Trial witnesses recall bloody fight and fatal shooting in Columbus marijuana robbery
Dylan Haskell froze in fear against the wall of a back room in his friend Ronald Davis’ Columbus home.
In the kitchen behind him, Davis and Saleem Jackson were engaged in a life-or-death fight over a 9-millimeter pistol Jackson had brought there to rob Davis of four ounces of marijuana, during a drug deal Haskell had set up.
Unaware of Jackson’s plan to rob Davis, Haskell had expected him to pay for the marijuana, when Jackson reached into his pocket, and instead of cash pulled out a pistol, Haskell testified this week in the murder trial of Valintino Tucker, Jackson’s brother.
When Jackson pointed the gun at Davis and pulled the trigger, the pistol only clicked, Haskell said
Then Davis grabbed Jackson and threw him against the front door, breaking a window, as they fought over the gun, Haskell said. That’s when he panicked and ran into the back room.
He was standing there, by the wall, when he heard a gunshot, he said, and he froze, thinking he would be shot next.
Instead he heard tires squealing, peeked around the wall, and saw Jackson’s van speeding away, he said.
He yelled at Davis to get up, and when Davis didn’t move, he fled, he said.
The trial
Haskell was a key witness to Davis’ Nov. 15, 2016 homicide, as he agreed to cooperate with police early in their investigation.
He testified that he met Jackson in 2015 while being held on a burglary charge in Troup County, and they got reacquainted on Facebook after their release.
Haskell said Jackson wanted to score some money selling drugs, and Davis regularly dealt in marijuana, so he set up the deal, telling Jackson, who’s from LaGrange, to meet him at a Manchester Expressway Pizza Hut near Davis’ 17th Avenue home.
Jackson showed up there with Tucker, whom Haskell did not expect, he said. He got into their Dodge Caravan and drove to Davis’ home, where he and Jackson went inside, while Tucker waited in the van, he said.
He said Davis showed Jackson the marijuana, and Jackson demanded he weigh it, then pulled out his pistol, sparking the struggle that followed.
Haskell and Jackson are not on trial because both have pleaded guilty to lesser charges, and agreed to testify against Tucker.
Jackson’s testimony
Jackson took the witness stand after Haskell, and gave more details.
He said he wasn’t sure whether his Kel Tec 9-millimeter misfired, or whether he did not pull hard enough on the trigger, as he had not shot it before.
A firearms expert later testified that the gun’s firing pin was broken.
When the pistol didn’t fire, Davis grabbed Jackson, pinned his arms, slammed his head against a kitchen table, and threw him against the door, where broken glass cut his wrist, Jackson said.
“He just kept throwing me around,” he recalled. “That’s when my brother came and saved me.”
He dropped the gun on the floor and crawled to it, but Davis pinned him down, he said. That’s when Tucker came in with another 9-millimeter and told Davis to back off, Jackson said.
Davis stood aside, as Jackson got up, but then grabbed him again, he said. That’s when Tucker shot Davis, and they took the marijuana and fled back to LaGrange, he said.
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner, Dr. Sandra Reynolds, testified that two bullets hit Davis, one in his right arm, and another in his left temple, causing brain damage and a fracture. He died in the hospital the next day.
The evidence
Police later found Jackson’s Kel Tec pistol in his blue van that surveillance video recorded that day near Davis’ home. The 2013 van had a distinct primer coat of paint on the right front fender, which had been damaged, Jackson testified.
Security cameras also recorded Haskell walking down 17th Avenue around the time of the shooting, as he went back to get a green pickup truck he’d left at the Pizza Hut. The truck also was recorded on surveillance video.
Investigators also have cell phone messages that show Haskell and Davis communicating regularly before their meeting, though no messages show any contact with Tucker, they said. Police haven’t found the gun Tucker allegedly used to kill Davis.
Besides murder, Tucker is charged with armed robbery and using a gun to commit a crime. He is represented by attorney Angela Dillon. The prosecutor is Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Schwartz.
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 12:45 PM.