16-year-old killed man during illegal gun sale, Columbus police say

The 16-year-old charged in the Oct. 24 shooting near Young Avenue was accused of killing the victim during an illegal gun sale, according to testimony Tuesday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Andrew Scarborough, who was charged as an adult, pleaded not guilty to murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He was booked into the Regional Youth Detention Center without bond.

The case was bound over to Superior Court.

His preliminary hearing was held nearly a month after 23-year-old Lorena Ellen Coleman pleaded not guilty to giving false statements about the shooting of Dieondre Murphy, 19.

Columbus police were called to the intersection of 41st Street and Young Avenue around 1:55 a.m. Oct. 24 to investigate a shooting. They found Murphy suffering from a gunshot wound.

He was transported to Columbus Midtown Medical Center, where Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan pronounced him dead at 4:04 a.m.

Sgt. Joseph Hart said Murphy and two other people went to a home on 41st Street to conduct an illegal gun sale. Multiple people allegedly saw Scarborough run toward the back of that residence with a gun in his hand.

“During the transaction, the defendant shot the victim in the rear bedroom of the residence,” Hart testified. “Another witness also saw the defendant shooting at the victim up Young Avenue multiple times as the victim had exited the house after being shot the first time.”

Authorities said a witness reported hearing Scarborough say he “shot that motherf-----.

The defendant’s mother told detectives Scarborough returned to their home after the incident and admitted that he shot Murphy, according to police.

Three days after the killing, Coleman pleaded not guilty on Oct. 27 to giving false statements about the incident.

Cpl. Kelly Phillips said witnesses indicated that Coleman was in the bedroom where the shots were fired. Coleman initially told detectives that she was in her room alone when she heard gunfire and then ran to the front room, according to police.

Authorities said Coleman later changed her statement and said that others may have been in her bedroom with her when shots rang out in another room. She allegedly changed her statement a third time and reported that shots were fired in her bedroom, but she wasn’t there at the time.

Officials identified her as a witness during the Oct. 27 hearing.

This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 2:08 PM with the headline "16-year-old killed man during illegal gun sale, Columbus police say."