‘It’s just heartbreaking.’ Mother of man killed on Cusseta Road speaks out at court
When a Columbus mother spoke to her son over the phone one April day, she had no idea it would be the last time she ever heard his voice.
“So the last words I said to him, which I say to all my kids’ friends and families, is ‘I love you’ and he said ‘I love you too,’” Felicia Atkins, mother of Quincy Atkins, said outside of Recorder’s Court Thursday morning.
Quincy Atkins died of multiple gunshot wounds on April 18 at Piedmont Columbus Regional. He was found fatally wounded after crashing into a residence on Cusseta Road.
Tyshaun Sylvester, 23, was charged in the case and made his first appearance in Recorder’s Court Thursday. He faces a total of 13 charges related to the homicide:
- Three counts of possession of a firearm
- Three counts of armed robbery
- Two counts of theft by receiving
- One count of possession of marijuana
- One count of possession of a firearm at the scene of a crime
- One count of obstruction of an officer
- One count of possession of drug related paraphernalia
- One count of murder
Felicia Atkins has lived in Columbus for 23 years. She was born in Chicago, but grew up in Los Angeles and thought that coming to Columbus would be the perfect place to raise her kids, she said.
However, it was here where Quincy died. Quincy’s father is also deceased, which means his father’s legacy ended with him, Felicia said.
“When I was his age, or younger than him, I used to run from bullets. We used to have drive by shootings and we were ducking and dodging,” Felicia said. “It’s just heartbreaking.”
Felicia said that despite the image that her son would often portray on social media, he was a kind individual. She said she raised her children to have good morals.
“No, my son is not a gangbanger. Yes, you might see him online with his finger up or doing this or that and we might not like it, but that don’t make them a bad person,” Felicia said.
Judge Julius Hunter bonded all of Sylvester’s charges over to Superior Court. A second individual, Jessie Harper, 23, is currently still on the run from police with an active arrest warrant.