Reluctant trial witnesses testify to friend’s shooting during Columbus armed robbery
Awkward silence punctuated the testimony of two eyewitnesses to the 2020 shooting of a Columbus man whose car crashed into a house as he bled to death in the driver’s seat.
In the murder trial of Ty’Shaun Quintavious Sylvester and Jessie Lee Harper, the testimony of the two reluctant witnesses was crucial not only in the slaying of Quincy Atkins, but in the alleged armed robbery that led to it.
Besides murder, the defendants are charged also with armed robbery and aggravated assault, for taking a cell phone from Anthony McGhee and a gold chain from Dwayne Jackson. Prosecutors needed their testimony to prove those allegations.
Called to the witness stand, each had to be badgered to answer questions about what happened, as prosecutors Sadhana Dailey and Ray Daniel had them confirm they had been robbed at gunpoint, and had seen their friend shot.
The prosecution alleges Sylvester and Harper lured the men to a vacant house on Cusseta Road at Betjeman Street by advertising a gun for sale on Facebook. The weapon was a Draco semi-automatic with an extended clip.
When the three arrived, Harper pulled a pistol and Sylvester pointed the Draco at them, demanding their valuables, Dailey said. The suspects were looking into the trunk of Atkins’ Dodge Charger when he sped away, and they shot him, she said.
Passersby reported the shooting around 5 p.m. on April 18, 2020, according to 911 recordings played for the jury.
The testimony
“We thought it was somebody’s residence, but it was a vacant house,” Jackson said of the rendezvous Sylvester set for the gun sale.
“Who all robbed you?” Dailey asked.
Jackson did not answer. Seconds ticked by before he said, “I want to speak with my lawyer.”
His lawyer, Shevon Sutcliffe Thomas, stood in the audience and told Judge John Martin: “My best advice to my client is to speak the truth.”
The two were allowed a brief conference before Jackson testified that Sylvester was showing the trio the Draco when he turned it on them and “told us to give up everything.”
He said Harper opened his car door and told him to get out, and took a gold chain from him, after Jackson surreptitiously removed a locket containing a friend’s ashes. The suspects also took about $350 cash intended for the Draco purchase, he said.
Under cross examination by Sylvester’s attorney William Kendrick, Jackson acknowledged that he and Sylvester had arranged an earlier meeting about the Draco that Jackson did not attend. Atkins and McGhee went to that one, and Sylvester told them he wanted more money for the gun, he said.
Kendrick has alleged that the victims set up the robbery, not Sylvester, and that the defendants were fired upon first. Prosecutors said Atkins had a 9-millimeter pistol, but the suspects took that gun during the robbery.
McGhee was a more reticent witness than Jackson. Judge Martin let Daniel treat him as a hostile witness, allowing Daniel to ask leading questions.
Often giving only one-word replies after long pauses, McGhee said he was ordered to lie on the ground and robbed of his iPhone. When Atkins was shot, he heard two guns go off, “a small one and a big one,” he said.
Kendrick wanted to know why he didn’t call the police, after he was robbed and his friend was shot. “I can’t call. They stole the phone,” he said.
Jackson and McGhee testified on Tuesday. Prosecutors spent much of Wednesday having police officers attest to the individual items of evidence they collected during their investigation into Atkins’ slaying.
Sylvester and Harper both are 26 now, and face life without parole if convicted. Each has a prior felony conviction.
Besides murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault, they face charges of using a gun to commit a crime and being convicted felons with firearms.
Sylvester has a June 3, 2016, conviction for first-degree burglary, and Harper was convicted December 18, 2019, for selling marijuana, according to their indictment.
This story was originally published August 23, 2023 at 9:18 AM.