Man charged in deadly shooting of witness in 2016 murder trial

A 19-year-old was charged in the Sept. 4 Farr Road shooting in which a key witness in a 2016 murder trial was killed the day before he was supposed to appear in Superior Court.

Robert Furr was charged with murder in the shooting of 35-year-old Travis Porter, who was a star witness in a 2016 murder trial. He was booked into the Muscogee County Jail, where he awaits a 9 a.m. Saturday hearing in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Columbus police will request the hearing be rescheduled to 9 a.m. Tuesday.

In 2016, Reginald Jackson was found not guilty of murder and other charges in the 2013 fatal shooting of 23-year-old Dior Cheney. The victim was driving a 2010 Ford Focus when he was killed and Porter, the passenger, was wounded by a gunman who fired shots into the car at Benning Drive and Head Street.

Jackson, 26, was acquitted after Porter took the stand and denied Jackson was the shooter, recanting what authorities said he previously told them.

“I just told them whatever so they’d leave me alone,” Porter told Senior Assistant District Attorney Don Kelly at the 2016 trial.

James T. Edwards Jr., who also was a witness in the case, told the court he couldn’t recall any statements he gave to police.

Officials said Porter was killed around 8:44 a.m. Sept. 4 in shooting at Hannah Heights Apartments at 909 Farr Road. He was transported to Columbus Midtown Medical Center, where Muscogee County Chief Deputy Coroner Freeman Worley said he was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m.

At the time of his death, Porter was facing felony perjury charges related to his testimony in the 2016 murder trial. He was scheduled to be in Superior Court in front of Judge Frank Jordan on Sept. 5, according to court records.

Three days after Porter’s death, Jackson pleaded not guilty to murder charges stemming from two unrelated July shootings.

He was accused in the killing of 34-year-old Brandon Scott, who was shot around 2 a.m. July 7 at 831 Rigdon Road.

Jackson was also charged in the shooting of 34-year-old Michael Fleming, who was found dead around 5:37 a.m. July 10 in the trunk of a stolen vehicle at the intersection of Head Street and Harbison Drive.

Sarah Robinson: 706-571-8622, @sarahR_92

This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Man charged in deadly shooting of witness in 2016 murder trial."