Three charged after man allegedly tampered with homicide victim’s blood, vomit on scene

Three people were charged in the deadly Aug. 31 shooting on Henson Avenue after one of them allegedly tampered with the victim’s blood and vomit on the scene, according to Columbus police.

Clayton Perry, 17, and Antwuan Rashee King, 18, face one count of giving false statements, while Anthony Bernard King Sr., 43, faces one count of tampering with evidence. The younger suspects are in the Muscogee County Jail for a 9 a.m. Thursday hearing in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Authorities said Perry and Antwuan King flagged down officers at 458 Henson Ave. around 1:26 a.m. Aug. 31. They reported that their friend, 18-year-old Tremaine Taylor, was shot at that location.

Taylor was transported to Columbus Midtown Medical Center, where Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan pronounced him dead at 4:20 a.m.

Officials said further investigation indicates that Anthony King Sr. tampered with Taylor’s blood and vomit the day of the shooting. That evidence was allegedly found on the carport of his residence at 458 Henson Ave.

Antwuan King and Perry were accused of lying to police about the shooting. Officials have yet to elaborate about the accusations against them.

The charges were filed about a week after Perry pleaded not guilty in Columbus Recorder’s Court to murder in the Aug. 15 shooting of James Francesconi. The 26-year-old man was killed and robbed in the driveway of his home at 228 Wickam Drive, authorities said.

During the Oct. 23 hearing, Cpl. Robert Nicholas said Perry was arrested the day of Taylor’s death on unrelated charges stemming from a massive burglary ring involving members of the Zo’ Hannon gang. It’s a subset of the Gangster Disciples, which authorities said is the largest gang operating in Columbus.

Nicholas said Perry was being interviewed when he accused Taylor of killing Francesconi. He reported that Taylor had “money on his head from gang members here in Columbus for having been involved in the shooting,” Nicholas testified.

In the following weeks, multiple people called detectives reporting that Taylor and Perry were involved in the Wickam Drive shooting. A Zo’ Hannon gang member told detectives that he heard Taylor and Perry speaking about robbing and killing the victim, according to police.

“This individual was able provide to us some of the details of what they heard Mr. Perry talking about,” Nicholas told the court. “Those details were absolutely accurate to details and evidence that were on the scene and documented by our id techs having been at the scene. This is information that was not part of the original report of the shooting and information that has not in anyway been released to the public.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Three charged after man allegedly tampered with homicide victim’s blood, vomit on scene."