‘I popped, bro.’ Columbus murder suspect admitted crime in video recording, witness claims
The alleged accomplice in a fatal Columbus shooting over a marijuana deal testified Tuesday that he recorded the man on trial admitting the crime on the FaceTime mobile app.
Detric “De Train” Bush said he used a second phone to record his conversation with Zajaliq Riley three days after Devion Miley fatally was shot in midtown, where the men were engaged in a drug deal on May 8, 2021.
Riley is on trial for murder. Bush pleaded guilty to lesser charges, agreeing to testify against Riley.
He testified that Riley shot Miley in the back after ordering the victim to get out of the back seat of his Honda Civic on Boxwood Boulevard at Macon Road. Riley, who was driving the car, aimed a pistol over his right shoulder to shoot Miley as Bush watched from the front passenger seat, the witness said.
Miley walked to the front of the Midtown Shopping Center and collapsed, bleeding to death on the way to the hospital after passersby called 911.
Bush said Riley shot Miley for no clear reason, so when he later contacted Riley via FaceTime, he asked why Riley shot the man.
“Damn, I just popped, bro’,” Riley was recorded saying.
Prosecutor Robin Anthony played Bush’s video for the jury.
Defense attorney Mike Garner challenged that evidence, saying the recording had no time stamp, and the two men had been involved in other crimes to which Bush could have been referring.
Anthony said Riley and Bush had been charged in other crimes, but no one was shot in those. Bush testified the two men had no other shooting to discuss.
A GBI medical examiner, Dr. Steven Atkinson, testified Wednesday that a bullet pierced Miley’s lower back, hit his descending aorta, liver and gall bladder, and lodged in his abdominal wall. The bullet was recovered, during an autopsy, but police said the gun used was never found.
Drug deal delayed
Bush testified to details of the marijuana deal, which Anthony told jurors was prolonged by problems with the Cash App the suspects tried to use to pay Miley.
Bush said he bought two ounces of marijuana for $250 each, when he and Riley met Miley outside the Efficiency Lodge, 1776 Boxwood Place, a few blocks from where Miley was shot.
Bush and Riley left before Bush realized he accidentally transferred the funds from a girlfriend’s bank account, using the Cash App, he said. So they had to return to the extended-stay motel to correct the error, he said.
He transferred the bank money back, and paid Miley $500 in cash, he said.
Then Riley tried to buy marijuana using the Cash App, and the transaction wouldn’t go through, Bush said, so he, Riley and Miley started driving to a McDonald’s on Macon Road to get a stronger Wi-Fi signal.
They were en route when Riley abruptly shot Miley, he said.
Riley is being tried on three charges:
- Felony murder, allegedly for causing Miley’s death while committing the felony of trying to buy marijuana.
- Criminal attempt to commit a felony, for trying to buy marijuana.
- Possession of a firearm in the attempted commission of a felony.
The 22-year-old faces life in prison if convicted.
Bush, also 22, pleaded guilty July 25 to trying to commit a felony, to using a gun to commit a crime, and to having a firearm while on probation. His recommended sentence is 15 years with five to serve in prison and the rest on probation.
This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 10:20 AM.