Columbus murder trial moved after jurors get stuck on Government Center elevator
A Columbus murder trial is being moved to the ground floor of the Columbus Government Center tower after “multiple jurors” Tuesday were trapped on an elevator.
The malfunctioning elevator was stuck between the tower’s plaza level and ground floor just after noon, and its occupants were evacuated using a ladder, observers said.
How long they were trapped was unclear. Witnesses at the Government Center thought it was up to an hour, but Columbus Fire Marshal John Shull said a crew from the fire department had them out in 20 minutes.
Superior Court Judge Ben Land said attorneys had just picked the jury in the three-defendant trial, and the judge had dismissed them for lunch. He went to his office to work, and learned about 1:15 p.m. that the jurors were being rescued, he said.
“I don’t know how many were on there, but I was told it was multiple jurors,” he said. “They understandably were upset by virtue of having been stuck for what appears to be an hour.”
That prompted him to end Tuesday’s court session and have jurors return at 9 a.m. Wednesday to the jury assembly room on the Government Center’s ground floor, where court will be set up so the jury does not have to use the elevators again, he said.
Those who witnessed the emergency said the elevator that jammed was on the building’s west side, adjacent to another west-side elevator now devoted to construction crews working on the building. Neither was available for public use Tuesday afternoon.
The trial’s new location will prevent setting up a separate public “viewing room” where spectators can watch the trial on a closed-circuit TV, Land said. The jury assembly room is not equipped to televise the proceedings, he said.
The room should have ample space for spectators to watch the trial in person, he added.
Land said he did not want jurors feeling anxious about riding elevators to the tower’s upper floors.
“My concern is this jury and the safety and comfort of this jury ... and I think that it is best to have the jury as comfortable as they can be throughout this process, and given what has happened today, I think that is best accomplished by finishing the trial on the ground floor where they do not have to get on an elevator.”
Facing trial are three suspects in the Nov. 17, 2017, fatal shooting of 18-year-old Javion Shorter, found wounded in the left arm and abdomen when authorities were called around 2:30 a.m. to Building 14 of Ballard Way Apartments, 5600 Hunter Road.
The defendants are Nashira Miller, Javon McClendon and Daijon Williams.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 3:48 PM.