Here’s a list of 2020 Columbus homicides, according to the Muscogee County Coroner
Columbus over the past five years has averaged 30 homicides annually, experiencing an abrupt increase from 28 in 2016 to 44 in 2017, the most recent peak, according to Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. It had 41 homicides in 2019 and 34 in 2018.
Here is a list of Columbus homicides for the year 2020. Scroll down to view the homicides by location.
1) Jan. 1: Javante Jackson, 26.
Police called at 1:15 a.m. to Elizabeth Canty Homes off Cusseta Road found Jackson with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 2:09 a.m., according to Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. Police hours later arrested 17-year-old Dequarius Devonte Richardson, who was charged with murder, armed robbery and using a gun to commit a crime. A 16-year-old police did not immediately identify because of his juvenile status also was arrested on those charges. Detectives testifying during the suspects’ Jan. 3 Recorder’s Court hearing said Jackson was shot during an armed robbery involving a marijuana deal.
2) Jan. 11: Christopher Ratledge, 47.
Ratledge was divorcing his 63-year-old wife Debbie when she shot him and then killed herself in their Roanoke Drive home in Upatoi, where they still were living together, the coroner said. Investigators found no evidence a struggle had taken place, he said. Both were pronounced dead at 10:22 a.m.
3) Jan. 17: Dorian Gibson, 50.
Gibson was trying to break up a fight when he was shot multiple times in the torso in a parking lot at Warren Williams Homes, the coroner said. The public housing complex is in midtown between Wynnton Road and 13th Street. Rushed to Piedmont Columbus Regional at 5:51 p.m., he was pronounced dead there at 6:46 p.m. On Feb. 4, police obtained a murder warrant for Derick Garnell Jones, 17, who surrendered Feb. 20. Detectives testifying at his preliminary hearing said Jones shot Gibson as Gibson tried to intervene in a dispute involving Jones.
4) Jan. 17: Jamareion Davis, 13.
Davis was hit in the chest with a shotgun blast outside his home in the 800 block of 32nd Avenue, off Illges Road in the Carver Heights area, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at Piedmont Columbus Regional at 7:59 p.m. Authorities disclosed no information on what led to the shooting. Jaquayvius Jones, 19, has been charged with murder in Davis’ death, police said.
5) Jan. 14: Jayce Bell, 7 months.
Police said the infant’s father Jikevious Scott told them he shook his son because he feared the child was choking on baby formula. Investigators were called at 2:15 a.m. Jan. 11 to Piedmont Columbus Regional, which later had the boy transferred to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta, where the baby died at 8:34 a.m. on Jan. 14. Further investigation revealed the child died from subdural hematoma, or bleeding in the brain, caused by the shaking, police said. Scott was charged with murder.
6) Jan. 18: Cross Henderson, 21.
Henderson was shot in the lower back during a reported home invasion in the 8000 block of Upatoi Ridge, where his mother lived, said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. He was in the Upatoi Ridge residence with his brother and a friend when five intruders broke in, said Bryan, who reported that Henderson arrived at Piedmont Columbus Regional at 1:31 a.m. and was pronounced dead there at 2:07 a.m. On Jan. 22, Columbus police charged six suspects in Henderson’s homicide: Ceuion Marque English, 23; Anthony Nathan Foster Jr., 23; Trevonuis Tyriq Williams, 22; Laqwane Demarcus Kindred, 26; Mercedes Kraft, 17; and a girl, 16, whose identity had not been disclosed because of her juvenile status.
7) Jan. 23: Allen McMillan, 42.
Police found McMillan wounded when they were called at 8:48 p.m. to the 500 block of 38th Street. He died an hour later at Piedmont Columbus Regional. Detectives said witnesses described the gunman as a 5-foot-8 dark-skinned black man of medium build, between 18 and 30 years old, with a “Mad Max” hairstyle that was cut short on the sides with twists on the top. Anyone with information on the case was asked to contact Sgt. Jeff Kraus at 706-225-4374 or DKraus@columbusga.org.
8) Feb. 9: Shovown Baker, 34.
Baker, of Phenix City, was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds at Piedmont Columbus Regional at 8:44 p.m., said Deputy Coroner Charles Newton. Police first were called around 8 p.m. to Patsy Lane and Walker Street, where they found 27-year-old Trey Francis Campbell wounded. He was taken by ambulance to Piedmont, where he was listed in critical condition, authorities said. Soon after, officers were dispatched to 2464 Rice St., where they found Baker mortally wounded. On Feb. 17, police charged Campbell with murder in Baker’s death, after the suspect was released from the hospital. Police testifying during Campbell’s preliminary hearing said a dispute over $2,000 led the two men to shoot each other.
9) Feb. 11: Ronnie Jackson, Jr., 29.
Jackson was pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds at 10:26 a.m at Piedmont Columbus Regional, said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. The shooting happened around 9 a.m. on Fifth Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Streets. On March 31, detectives charged Nico Fitzpatrick, 31, with murder in Jackson’s death. During Fitzpatrick’s preliminary hearing in Columbus Recorder’s Court, investigators said Fitzpatrick shot Jackson to reclaim a residence where Fitzpatrick sold drugs, before being arrested and sent to prison. Jackson had begun using the place while Fitzpatrick was serving time, police said.
10) Feb. 19: Robert Grear, 27.
Grear was gunned down about 2 p.m. in the street on Brighton Road, off Buena Vista Road near I-185. He was pronounced dead from his wounds at Piedmont Columbus Regional. Investigators later said Grear was walking down the road when a man 18 to 30 years old in a gold or beige, older model Mercury Grand Marquis-type sedan shot him once and fled.
11) Feb. 21: Danny Jones, 62.
Police said Jones was attacked at his Wimbish Court home after he scolded children playing basketball in the street on Charter Oaks Circle, off Weems Road in north Columbus. Jones was passing through on his way home, and after he berated the kids, they told relatives who went looking for him, police said. Assaulted on Feb. 13, Jones died in the hospital a week later, after he was taken off life support, said Coroner Buddy Bryan. Police have charged Darnel Lamar Piett, 25, with aggravated assault, battery with physical harm and criminal trespass in Jones’ assault. Bryan said Jones’ manner of death is listed as homicide, though authorities still await autopsy results in this case.
12) Feb. 28: Darien Floyd, 31.
Police said Floyd was shot at a home on Urban Avenue, off Woodruff Farm Road in east Columbus. He was pronounced dead at 12:55 a.m., according to Muscogee County Deputy Coroner Charles Newton. Authorities have yet to release further details.
13) April 3: Jeremy Wisdom, 24.
Wisdom was shot around 1:30 a.m. that Friday at a home in the 2900 block of Maplewood Drive, police said. He was pronounced dead at 3 a.m. at Piedmont Columbus Regional, said Coroner Buddy Bryan. Wisdom was among a group of people inside the house when someone fired into the dwelling, hitting Wisdom, Bryan said. Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to call Detective Matt Sitler at 706-225-4367.
14) April 18: Quincy Lasason Atkins, 20.
Atkins had just marked his 20th birthday the day before he was found mortally wounded in a Dodge Charger that had crashed into a house at 2828 Cusseta Road around 5 p.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at Piedmont Columbus Regional at 5:24 p.m., the coroner said. Detectives believe Atkins was shot near 2900 Cusseta Road and wrecked while trying to flee. After a brief standoff with the suspect on May 4, police charged 23-year-old Tyshaun Quintavious Sylvester with murder and 12 other counts related to the case, and said they sought a second suspect named Jessie Harper, also 23. Anyone with information on Harper was asked to contact Detective Jason Carden at 706-225-4395 or jcarden@columbusga.org.
15) April 26: Richard Watson, 60.
Watson stopped his car on Cusseta Road to come to the rescue of a woman three men were assaulting, police said. He was in the driver’s seat, trying to get away, when his car was riddled with bullets, leaving him with multiple wounds after crashing into a telephone pole at 27th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:40 a.m. Detectives later charged 32-year-old Frankie Marquell Walker with murder in Watson’s death, and said they were looking for two other suspects.
16) May 22: Lamarion Wright, 16.
Wright was found shot near Belmont Street and Sixth Avenue in the Wilson Apartments area around 3 p.m. Police later charged Corey Tate, 14, and Nigel Walker, 16, authorities said.
17) May 31: Ricky Lee Belwood, 54.
Belwood, a homeless man, was found beaten to death around midnight at the Columbus RiverWalk off First Avenue near 22nd street. On June 12, police charged Cedric Phillips, 43, with murder.
18) June 2: Mariah Lewis, 7.
Marcus Lorenzo Lewis was trying to elude police when he raced east in the westbound lane of Macon Road before crashing into two vehicles at the Forrest Road intersection, investigators said. His daughter Mariah was ejected from the Ford Fusion as it overturned. The father was charged with murder in her death.
19) June 5: Samuel London, 40.
Police were called at 2:17 a.m. to the Foxy Lady Lounge, 3023 Victory Drive, where London was shot in the parking lot as a group of teens broke into cars, police said. He was rushed to Piedmont Columbus Regional and pronounced dead there at 3:03 a.m. Detectives so far have charged four teens in London’s death, two of them 14, one 16 and the fourth 18.
20) June 11: Centraveuz Deyon Wiggins, 24.
Wiggins was pronounced dead in the Piedmont Columbus Regional emergency room at 5:06 p.m. after he was shot in the head in the 900 block of Decatur Court, where he lived in an apartment, according to the coroner.
21) June 22: Travis Henry, 22.
Police found Henry with a gunshot wound to the chest around 7:30 a.m. on 17th Avenue at Nina Street. Investigators said the Montgomery, Alabama, man via social media was lured to Columbus with the promise of a romantic encounter, then set up for a robbery. Police charged Terreona Horton, 20; Kalaya Sumter, 17; and Lydell Maynard Sparks, 19, with murder and armed robbery, authorities said.
22) July 3: Kendrick Young, 46.
Police called just after 7 a.m. found Young shot multiple times at a roadside park belonging to the Columbus Water Works between Second Avenue and Veterans Parkway at 18th Street.
23) July 8: Deondray Lamar Williams, 26.
Police called at 8:04 p.m. to Lafayette Drive and Patton Drive found Williams shot, and medics were unable to revive him, authorities said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Zach Cole, at 706-225-4295 or zcole@columbusga.org.
24) July 11: Jeremy Sewell, 32.
Sewell, who lived on Smith Road in Fortson, was found shot in the street in the 4100 block of 16th Avenue around 8 p.m. and pronounced dead 45 minutes later, the coroner said.
25) Aug. 2: Tray Antwon Thomas, 28.
Officers called at 12:15 a.m. to reports of gunfire in the 900 block of 23rd Street learned two men were wounded and taken to Piedmont Columbus Regional, where Thomas died from his wounds at 12:48 a.m., authorities said. The wounded man, 19, was expected to recover, they said. Witnesses said the shots came from a dark colored sedan seen driving by the residence where the victims were on the front porch. Anyone with information was asked to contact Detective Robert Nicholas at 706-225-4363 or robertnicholas@columbusga.org.
26) Aug. 6: Alex Bales-Davis, 26.
Police called at 3:06 a.m. to a BP gas station at 3921 Buena Vista Road found Bales-Davis and a 23-year-old woman with gunshot wounds. The woman was rushed to the hospital, but Deputy Coroner Elizabeth Allison pronounced Bales-Davis dead at the scene at 4:09 a.m. Further investigation revealed the shooting happened at Brennan Road and St. Marys Road, police said.
27) Aug. 8: Antonio Zarie Blanding, 31.
Police found Blanding dead from an apparent stab wound when they were called around 2:30 a.m. to 32nd Avenue between Cusseta Road and Lee Street. Anyone with information on the case was asked to contact Detective Matt Sitler at 706-225-4367 or msitler@columbusga.org.
28) Aug. 14: Terrence Seldon, 27.
Police responding to reports of an unknown man “down and unconscious” were called at 11:21 p.m. Aug. 13 to Fairway Avenue and Anne Street, where they found 27-year-old Terrence Seldon dead, they said. Seldon, who had two gunshot wounds, was pronounced dead there at midnight. Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to contact Sgt. Donna Baker at 706-225-4296 or dbaker@columbusga.org.
29) Sept. 5: Lukas Boykin, 30.
Police called around 11:15 p.m. to the 4800 block of Toney Drive found Boykin dead from a gunshot wound. Deputy Coroner Charles Newton pronounced him dead at 12:05 a.m. Toney Drive is off Cusseta Road west of Interstate 185. Anyone with information was asked to contact Cpl. Roy Green at 706-225-4261 or roygreen@columbusga.org.
30) Sept. 5: Eddie Nelson Jr., 39.
A Black 19-year-old who allegedly out of racial animosity stabbed a white worker at a Columbus AutoZone on Aug. 25 was in the same dorm with Nelson in the Muscogee County Jail, where he beat the white victim to death around 1:30 a.m., authorities said.
31) Sept. 17: Jamal Watkins, 24.
Police called around 9:30 p.m. to a car crash at Ninth Street and Lawyers Lane found Watkins dead from a gunshot wound.
32) Sept. 19: Emily McDaniel, 37.
McDaniel was found sitting in a lawn chair in her carport at 1120 Rosewood Drive with more than a dozen stab wounds to her abdomen, said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan, who pronounced her dead at 10:25 p.m. She had been in a relationship with Joshuah Fredette, 44, who was charged in her homicide along his 14-year-old son, police said.
33) Oct. 14: Audrianna Nobles, 31.
Police found Nobles with multiple gunshot wounds when they were called at 6:16 a.m. to reports of a shooting near the 2800 block of Fern Street. Deputy Coroner Charles Newton pronounced her dead at 6:47 a.m.
34) Oct. 17: Travone Walton, 20.
Police called at 4:43 a.m. to Garden Drive and 25th Avenue found Walton had been shot. First responders were unable to revive him, and Coroner Buddy Bryan pronounced him dead at 5:30 a.m. Anyone with information on Walton’s death is asked to contact Sgt. Jeff Kraus at 706-225-4374 or dkraus@columbusga.org.
35) Oct. 17: Antonio Williams, 24.
Police called at 12:40 a.m. to a shooting and car crash at North Lumpkin Road and 28th Avenue found Williams’ car had struck a utility pole and chain link fence at 2744 N. Lumpkin Road. He was rushed to the Piedmont Columbus Regional emergency room with a gunshot wound, and pronounced dead there at 1:32 a.m. Anyone with information on Williams’ shooting is asked to contact Sgt. Donna Baker at 706-225-4296 or dbaker@columbusga.org.
36) Oct. 22: Andreke Laquan Hardison, 42.
Hardison was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound at the Piedmont Columbus Regional emergency room at 9:11 a.m., said Coroner Buddy Bryan. He mortally was wounded at a residence in the 4800 block of Conner Road, which is off Old Cusseta Road east of Interstate 185 and just north of the Fort Benning border.
37) Oct. 25: Jaquill Banks, 29.
Banks was gunned down in the parking lot of Columbus’ Foxy Lady Lounge on Victory Drive, police reported. He was leaving the nightclub around 2:30 a.m. when he was shot multiple times, investigators said. He died at 3:27 a.m. after an ambulance rushed him to the Piedmont Columbus Regional emergency room, they said.
38) Nov. 4: Letarius Dorsey, 33.
Police called at 6:35 p.m. to the 1500 block of Morris Road found Dorsey with a gunshot wound. Coroner Buddy Bryan pronounced him dead at 6:53 p.m. Anyone with information is asked to contact Cpl. Roy Green at 706-225-4261 or roygreen@columbusga.org.
39) Nov. 14: Leevon Jackson, 22.
Police called at 12:30 a.m. to reports of two people shot at South Lumpkin Road and Ramsey Road Leevon Jackson and another 22-year-old man wounded. Both were rushed to Piedmont Columbus Regional, where Jackson died from his wounds. Further investigation revealed the shooting happened at 1811 Riverland Drive, detectives said. Anyone with information on Jaskson’s homicide is asked to contact Cpl. Zach Cole at 706-225-4295 or ZCole@columbusga.org.
40) Nov. 15: Allen Toombs, 16.
Officers found the teen dead when they were called around 2:30 p.m. to reports of someone on the ground at Cusseta Road and Conner Road. Investigators asked that anyone who’d seen him over the past 24 hours contact Sgt. Jeff Kraus at 706-225-4374 or dkraus@columbusga.org.
41) Nov. 19: Vamonte Lequan Gray, 26.
Gray was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound at Piedmont Columbus Regional at 2:10 a.m., said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. Police said they found Gray wounded when they were called to a person shot in the 400 block of 20th Avenue at 1:58 a.m. Gray had been riding in vehicle near Wickham Drive and Tennant Avenue when several shots were fired, they said. The coroner said Gray was on an Uber ride, an online car service.
42) Nov. 27: Charles Adam Brazell, 44.
Police called to Enoch Drive at 9:53 p.m. that Friday found Brazell sitting in his car with multiple gunshot wounds, investigators said. Witnesses reported the gunshots came from a red Ford F-150 pickup truck. Enoch Drive is off Morris Road east of Illges Road. Anyone with information on Brazell’s death is asked to contact Detective William Peterson at 706-225-4391 or wpeterson@columbusga.org.
43) Nov. 30: Dominique Wisdom, 22.
Police found Wisdom shot when they were called at 1:30 a.m. to reports of someone lying in the street at Torch Hill Road and Matthews Street, investigators said. He was pronounced dead there at 2:15 a.m., said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. The intersection is between Fort Benning Road and Victory Drive, near the Fort Benning border. Anyone with information on Wisdom’s death is asked to contact Cpl. Robert Nicholas at 706-225-4363 or robertnicholas@columbusga.org.
44) Dec. 5: Raquan Jackson, 24.
Jackson was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound at 4021 Alton St. at 4:55 a.m., said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan, who said he was called to the scene at 4:28 a.m. Alton Street is between Fort Benning Road and Cusseta Road in the Willis Plaza neighborhood.
45) Dec. 19: D’aijon Cooks, 20.
Officers called at 8:44 p.m. to reports of someone shot at Piedmont Columbus Regional were told Cooks had died. Witnesses said Cooks was shot while sitting in his car on Kelly Avenue, where two men were seen running away. Kelly Avenue is off North Lumpkin Road near the Cusseta Road intersection. Anyone with information on Cooks’ shooting is asked to contact Sgt. Donna Baker at 706-225- 4296 or dbaker@columbusga.org.
46) Dec. 26: Chasity Walker, 20.
Police called at 1:43 p.m. to 827 33rd Ave. found Walker a gunshot wound. She was rushed to the emergency room at Piedmont Columbus Regional, where she was pronounced dead at 3:53 p.m., said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. Investigators charged 21-year-old Jamari Sider with murder, and asked that anyone with information on the shooting or the relationship between Walker and Sider contact Sgt. Donald Kraus at 706-225-4374 or dkraus@columbusga.org.
View the homicides on a map below. Locations are marked by blue pins.
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 4:26 PM.