Fingerprints recovered at fatal Wilson Apartments shooting belong to third suspect, cop says
Fingerprints and social media posts led to the arrest of a third suspect in a fatal shooting near Wilson Apartments that left two teens dead, police said in Recorder’s Court.
Rodderick Glanton, 26, made an initial appearance Thursday on two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He pleaded not guilty to the charges related to his alleged role in the June 14 shooting death of Jesse Ransom, 17, and Savieon Pugh, 18.
Columbus Police Department investigators were able to recover fingerprints from items found on the scene and matched them to Glanton, Sgt. Kyle Tuggle said during testimony.
Police were also able to identify Glanton in video surveillance footage obtained from co-defendant Homer Upshaw’s home, Tuggle said.
The video showed that several suspects “took position” outside of the home before shooting at a Dodge Dart, driven by the four victims including Jesse Ransom and Savieon Pugh, more than 50 times.
“After getting his fingerprints, we got a search warrant to look at Glanton’s social media,” Tuggle said. “At that time, using old mugshots and photos that he posted on his social media in the same reflective shirt seen in the surveillance footage, we were able to positively identify Glanton as being at the residence prior to and during the shooting.”
Ransom died on the scene at 10:45 p.m while Pugh died at 1:45 a.m. June 15. Two additional victims survived.
Tuggle told the court that CPD has outstanding warrants for several other suspects in the incident.
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 his office planned to seek the death penalty for the Upshaw brothers.
Judge Julius Hunter bound the case over to Superior Court and issued a no contact order between Glanton and the Ransom and Pugh families.
All three men are currently being held at the Muscogee County Jail on no bond.
