Key witness in Charlie Artis murder trial gets 30 years

The burglar, robber and rapist who testified against two men convicted of killing Columbus barber Charlie Artis is to spend the next 30 years of his life in prison.

Demetrice Octavion Scott, 24, may not go free until the year 2046, when he will be 54, and then he’s to spend the rest of his life on probation.

He faced multiple life sentences under his initial charges, which included murder, but in exchange for his testimony, prosecutors made a deal to drop the murder charge and give him 30 years to serve.

Assistant District Attorney Wesley Lambertus noted 30 years is equivalent to a sentence of life with possible parole, as such convicts are eligible for parole in 30 years.

Scott was the state’s prime witness in the trial of Donteviouse Doleman and Edward Lee, who were convicted of murder in Artis’ Jan. 5, 2012, fatal shooting, along with a string of other crimes.

Judge Art Smith III already sentenced Doleman to two life sentences with possible parole, and Lee to life without parole. Scott’s sentencing repeatedly was delayed before he came before Smith on Wednesday.

Smith’s giving Doleman two sentences of life with parole means he has to serve at least 60 years before he’s eligible for release. Like Scott, Doleman is 24 now.

Besides life without parole, Lee, who’s 23, got an additional 15 years on charges of using firearms to commit felonies.

If Doleman is paroled, he is to be banished from the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit that includes Columbus, the judge said.

According to court records, Scott was sentenced on these charges, to which he pleaded guilty Feb. 15: three counts each of armed robbery, aggravated assault and burglary, four counts of using a firearm to commit a felony, and one count each of rape, felony theft, attempting to commit a felony, and misdemeanor theft.

While sentencing Scott, Smith also ordered him to register as a sex offender and have no contact with any of the surviving seven victims of the trio’s crime spree, nor with anyone in Artis’ family.

According to trial testimony, Scott knew Artis, 30, never used a cash register at Charlie’s Barbershop in Gunboat Plaza off Milgen Road, so Artis always had a wad of cash in his pocket. Scott suggested the robbery to Lee and Doleman.

Around 3 p.m. that day, they drove past the shop on Gunboat Drive before parking east of the plaza at Stratford Lane Apartments, where Lee left with a .38-caliber revolver to rob Artis. He waited outside the shop until Artis took a break to walk to his car while making a cell phone call, and ambushed him in the parking lot, shooting him in the chest.

Lee then ran back to the apartments to rejoin Scott and Doleman.

The crime spree that included Artis’ murder stretched from Dec. 15, 2011, to Jan. 19, 2012, and included these offenses:

• A Dec. 15, 2011, robbery in which Scott and Doleman took a woman’s Kia Sport at gunpoint.
• A second Dec. 15, 2011, armed robbery in which all three took a woman’s Lexus.
• A Dec. 20, 2011, attempted robbery and shooting at Hometown Grocery, 1159 27th St., where Lee shot at a 47-year-old man leaving the store, damaging a 2008 Honda Odyssey.
• A Dec. 21, 2011, burglary at a 19th Street apartment, where Scott and Doleman took a TV, prescription drugs and the keys to a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox that was stolen six days later.
• A Jan. 6, 2012, break-in at a 14th Street residence where they took $6,000 worth of goods.
• A Jan. 11, 2012, burglary in which the three broke into a home in the 2300 block of 14th Avenue.
• A Jan. 15, 2012, break-in on 23rd Street, where at gunpoint Scott raped the woman living there as the three took $1,000 worth of loot along with her 2006 Chevrolet Aveo.
• A Jan. 19, 2012, theft in which Scott, Doleman and Lee took a neighbor’s Xbox game system.

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Key witness in Charlie Artis murder trial gets 30 years."