Police reveal new details in downtown Columbus motel shooting that left 2 brothers dead
The suspect accused of killing two brothers in a shooting at the downtown Columbus Motel 6 claims he acted in self-defense, but the evidence is not in his favor, a detective testified Friday.
Jacob Andrew Martel, 25, is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Eric Giddens, 21, and Quindarrius Giddens, 22, shot dead around 6 p.m. Wednesday at the 1325 Veterans Parkway motel.
Martel waived his appearance at Friday’s preliminary hearing in Columbus Recorder’s Court, authorizing public defender Robin King to represent him in his absence.
During Martel’s hearing, Sgt. Thomas Hill said Martel told investigators he had arranged to meet Eric Giddens in the room to sell him a .380-caliber handgun.
Giddens and his older brother saw Martel had left marijuana sitting out, when they arrived at Room 524, the suspect told officers. When Martel showed Eric Giddens the gun, Giddens pointed the weapon at him and said he and his brother were going to rob Martel of all he had, Martel told police.
Hill said Martel’s cousin had rented the room, but the cousin had left to run some errands: He had gone to the Muscogee County Jail to collect property belonging to Martel’s wife, who was incarcerated, and to buy food at Burger King.
The cousin told police he was returning to the room when Martel called and asked him to bring a gun that was in the car. The cousin knew nothing about Martel’s plans to sell a gun to Eric Giddens, and did not expect visitors, Hill testified.
The cousin came up to the room, his arms full, and pushed the door open with his foot. Seeing two men he did not know inside, he dropped what he was holding, pulled out the gun he’d brought and backed down a breezeway, shouting for bystanders to call police, Hill said.
The confrontation that ensued was recorded on surveillance video, without audio, showing Eric Giddens sticking his head out the motel room door and shouting at the cousin, who was yelling back at him, Hill testified. Other guests overheard the ruckus, he said.
Martel then came out of the door, walked to the cousin and grabbed the gun as Eric Giddens, carrying a gray duffel bag, stepped out of the room, Hill testified. Martel turned and fired three or four shots as Giddens fell, dropping the bag, the detective said.
Martel ran back to the room and fired more shots at Quindarrius Giddens, with one bullet striking the brother in the back, Hill said. Both victims were found face-down, one in the breezeway and one in the room, he said.
Martel and his cousin afterward tried to conceal some of the evidence, hiding the gray duffel bag and a black handbag in a first-floor stairwell and tossing another bag onto a second-floor motel roof, Hill said.
He said police found no weapons on Quindarrius Giddens. In Eric Giddens’ left, front pants pocket, they found a BB-pistol with the handle or grip protruding so that it could have appeared he had a real gun, Hill said.
But neither brother had the .380-caliber handgun, which police later found with some marijuana in the black handbag Martel hid in the stairwell, and video showed Martel walked “casually” out of the room unimpeded, the detective said.
Martel claimed he fired because Eric Giddens pointed the .380-caliber handgun at him, Hill said: “What I can tell the court is that .380 was not recovered anywhere near Mr. Eric Giddens’ body, nor was Mr. Eric Giddens on video brandishing that weapon.”
The video showed that aside from the gray duffel bag Martel afterward hid in the stairwell, Eric Giddens’ hands were empty when the shooting started, and the cousins had at least three ways they could have escaped unharmed, once Martel left the motel room, Hill said.
When questioned at police headquarters, the cousin told investigators he felt Martel’s actions were “excessive” and “went too far,” Hill said.
With the cousin’s account and the video indicating Martel was not in immediate danger when he twice opened fire on the brothers, police charged him with murder, Hill explained. Detectives so far have filed no charges against Martel’s cousin, he said.
Judge Julius Hunter found probable cause to send the case to Muscogee Superior Court, ordering Martel to have no contact with the victims’ family. Martel is being held without bond.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 11:56 AM.