Homicide victim died of three gunshot wounds on Ticknor Drive

A Columbus man sustained multiple gunshots before his body was found April 1 in a driveway on Ticknor Drive, a preliminary autopsy report shows.

Dudley Jones Jr. , 44, died of three gunshot wounds, including two to the right chest and one to the lower back, Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan said Tuesday. No caliber of the weapon was available from the report.

Police were called to the 2200 block of Ticknor Drive about 7:15 a.m. when Jones’ body was discovered in a driveway in front of Penn Towers Apartments. He was pronounced dead at 7:55 a.m. at the scene.

At the scene, police said it appeared that Jones had been shot. The shooting remains under investigation and no motive or suspect has been identified.

Five hours before Jones was found, a man and his wife were awakened by three gunshots about 2 a.m. in an area where gunshots are frequently heard . They ended up going back to sleep without calling police but was surprised to see a section of the street sealed off with yellow police tape later that morning.

About 5:45 a.m., a Fort Benning worker walked through the driveway on his way to the Circle K. He tapped the leg of the man but never thought he might have been dead. The man said the body was still there minutes later when he returned to pick up his car and drive to Fort Benning.

Jones’ death marks the fifth homicide in Columbus this year and it follows the March 24 shooting of 25-year-old Maurice McGhee who was gunned down during a dispute over a woman outside the 317 Building of Wilson Homes. A suspect, Adrian Karl Pollard faces a murder charge in connection with the March 24 shooting.

Anyone with information on Jones death or his activities should contact Sgt. Tony Locey at 706-225-4291 or alocey@columbusga.org.

This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Homicide victim died of three gunshot wounds on Ticknor Drive."