Columbus DA, attorney clash during preliminary hearing in murder of Destiny Nelson
In a contentious Columbus Recorder’s Court preliminary hearing Friday that showed the new district attorney clashing with a former member of the office, the suspect in the 2017 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Destiny Nelson pleaded not guilty.
Judge Julius Hunter granted no bond and sent the case to Superior Court, where Keyonna Latrice James, 19, will be tried for murder in a case that authorities say involved mistaken identity, revenge and gang activity.
Preliminary evidence
During the preliminary hearing Friday, assistant public defender Robin Heath King repeatedly questioned district attorney Mark Jones and Columbus police detective Matt Sitler for more evidence. They said they are reluctant to be more specific because they don’t want to dissuade other potential witnesses from coming forward and helping the prosecution.
Jones questioned whether King has a conflict of interest in the case, noting she worked in the district attorney’s office under his predecessor, Julia Slater, until resigning last week, when Jones took office. King denied such a conflict of interest, and Hunter said she wouldn’t be allowed to represent James if he thought otherwise.
James didn’t appear at the hearing.
Sitler said police have ballistic and forensic evidence, multiple witnesses, incriminating statements and social media posts to support the murder charge against James.
King asserted that the prosecution declining to present that evidence at the preliminary hearing amounted to “a paucity of evidence.”
Answering another question from King, Sitler acknowledged the prosecution doesn’t have DNA or fingerprints linking James to the crime, and he declined to say whether police have recovered the murder weapon.
“All we have so far is somebody said something about something and something,” King said. “… I’m not asking for names.”
Hunter overruled King’s objection, repeating the prosecution’s promise to share all the evidence during discovery preparation for the trial.
Wrong target
Nelson, was gunned down in her home at Bull Creek Apartments in what police said was retaliation targeting the wrong person.
James was served warrants Thursday charging her with murder in Nelson’s slaying on Jan. 16, 2017, Columbus Police Chief Freddie Blackmon said at a news conference.
James is being held in another 2017 homicide, for an April 19 shooting outside a south Columbus church.
Blackmon called Nelson’s slaying a “botched gang retaliation” for an earlier shooting. Nelson was shot multiple times in the front hallway of her home while responding to a knock at the door around 10:40 p.m., and died later at the hospital.
Police have said they suspected Nelson’s killer targeted the wrong person in retaliation for the death of Dominique Horton, 22.
Horton was killed Jan. 5, 2017, at Cusseta Road and 32nd Avenue, where a crowd had gathered to watch two women fight, authorities said. That was around 4 p.m. in the 300 block of 32nd Avenue, when a man pulled out a gun and fired shots at those who had assembled there.
James is related to Horton, Sitler said, although he said he doesn’t know the “exact relationship.”
Nelson had no connection to that shooting, authorities have said, and detectives believe whoever killed her went to the wrong apartment seeking vengeance.
Looking for more information, witnesses
In an interview with reporters after the hearing, Jones declined to name the intended target and whether Nelson was related to anybody involved in her murder.
“The person they were after no longer lived there,” he said.
Jones said he is “confident” James was the shooter but there might be more arrests in the case. He urged the public to provide more tips, promising to protect their identity.
“We just ask for help from the community,” he said. “We’ve got witnesses, but we need more. We need to make sure that violent crimes are addressed in this community and we get the convictions.”
Referring to Nelson’s family members attending the hearing, Jones said, “You have her 4-year-old sister in court today and wondering where her sister is and why she isn’t here. And we just can’t have that anymore, so I’m going to do something about it.”
Jones criticized James for not appearing at the hearing.
“She had the audacity to not even come to court,” he said, accusing her of hiding “behind her jail cell door. We’re going after her.”
Jones also further criticized King.
“I don’t want a former prosecutor who’s got specialized knowledge that could potentially disqualify her (from the case) to be beating up on my detective in court,” he said. “But nothing against her personally — a great person.”
The Ledger-Enquirer didn’t reach King for a response after leaving her a voicemail.
Who are Nelson, James?
Nelson was an honor student dual-enrolled at Early College Academy and Columbus State University. She was a member of the Early College Academy Debate Club, National Junior Honor Society and Students Against Destructive Decisions, the Ledger-Enquirer previously reported.
Rewards totaling $25,000 were offered for tips leading to a suspect in Nelson’s homicide. Blackmon declined to say whether that was a factor in James being charged.
James was 16 years old when police charged her with murder in the death of Marion Ralph, 39, whose body was found around 6:30 a.m. April 19, 2017, in the parking lot of the Pentecostal Church of God at 322 25th Ave.
Detectives alleged James was soliciting sex, saying she told them she was “tricking out” with others at Cusseta Road and 25th Avenue when she encountered Ralph, whom she identified as one of her clients.
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 10:58 AM.
