‘I don’t know what happened.’ Family says alleged fatal shooting between brothers an accident
How one brother came to shoot another at their grandmother’s home Wednesday was a matter of dispute during an emotional hearing Friday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.
Marquavious Ford, 21, is accused of killing his younger brother Quindarious Ford, 17, at the home on Avalon Road, where police said a child witnessed the shooting.
Sgt. Kyle Tuggle said the witness told police the siblings had “an exchange of words” before the gunshot, but whether the brothers were arguing or engaging in playful banter wasn’t clear. Tuggle testified the child, questioned at the Children’s Treehouse, told investigators the firearm “was brandished” before it was fired.
When asked what words the brothers used, Tuggle said the witness reported both were saying “I’ll shoot you,” though only one had a gun.
Defense attorney Ralston Jarrett later told reporters the witness is a younger sister, a teenager. Whether the brothers had any exchange before the shooting is still to be determined, he said.
Tuggle said he questioned Marquavious Ford at police headquarters, where Ford told him he had been carrying the gun in his left armpit, and the weapon discharged while he was adjusting it. The suspect denied pulling the weapon out or trading words with his brother beforehand, Tuggle said.
The detective said clothing and other evidence had not yet been tested to see if it sheds light on how the gun was fired. Police recovered the weapon in the house, and Marquavious Ford remained there until patrol officers arrived, he said.
At least three other relatives were in the home, but only the brothers and the sister were present during the shooting, the sergeant said.
Officers were called to the home at 4:32 a.m. Wednesday, and the victim was pronounced dead at Piedmont Columbus Regional at 5:15 a.m., authorities said.
The family
The Ford family said Marquavious Ford would not have harmed his brother intentionally.
“He did not mean to do it. He would never hurt his brother,” Tawanna Ford, an aunt, testified during Friday’s hearing. “He loved his brother. He loved his sister. Something went wrong.... He didn’t mean to do it. He did not mean to do it.”
The siblings’ mother, Tamber Ford, testified Marquavious Ford would not have injured anyone in his family on purpose.
“Marquavious would never hurt any one of us,” she said. “He would never hurt us. I don’t know what happened.”
She began to sob, as other relatives comforted her.
Judge Julius Hunter found probable cause to send the case to Muscogee Superior Court. Charged with murder and using a firearm to commit a crime, Marquavious Ford will be held without bond.
Should the case go to trial, a jury will decide whether the shooting was an accident, Hunter said.
Jarrett, the defense attorney, said he will ask a Superior Court judge to set a bond on the charges so his client can be released, to rejoin his family.
“We want the jury and the public to know that accidents do happen,” the attorney told reporters after the hearing.
Asked about the family’s disputing police testimony that Quindarious Ford was shot in the head, Jarrett said: “According to the detective, it was the head. I’ve heard otherwise, but today was just to get a general idea of what police are alleging.”
He’ll have to review the evidence to determine the facts, he said: The immediate priority is to get a bond so Marquavious Ford can get out of jail.
“He’s distraught” Jarrett said. “That was his younger brother. Nobody really knows what happened in there besides him, and his brother who’s now deceased, so he’s seen a lot. He’s been through a lot, you know, to be playing with your brother one minute, and the next minute he’s gone.”
He said the younger sister “allegedly” witnessed the shooting, but he would have to see all the evidence to determine exactly what happened.
“She’s a teen, and if she really did see what happened, she may have been distraught when they questioned her, so there are a lot of things we have to piece together,” Jarrett said.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 12:35 PM.