Cousin charged in 2020 death of Columbus man who was shot, left in street
It had rained hard in late November when Columbus police found Dominique Wisdom shot dead on the side of the road at Matthews Street and Torch Hill Road.
Yet Wisdom’s body was dry, Detective Robert Nicholas testified Monday in Columbus Recorder’s Court, where Wisdom’s cousin Eric Shorter faced a murder charge in the 22-year-old’s death.
Police theorized then that Wisdom had been dumped out of car Nov. 30 after he was shot through the back of the head, and that he’d been killed sometime after the downpour, Nicholas said.
Learning of his association with Shorter, investigators questioned the cousin, who told them he had been with Wisdom earlier in the day, but had dropped him off and not seen him since, the detective said.
But Shorter’s phone records, social media messages and Google account data proved that wasn’t true, Nicholas said: “He had actually been with Mr. Wisdom a lot longer into the evening.”
Checking Wisdom’s phone records, police were able to narrow the span of time in which the shooting likely occurred to six minutes, from 12:57 to 1:03 a.m., when the two cousins were together, the officer said.
Wisdom’s body was found at 1:29 a.m., police said. Deputy Coroner Elizabeth Allison pronounced him dead there at 2:15 a.m.
Questioning people who knew Shorter, investigators were told he had admitted killing Wisdom, and had divulged details that no one who wasn’t present during the shooting would know, Nicholas said.
Shorter, 25, was represented Monday by public defender Robin King. Under her questioning, Nicholas said all the police interviews were recorded on video. He said investigators had no ballistics evidence, as the bullet exited Wisdom’s head and officers found no gun or shell casing.
Police are looking for a second suspect in Wisdom’s homicide, he said. He did not name the other suspect, but police in a news release over the weekend said they had an arrest warrant for Gregory Allridge.
The release said Phenix City police arrested Shorter at 6:30 p.m. April 22. Waiving extradition to Columbus, he was booked into the Muscogee County Jail around 10 a.m. the next day.
Judge Julius Hunter found probable cause to send the case to Muscogee Superior Court. Shorter is being held without bond.
Police still are searching for Allridge, they said.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 10:46 AM.
