Jury reaches verdict in trial of Columbus man accused of murder over ‘bad’ drug deal
After three hours of deliberation that stretched past dark Friday, a jury found a Columbus cocaine supplier guilty of murder for shooting his sister-in-law’s boyfriend in a dispute over crack cocaine.
The verdict was announced hours after Demetrius Johnson took the witness stand and claimed he shot Jermaine Williams in self-defense on June 18, 2018, after Williams tried to pull a gun on him in downtown Columbus.
The jury found Johnson guilty of felony murder for shooting Williams while committing the felony of aggravated assault, guilty of aggravated assault, and guilty using a firearm to commit a crime. It found Johnson not guilty of malice or deliberate murder.
Superior Court Judge Maureen Gottfried set Johnson’s sentencing for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 3. He has a prior felony conviction and faces a maximum of life in prison. He is 30 years old.
The testimony
Trial testimony revealed the two men were in conflict over some “bad” cocaine that Johnson had delivered to Williams’ girlfriend and partner, Erica Streeter, the sister of Johnson’s wife.
Streeter testified that she and Williams sold crack outside a house in the 500 block of Third Avenue, where Williams confronted Johnson twice that day about the cocaine before the shooting shortly after 3 p.m.
The two first faced off after Johnson gave a friend a ride to Little Joe’s liquor store on Sixth Street at Third Avenue, and Williams flagged him down to complain about the quality of the cocaine.
Johnson, who at the time had his young daughter in the car with him, said he left to take the child to a babysitter at nearby Columbus Commons apartments, and then went back to refund some of Williams’ money.
When Johnson got out of the car with the cash, Williams reached into the shorts he was wearing and tried to pull out a pistol, Johnson 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.
Williams bled to death after a bullet passed through his left thigh, puncturing his femoral artery, authorities said. He was 26.
Johnson said Williams dropped the pistol he had tried to pull from his shorts, but no gun was found at the scene.
Streeter testified that Williams had no weapon, and that Johnson said nothing to her or to Williams when he came back to Third Avenue: “He jumped out of the car with a gun and started shooting at Jermaine,” she said.
Jurors began their deliberations at 4 p.m. Friday, but within minutes told the judge they wanted to review police body-camera footage from the crime scene. They did not reach a verdict until around 7 p.m., according to court records.
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 3:15 PM.