Key witness in murder case charged with felony perjury

The state’s key witness in the Reginald Jackson murder case was back in Columbus on Wednesday to face a felony perjury charge four months after a jury found Jackson not guilty.

Travis Porter, 34, was picked up Tuesday at Ware State Prison where he was serving time for felony possession of marijuana and taken to the Muscogee County Jail. He pleaded not guilty to the charge during a 2 p.m. Columbus Recorder’s Court hearing. Judge Mary Buckner ordered Porter held on a $25,000 bond and bound the case over to Superior Court.

Porter was a passenger in a 2010 Ford Focus on Oct. 29, 2013, when he was wounded and the 23-year-old driver Dior Cheney was killed after a gunman fired shots into the car at Benning Drive and Head Street.

Two days after the shooting, Police Detective Joby Duncan said Porter told police that Jackson was the shooter on the street that day. Porter was at the police department for a second interview on Jan. 24, 2014. Porter said he and Cheney were at a crack house trying to buy some marijuana when Jackson and Porter stared at one another before they left without buying marijuana.

As the Ford Focus approached the intersection on Benning Drive, Porter said the lights hit Jackson on the street before the shooting. Jackson also was identified in a photo lineup.

Porter’s testimony changed April 4, when he was called as a witness to testify. He told the court the person who shot him wasn’t Jackson. Duncan said Porter also denied recognizing anyone in the photo lineup.

Three times, Porter testified that Jackson didn’t shoot him or Cheney. Based on the statement from Porter, Jackson was found not guilty of the murder.

Porter was represented by public defender Charles Lykins, who asked the detective whether Porter was pressured into making the testimony at trial.

“There was rumors and speculation on that but nothing I can prove,” Duncan said.

In his testimony on Wednesday, Porter said he told senior Assistant District Attorney Don Kelly before the trial that Jackson didn’t shoot him.

“I changed my statement before we went to court,” he said.

Porter said he also had been on drugs during his stay in the hospital and he was evaluated by a mental health staff.

This story was originally published August 17, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Key witness in murder case charged with felony perjury."