Columbus murder victim bled to death from single leg wound, medical examiner testifies
Jermaine Williams died from a single wound to his left thigh after he was shot on the street in Columbus’ Historic District, a medical examiner testified Wednesday in Muscogee Superior Court.
Dr. Andy Wassum was a witness in the trial of Demetrius Johnson, charged with murder, aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime in Williams’ June 18, 2018, shooting on Third Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets.
Wassum said the bullet passing through Williams’ leg punctured his femoral artery, so he soon bled to death.
The assault was recorded on security cameras at Fourth Street Baptist Church, 222 W. Fifth St., a church deacon testified.
Another witness, a woman who works at Little Joe’s liquor store, 306 Sixth St., said Johnson occasionally gave her a ride to her job from her home on Hamilton Road. The day of the shooting, Johnson took her to work around 3 p.m., and had his young daughter in the car at the time, she said. She did not see what happened after he dropped her off, she said.
Police said Johnson still had the girl with him when he first confronted Williams on the street, after leaving Little Joe’s, so he dropped her off at an apartment in nearby Columbus Commons before circling back.
When he returned, he got out of his 2009 black Ford Focus with a handgun and shot Williams, who tried to run away, investigators said. They said the car later was found parked at the Econo Lodge on Veterans Parkway, where a clerk told them Johnson had rented a room.
During Johnson’s June 26, 2018, preliminary hearing in Columbus Recorder’s Court, Detective Sherman Hayes testified Johnson fired four or five shots, and Williams, wounded, continued to run until he collapsed at Third Avenue and Sixth Street.
The officer said Johnson and Williams had been involved in a conflict on Facebook. Hayes did not specify what provoked the dispute, but prosecutors in Johnson’s trial said it involved a drug transaction.
On Wednesday, Detective Stuart Carter testified that using surveillance video and witness accounts, police determined Williams was shot outside 532 Third Ave., where Carter found a .40-caliber shell casing. A second detective, Anthony Locey, said he also found a .40-caliber casing there.
Johnson, 30, is represented by Columbus attorney William Kendrick. Acting District Attorney Sheneka Terry is the lead prosecutor, assisted by Assistant District Attorney Peter Hoffman.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 12:39 PM.