the bus pass in the same apartment.

“The state is asking you to convict my client based on rumor and not evidence,” Wadkins said. “You don’t need to be a scientist to know that if you put on a ski mask in June in Columbus, Georgia, you’re probably going to leave some DNA in there, but they didn’t find it.... The state’s case is full of reasonable doubt."

Attorney Stacey Jackson, who represented Fields, said some witnesses had criminal records.

“Although gruesome though it may be, it does not lead anyone or point to who may have committed the crime,” Jackson said of police crime-scene photographs. “There’s absolutely no forensic evidence whatsoever that links Mr. Fields to this crime.”

Attorney Bentley Adams, who represents Lowe, said his client isn’t accused of firing a gun or directly assisting in the shooting.

“Tavares Lowe was not involved in this horrible crime, and you will not hear sufficient evidence to convince you otherwise during the course of this trial,” Adams said. “It’s a lack of evidence in this case that’s going to be most glaring.” Vicki Novak also emphasized the lack of physical evidence to incriminate Lowe, whom she represented with Adams.

“Here’s what we’ve learned: Tavares Lowe lives at 917 Decatur Court,” Novak said, pacing the courtroom during her closing. “Is that a crime?”

This story was originally published December 12, 2011 at 3:14 PM with the headline "UPDATE: Jury reaches mixed verdict in three-man Decatur Court murder trial."