Man killed innocent woman in drive-by while trying to avenge brother’s death, police say

The man charged in the Sept. 3 drive-by shooting near Ewart Avenue was trying to avenge his brother’s death when he allegedly killed an innocent woman, according to testimony Tuesday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Adrian Harris, 30, pleaded not guilty to murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He was ordered held in the Muscogee County Jail without bond.

Judge Julius Hunter bound the case over to Superior Court.

Columbus police were called to the 900 block of Ewart Avenue around 10 p.m. Sept. 3 to investigate the shooting of 19-year-old Takelia Johnson and 32-year-old Aubrey Crittenden.

Johnson was pronounced dead on the scene and Crittenden fled the scene wounded.

Authorities said Johnson was standing in front of a small city park with two people when shots were fired from a moving 2016 Kia Soul. About two or three people were in the vehicle at the time, according to police.

Two days later, officials found the Kia at the intersection of 29th Street and Bradley Circle with a shattered window. Inside the car were shell casing similar to the ones found at the crime scene, Sgt. Mike Dahnke told the court.

On Nov. 6, multiple people reported that 19-year-old Kuamane “Lil Q” Ford was the driver in the deadly drive-by shooting. They also stated that Harris fired shots from the backseat, according to police.

Dahnke told the court that Crittenden is a known associate of Brandon “Chip” Senior, the 31-year-old man charged with murder in the Aug. 22 shooting on Fourth Avenue that left 33-year-old Tamir Harris dead.

Tamir and Adrian Harris are brothers. Dahnke said Adrian Harris was seeking revenge for his brother’s death when he shot Johnson and Crittenden. Lt. Greg Touchberry confirmed that Johnson was an innocent bystander.

“There are some folks that have reported to us that Aubrey Crittenden was on Fourth Avenue at the time of Tamir Harris’ death,” Dahnke testified.

Authorities sent out two alerts in early November announcing that they were searching Crittenden and Ford. Authorities said they wanted to question both men about the incident.

A day after authorities announced that they were searching for Ford, he was killed in a Nov. 7 shooting near Sherwood Avenue and 44th Street. At the time, detectives were in the process of obtaining murder warrants for him in the September shooting.

No one has been charged in Ford’s death.

Crittenden was taken into custody on Nov. 19 after authorities found him suffering from a gunshot wound at the Columbus Fire & EMS Station 6 at 1126 Brown Ave. Gil Slouchick, the assistant police chief, said it’s likely that he was dropped off at that location.

The location of the shooting is unknown. No one has been charged in that incident.

Crittenden also told police that Adrian Harris, who he knew as “A-Train,” shot him and Johnson in the drive-by.

Officials issued warrants for Adrian Harris, who allegedly told detectives he was at home eating food from Captain D’s when he heard about the shooting on Facebook.

Two women who said they were living with Adrian Harris at the time of the incident also said he was at the home during the drive-by. They had not reported that to authorities prior to the hearing, but they told the judge they would be willing to speak with police after court.

This story was originally published December 5, 2017 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Man killed innocent woman in drive-by while trying to avenge brother’s death, police say."