Suspect turned key witness in Columbus murder trial recants testimony on the stand
The prosecution witness who last week testified against four men accused of killing a Columbus rapper to rob him of a suitcase of marijuana recanted that testimony on the witness stand Wednesday.
Called to the stand by the suspects’ defense attorneys, Eric Spencer Jr. said he lied about the roles his former cohorts played in the April 6, 2018 robbery and fatal shooting of Branden Denson, found dead outside a Buena Vista Road Pizza Hut.
The defense first played a phone call Spencer made Friday from the Harris County Jail to a man identified as the brother of one of the suspects, Dover Bartlett Coppins, the alleged shooter in the case.
On the recorded call, Spencer could be heard saying he feared his girlfriend, who had rented the car used in the robbery and homicide, could have been charged in the case had he not cooperated.
He also said he was not pleased with his plea deal, in which his murder charges were dropped as he pleaded guilty to armed robbery and gun offenses for a sentence of 25 years in prison with 10 to serve.
“I was like 25, do 10? That’s too much,” he said on the call.
Without his plea deal, Spencer would have faced life without parole, if convicted, because of his criminal history.
Spencer on the call also acknowledged that he’d already testified to his role in the heist. “I already admitted to it,” he said, later adding, “I ain’t have no choice.”
Besides Coppins, the other defendants on trial are Tyree Jaquan Smith, Tommie Jamal Mullins Jr., and Johnathon Lemorris Swift, each charged with murder. Spencer testified against them on March 24 and 25.
New testimony
Under questioning Wednesday by defense attorney Stacey Jackson, who represents Mullins, Spencer said he lied on the witness stand, agreeing with Jackson that he had told “untruths.”
He later was cross-examined by Acting District Attorney Sheneka Terry, who asked him specifically what he had lied about.
“Just what I said about them,” he replied.
She again asked him to be specific.
“Everything that I said that they did,” he answered.
He denied that three of the four defendants were with him in his girlfriend’s rented Hyundai Elantra the night they allegedly robbed and killed Denson. Mullins, who was alleged to have set up the robbery, did not go to the Pizza Hut with them, Spencer previously testified.
Spencer testified earlier that he and his family had been threatened, and he had been attacked while in the Muscogee County Jail. He later was moved to the Harris County Jail, and then to the jail in Troup County.
When Terry asked Wednesday whether he still felt threatened, he answered, “I’m straight.” He repeated that until Terry asked him to define what it meant, and he said it meant he was all right.
Defense attorneys already have hammered the prosecution’s reliance on Spencer’s testimony, arguing he lied to authorities so often that he was not a credible witness.
But homicide detectives said the witness, who detailed the robbery and homicide using a marker board during a police interview on July 2, 2018, and re-enacted it with substitute vehicles four days later, gave an account that matched the evidence they found.
They said suspects frequently lie to police, who have to sift through what they’re told to discern what’s true and what isn’t.
Detectives Robert Nicholas and Stuart Carter testified that they believe Spencer told the truth, when he recounted the sequence of events that led to Denson’s death.
Nicholas said he initially believed Spencer shot Denson, until he re-evaluated the evidence, and decided Spencer’s version was more accurate.
Spencer in his earlier testimony described the other suspects’ alleged roles in the robbery and shooting, saying Mullins arranged the rendezvous with Denson; Swift drove the Elantra; Smith took the marijuana from Denson’s Jeep Wrangler; and Coppins fired the fatal shots as they drove away.
Spencer said his role was checking Denson for weapons as Coppins held Denson at gunpoint.
After the robbery, the suspects again met with Mullins, who divided the 16 pounds of marijuana among them, keep 10 to 12 pounds for himself, Spencer testified earlier.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 3:26 PM.