A single fingerprint leads police to possible shooter in death of rapper at Pizza Hut

A left hand index fingerprint led Columbus police to the man they believe shot an aspiring rap singer to death last month in a Pizza Hut parking lot, according to testimony Monday morning in Recorder’s Court.

Eric Randall Spencer has been charged in the April 6 homicide of Branden Denson, whose body was discovered April in the driver’s seat of his Jeep Cherokee at the Buena Vista Road Restaurant. Spencer entered a not-guilty plea and Judge Julius Hunter bound the case over to Muscogee County Superior Court without bond.

Spencer faces charges for murder, armed robbery, using a firearm to commit a crime, and being a convicted felon with a gun.

Columbus police Det. Robert Nicholas described for the court a set of circumstances that happened after 10 p.m. that would have made Spencer the shooter in what was called a drug-related shooting.

Denson sat in his SUV outside the restaurant for about 20 minutes, the detective said, when a dark four-door sedan pulled up alongside the passenger side of Denson’s vehicle.

A man exited the front passenger seat of the sedan and walked around to the driver’s window of Denson’s vehicle and appeared to have a conversation, the detective said black and white video from a nearby business appeared to show.

Someone exited the rear seat of the sedan and walked around the back of Denson’s Jeep and opened the rear passenger door behind where Denson was seated. The second man leaned into the vehicle and appeared to fire three shots, killing Denson, according to the detective.

It was that action that led police to Spencer, Nicholas said. Police found a fingerprint just below the driver’s side rear door handle of Denson’s SUV. That fingerprint was determined to belong to Spencer, Nicholas said.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Brown said Spencer was “potentially the shooter.” Columbus attorney Mark Shelnutt, representing Spencer, said police seemed to “infer” his client was the shooter.

As the shots were being fired, a third person exited the rear of the sedan and removed a large bag that police were told by someone close to Denson contained 16 pounds of marijuana, the detective said.

Police believe there were four people in the sedan and the driver never exited the car. Spencer is the first arrest in the case, but police said additional arrests could be coming soon. No warrants had been issued as of Monday morning, Nicholas said.

Spencer was detained on other charges Thursday and questioned about the homicide. He told detectives that he knew Denson and had purchased marijuana from him in the past, but that he hadn’t seen him in two or three months, Nicholas said.

During the questioning, Spencer was asked about the fingerprint on the Jeep door.

“At that point, he evoked his right for an attorney and the interview stopped,” Nicholas said.

Police then asked Spencer for his cell phone number and he declined, saying he wanted an attorney, Nicholas said. The cell phone was confiscated when Spencer was arrested and police have obtained a search warrant to see if there was any cell tower activity near the homicide scene.

Shelnutt called the case against his client “circumstantial and weak” in asking that the judge dismiss the charges, which he did not do.

There have been no witnesses to the shooting, and the gun and the bag of marijuana have not been recovered, Nicholas said.

“It seems like they wanted to make an arrest and see what cards come up later,” Shelnutt said.

Spencer was a member of what police described as a “neighborhood clique,” known as the “Knock Out Kings” or “KOK.” There was social media evidence to show that, Nicholas said. Shelnutt denied that his client was a member of that organization.

Members of Denson’s family sat in court, wearing T-shirts with pictures of the victim.

Denson was a rapper who went by the name “Billion Dollar BD.” His mother, Marcia Denson, said he’d been singing for about a year before his death. A native of West Palm Beach, Fla., Denson came to Columbus about six years ago, she said previously.

This story was originally published May 7, 2018 at 11:21 AM with the headline "A single fingerprint leads police to possible shooter in death of rapper at Pizza Hut."