‘Why did Nico shoot me?’ Argument over Columbus drug property possibly led to homicide, police say

A dispute over a home used to sell drugs possibly led to the February shooting that left one 29-year-old man dead, police testified in Columbus Recorder’s Court Thursday.

Nico Fitzpatrick, 31, waived his first appearance in 9 a.m. court, but Detective Robert Nicholas and Detective William Peterson still provided testimony about February’s events and Fitzpatrick’s arrest.

Fitzpatrick is charged with murder, as well as:

• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

• Possession of a firearm during a commission of a crime

• Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute

• Possession of drug related objects

• Felony theft by conversion

Around 9 a.m. Feb. 11, police were dispatched to the 600 block of Fifth Avenue in regards to an individual being shot. Upon arrival, they found Ronnie Jackson, 29, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

During investigation, police found that Jackson was shot at around 11 times, bullets hitting his body and the car he was in, Nicholas said.

Nicholas testified that Jackson was alive and speaking when police arrived on the scene but later died of his injuries at Piedmont Columbus Regional. He made a dying declaration suggesting that Fitzpatrick had been his shooter.

“He was awake. He was alive. He was speaking. One of the things that he was saying were brought to the investigator’s attention was, ‘Why did Nico shoot me?’,” Nicholas said. “It was a dying declaration, if you will.”

According to Nicholas, there were six to seven eyewitnesses to the incident. Although none of them saw the shooting take place, their accounts loosely followed the same chain of events.

Some of the witnesses told police that Fitzpatrick was holding a gun while fleeing the scene, according to Nicholas, though after an investigation, police found that gun was not the same one used to shoot Jackson.

Police also recovered a cell phone that Fitzpatrick dropped while fleeing. Following a search warrant, police were able to tie the phone to Fitzpatrick, Nicholas said.

Fitzpatrick had recently been released from state prison after serving seven years on drug charges, Nicholas testified. According to a witness police interviewed, the home on Fifth Avenue where Jackson was shot was where Fitzpatrick would often sell his drugs. Jackson moved in after Fitzpatrick went to prison and began selling as well.

“It appeared that there were two men involved in the selling of illegal narcotics that were in an argument over real estate,” Nicholas said.

Fitzpatrick’s recent charges

On March 29, police were dispatched to the 400 block of Central Circle in Columbus in regards to a stolen vehicle. The victim told police Fitzpatrick was supposed to return her car a few days prior but hadn’t done so.

According to Peterson, police were able to locate the car in the area of Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street, where the fatal shooting had taken place almost two months prior. Upon realizing that Fitzpatrick had an outstanding warrant for murder, additional Columbus police officers and individuals from the U.S. Marshals Office responded to the scene.

When Fitzpatrick saw the officers, according to Peterson, he threw a handgun before being taken into custody. Police found he had 12 grams of crack cocaine (a street value of $1200), a scale, keys, around $74 in cash and other items on his person.

Fitzpatrick’s charges were bound over to Superior Court by Judge Julius Hunter. He also issued a no contact order in regards to the victim of the stolen vehicle.