Accused killer takes stand in Columbus murder trial, claims self-defense in cocaine dispute
The defendant in a Columbus murder trial took the witness stand Friday to testify he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a man downtown in a dispute over a cocaine deal.
Demetrius Johnson admitted shooting Jermaine Williams in the leg outside a residence on the 500 block of Third Ave. shortly after 3 p.m. on June 18, 2018, but claimed Williams first tried to pull a pistol on him.
Johnson’s claims followed testimony Thursday that he had supplied the drug to Erica Streeter, Williams’ girlfriend and the sister of Johnson’s wife, who told jurors Williams was upset about getting a “bad” batch of crack cocaine.
On the day of the shooting, Johnson had just given a friend a ride to Little Joe’s liquor store on Sixth Street when Williams flagged him down to complain about the quality of the drugs.
Johnson, who had his young daughter in the car with him, testified Friday that he did not argue with Williams. He said he left to take the child to a babysitter at the nearby Columbus Commons apartments, and then went back to refund some of Williams’ money.
Johnson said his intent was to give Williams back half the cash he’d paid, or around $125.
When he returned to Third Avenue, where Streeter and Williams regularly dealt crack, he got out of the car with the money, but Williams reached into the shorts he was wearing and tried to pull out a pistol, he said.
The gun snagged in Williams’ shorts, and Johnson pulled his own pistol, firing downward before fleeing in his wife’s black Ford Focus, he said.
A bullet passed through Williams’ left thigh, puncturing his femoral artery, and he bled to death, authorities said.
Because Johnson testified that Williams was known to carry a gun, Acting District Attorney Sheneka Terry asked why he wasn’t afraid to go back and face Williams.
He didn’t fear Williams because the two were close, replied Johnson, calling Williams his “homeboy.”
“I have plenty of homeboys who carry guns,” he said, adding he was trying to resolve Williams’ complaints.
“I came back to give him his money,” Johnson testified, later adding, “We’d just talked about it, so I didn’t think he’d be upset when I came around the second time.”
He said Williams dropped the pistol he had tried to pull from his shorts, but no gun was found at the scene. Defense attorney William Kendrick said Streeter, who witnessed the shooting, could have hidden the weapon afterward.
Streeter gave a different account of what happened, testifying Thursday that Johnson said nothing to her or Williams when he came back to Third Avenue: “He jumped out of the car with a gun and started shooting at Jermaine,” she said.
Williams ran as Streeter stood stunned, she added: “I couldn’t move. I was just standing there shocked.” She said anyone could see that Williams, shirtless with his waistband exposed, was unarmed.
She did not realize Williams was shot until she saw blood on him, she said. She called 911 at 3:17 p.m.
The trial was in its final stages Friday, with attorneys making their closing arguments that afternoon, before Judge Maureen Gottfried gave jurors instructions on the law and sent them to deliberate.
Jurors began their deliberations at 4 p.m., but within minutes told the judge they wanted to review police body-camera footage from the crime scene.
Johnson, 30, is charged with murder, aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime. Should they reject the murder charge, jurors will have the option of convicting Johnson of voluntary manslaughter instead, attorneys said.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 4:28 PM.