Man wanted in deadly shooting stole friend’s car day before drive-by, police say

A man who was wanted for questioning in a deadly September shooting allegedly stole his friend’s vehicle a day before the drive-by, according to testimony Monday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Aubrey Crittenden, 32, pleaded not guilty to theft by conversion. He was booked into the Muscogee County Jail under a $1,000 bond.

Judge Julius Hunter bound the case over to Superior Court.

Columbus police officer Mike O’Keffe said a man visited the Public Safety Center around 3:30 p.m. Sept. 3 and reported his 2008 Cadillac CTS stolen.

He told authorities he was visiting his friend on Sept. 2 when a man he only knew by the nickname “Frog” approached him and asked for a ride to Lawyer’s Lane. He payed him $10 for the ride, according to police.

While on Lawyers Lane, they both decided to visit their friend at his Tillman Street home.

The victim said he was in the bathroom when “Frog” took his keys and left with his $11,000 Cadillac. He told police he didn’t report the incident immediately, because he assumed that the man would return his car.

“(The victim) told police that if he was able to get his vehicle back without any damage, he wasn’t going to press charges,” O’Keffe testified.

The victim was riding around town looking for the stolen car when they spotted it around 3 p.m. Sept. 3 at home in the 2200 block of George Street. A boy between 12 and 14 years old gave him the keys to the vehicle.

He said the boy, who he didn’t know, asked him if there were any CDs in the vehicle. He searched the car and found a leopard print mask and several CDs in the car that didn’t belong to him.

He said the boy left and headed west on Forsyth Street.

Officials spoke to a woman who said the vehicle had been parked at the George Street home since about noon Sept. 3. She identified it as a “smoker car” where people do drugs.

O’Keffe told the court Monday morning that he isn’t sure whether the vehicle was damaged.

The victim returned to the Public Safety Center and gave a more detailed description of “Frog.” He described him as a black man wearing an eye patch.

Officials showed the victim a photo lineup of multiple people, and he identified Crittenden as the suspect. Warrants were then issued.

Columbus police Lt. Greg Touchberry sent out two alerts in early November announcing that they were searching for Crittenden and 19-year-old Kuamane “Lil Q” Ford. They were wanted for questioning in the Sept. 3 shooting that left 19-year-old Takelia Johnson dead.

Johnson was killed in a drive-by around 10 p.m. Sept. 3 in the 900 block of Ewart Avenue. She was standing in front of a small city park with two people when two or three men opened fire from a moving vehicle, officials said.

No other details about the incident were released.

A day after officials sent out the alert about Ford, he was killed in a Nov. 7 shooting near Sherwood Avenue and 44th Street. No one has been charged in connection with that incident.

Crittenden was taken into custody after he was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg Nov. 6 at Columbus Fire & EMS Station 6. Gil Slouchick, the assistant police chief, said that he was probably shot at another location and dropped off at the fire station.

Crittenden was treated at Midtown Medical Center before he was placed in the jail.

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Man wanted in deadly shooting stole friend’s car day before drive-by, police say."