Here are five of the most-read stories of the week in Columbus
1. Minister unseats Superior Court clerk
Minister Ann Hardman has unseated incumbent Superior Court Clerk Linda Pierce by a margin of 60 to 40 percent. Over the next six months, she will examine office procedures “to see how we’re doing” and look for improvements, she said. She said she was unsure how she would deal with a lawsuit Pierce has filed against city leaders over her office budget. Hardman, 59, has never sought political office. She is the chief executive officer of three ministries based here and in her hometown of Asheville, N.C.
2. Man arrested in Stone Creek Court shooting that left one dead: Alcides Ruben Washington, 33, of Columbus, was pronounced dead hours after he was shot in the head Tuesday night on Stone Creek Court, Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan said. His body will be sent for an autopsy at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Decatur. Timothy Edward Tarr, 50, was arrested around 2:33 a.m. Wednesday in connection with the shooting and initially charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Superior Court judge Superior Court Judge Ron Mullins fought off a challenge from Chief Assistant District Attorney Alonza Whitaker on Tuesday, with the incumbent judge of the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit taking 13,978 votes to Whitaker’s 10,491, according to unofficial returns from the Georgia Secretary of State’s website. County-by-county results showed Mullins winning Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion and Taylor counties. Whitaker won Muscogee County and Talbot counties, both by narrow margins. “I would like to commend Mr. Whitaker on running a campaign on such a high level,” Mullins said.
4. Detective: Young stood alongside brother as he shot man at Peachtree mall
Surveillance video shows Tekoa Chantrell Young and Terell Raquez McFarland standing alongside Xzavaien Jones on March 26 as he gunned down a man at Peachtree Mall in March, according to testimony Friday in Columbus Recorder’s Court. Young, Jones’ 23-year-old sister, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Anthony Meredith, who police said was shot in retaliation of the death of an OG Crip gang member who was killed in November. Columbus police said they are still searching for 25-year-old McFarland.
5. Big-box retailer At Home appears headed to Peachtree
A major piece of the retail puzzle at Peachtree Mall appears to have been solved, with a home furnishings and decor superstore apparently headed for the shopping center on Manchester Expressway in Columbus. At Home, a privately owned chain of home decor superstores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, confirmed Monday it has plans for Columbus, but would not pin down the location. Columbus-area construction contractors say the retailer will be entering Peachtree Mall in the former Parisian department store space bought in November by Chicago-based General Growth Properties, which owns the mall.
This story was originally published May 28, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Here are five of the most-read stories of the week in Columbus."