Phone records and new eye witness emerge in shooting death of Columbus rapper
Phone records and an eyewitness place Dover Bartlett Coppins at the scene of an April 6 shooting in the Pizza Hut parking lot that left rapper Branden Denson dead, a police detective testified in Columbus Recorder’s Court Thursday.
Coppins, 24, of Columbus pleaded not guilty to one count of murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime during a 9 a.m. hearing. Judge Julius Hunter denied a motion from Coppins’ attorney Shevon Thomas to drop an armed robbery charge when no evidence was presented. Hunter ordered Coppins held without bond on the charges and sent them to Muscogee Superior Court.
Eric Randall Spencer, 29, was the first of three suspects charged in May with the same offenses in connection with the death at 4236 Buena Road. Tommie Jamal Mullins, 24, faces a murder charge after his Wednesday arrest in the shooting of Denson, who was known as “Billion Dollar BD.”
Detective Robert Nicholas said police found Denson had been shot three times in the back while sitting in the driver’s seat of a black Jeep Wrangler. Surveillance video was used to piece together what happened in the parking lot.
The video shows that Denson never left his vehicle after pulling into the parking lot about 10 p.m. Twenty minutes later, another vehicle pulls into the lot and parks next to Denson’s vehicle on the driver’s side. Coppins is identified as the first to exit the passenger side of the vehicle and walks around to the passenger side of the Jeep.
“Body language indicates they were talking,” the detective said.
While they were talking, a second male identified as Spencer leaves the vehicle and opens the passenger door behind Denson. Coppins then opens the front passenger door to the Jeep and leans inside. What’s going on inside the vehicle is not visible but there is some sort of altercation with the Jeep rocking back and forth, Nicholas said.
During the struggle inside, a third man opens the back door of the vehicle and removes a piece of luggage from the back seat. People close to Denson have told police the bag contained 16 pounds of packaged marijuana.
The first suspect, identified as Coppins, goes back around the Jeep to enter the vehicle before a muzzle flash is visible. The car then speeds from the parking lot.
A fingerprint found on the back passenger door of the Jeep came back to Spencer, Nicholas said. Not long after Spencer was arrested, an eyewitness emerged to describe the events as they appeared in the parking lot video. The witness identified Spencer and Coppins at the scene and said they exited the vehicle and one fired the gun.
The detective said phone records were searched and they put Coppins at the Pizza Hut at 10 p.m.
Thomas asked the detective about which phone Coppins allegedly used and was his residence searched. Nicholas said no phone was found at the home.
In a brief interview with police, Coppins said he never met Denson. The eyewitness knew Coppins, the detective said.
When Thomas asked what was at the scene, Nicholas said police found no gun or contraband at the location. No prints belonging to Coppins were found at the scene.
Thomas attempted to show the police didn’t prove evidence of an armed robbery.
Matt Brown, an assistant district attorney, disagreed. Coppins is placed at the scene and as the shooter, he said.
Outside the courtroom, Thomas said he’s surprised the case has been on the news and Internet the day it happened and months later somebody is going to mysteriously show up as an eyewitness.
Thomas also said the phone that police referred to is not registered to Coppins but used by him now and then.
“That is the only basis for the charges,” he said.
The attorney said he has a copy of the phone records.
“It’s not registered to him,” he said.
This story was originally published August 23, 2018 at 2:06 PM.