Columbus police arrest third suspect in double homicide near Wilson Apartments
A third suspect has been arrested in a June drive-by shooting that left two Columbus teens dead and two others injured.
Rodderick Glanton was taken into custody Friday and charged with two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, according to a news release from the Columbus Police Department.
Glanton’s co-defendants, brothers Terrance and Homer Upshaw, face the same charges with Homer Upshaw facing an additional trafficking charge after being captured by the U.S. Marshall’s Service reportedly with 15.4 pounds of marijuana.
Suspended Muscogee County District Attorney Mark Jones previously told the Ledger-Enquirer that the District Attorney’s Office planned to seek the death penalty for the Upshaw brothers.
All three men are currently incarcerated at the Muscogee County Jail awaiting trial.
The incident
On June 14, officers were called to the intersection of 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue near Wilson Apartment Homes in reference to a shooting. Once they arrived, they found Pugh and Ransom, along with two additional victims, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Ransom died on the scene at 10:45 p.m while Pugh died at 1:45 a.m. June 15. The other two victims survived.
During Homer Upshaw’s preliminary hearing in August, Sgt. Kyle Tuggle said officers obtained video surveillance from Upshaw’s home that detailed the shooting and the events immediately preceding it.
Tuggle said a Dodge Dart, driven by Ransom, is seen passing by. Multiple people with guns then come out of the residence and took position around the site before firing at the vehicle over 50 times.
At the same hearing, Homer Upshaw’s defense attorney, William Kendrick, presented a witness who stated that gunshots came from the Dart before it was riddled with bullets. The witness said she saw the Dart go by, occupied by men wearing masks, and put her son in her car before gunfire came from the passing vehicle.
Tuggle confirmed that a gun was found in the Dart but did not match any of the casings found on scene.
Both Upshaws entered not guilty pleas and are currently being held on no bond as the case moves to Superior Court. Judge Julius Hunter also issued a no-contact order between the Upshaws and the victims’ families.
Glanton will appear in Recorder’s Court at 8 a.m. Monday.
This incident marked the 35th and 36th homicides of 2021 in Columbus. The total is now 56.
Reporter Tim Chitwood contributed to this report.
