4 more suspects plead in fatal Columbus shooting during robbery attempt at apartment
All five suspects arrested in a 2018 shootout triggered by their trying to take drugs and money from a Sands Apartments home have now pleaded guilty.
All initially were charged with murder in the Dec. 9, 2018, fatal shooting of Derrick Maurice Scott, 34, in Apt. 8 of the 1213 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. complex, where police were called at 10:44 p.m.
Here are the four who pleaded guilty last week before Superior Court Judge Ben Land, and their negotiated sentences:
- Jaheem Diquon Rozier, 21, pleaded to voluntary manslaughter, using a gun to commit a crime, attempting to commit a felony, and two counts of aggravated assault. Land sentenced him to 50 years in prison with 30 to serve and the rest on probation.
- Christian Solomon Caulton, 21, pleaded to two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of trying to commit a felony, using a gun to commit a crime, theft by receiving stolen property, and misdemeanor obstructing law enforcement. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 12 to serve.
- Demetrius Domingo Pride, 21, pleaded to two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of trying to commit a felony, using a gun to commit a crime and misdemeanor giving police false information. His sentence was 25 years in prison with 15 to serve.
- Terrell Markell Lee, 27, pleaded to two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of trying to commit a felony and using a gun to commit a crime. Land sentenced him to 25 years in prison with 11 to serve.
A fourth defendant, Dondrell Marquez Tells, 24, pleaded guilty Jan. 14 to aggravated assault, trying to commit a felony, using a gun to commit a crime and being a convicted felon with a firearm. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 12 to serve.
All of the suspects’ murder charges were dropped.
The shooting
Police said Scott and another man were in the apartment when the five went there to rob the home of money and drugs.
Hiding a gun behind his back, Lee knocked on the door and pointed the weapon when the man there with Scott opened the door and then slammed it shut.
Lee motioned to Tells and Pride, who approached with guns drawn before shots came from inside, spurring the three to flee. That’s when Caulton and Rozier tried to force open the apartment’s back door and started firing through it, with Rozier using a rifle.
A rifle shot hit Scott in the back, and he died later at the hospital.
Officers checking the apartment’s surveillance video found high-quality photos they later disseminated to local media to help identify the gunmen.
The images of them standing outside with guns drawn led to a series of arrests, with the last suspects captured in March 2019.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 6:00 AM.