Murder suspect called man 9 times to meet him outside, then shot him on porch, police say

The man accused of killing a 25-year-old father on a front porch called the man nine times to meet him outside the night of the Aug. 20 shooting, according to testimony Thursday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Brandon “Chip” Senior, 31, pleaded not guilty to murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and possession of a crime by a convicted felon. He was ordered held without bond in the Muscogee County Jail.

Judge Julius Hunter bound the case over to Superior Court.

Columbus police were called to 2229 Eighth St. around 9:34 p.m. Aug. 20 to check on a shooting victim. They found Nathan Johnson wounded on the front porch of a home. He was rushed to Midtown Medical Center, where Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan pronounced him dead at 10:01 p.m.

Columbus Police Cpl. Stuart Carter said Johnson, a father of three who was expecting a fourth child, was playing cards in a home with multiple people when Senior forced his way into the home. There was an altercation between the men and Senior left, according to police.

Carter told the Ledger-Enquirer he has an idea of what the dispute may have been about, but he declined to disclose that information.

After speaking with witnesses and checking phone records, detectives said they determined that Senior called Johnson nine times and sent him a text telling him to meet him outside. Johnson was shot moments after he met the suspect on the front porch, Carter testified.

Witnesses reported seeing Senior fleeing the area.

Trelise Glanton, the victim’s aunt, told the Ledger-Enquirer four days after the incident that she was still in shock.

“He wasn’t a bad person more than people are in general, but he did his part,” said Glanton, who called her nephew “T-Bone” said. “He was a good person. He didn’t deserve to die. He surely didn’t deserve to die like that at all.”

Two days after Johnson’s death, Senior allegedly shot a father execution-style in front of his three kids in the block of Fourth Avenue. Tamir Rice, the 33-year-old victim, died of a gunshot wound to the head, Bryan said.

Senior was taken into custody on Aug. 22 after a standoff at an apartment in the 3200 block of Fourth Avenue. Officials said they searched his residence and found bloody Nike shoes.

“We believe at this time that was either going to be blood from our first homicide or our second homicide,” Carter told the court.

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Murder suspect called man 9 times to meet him outside, then shot him on porch, police say."