Alleged gang members face trial for barrage of gunfire that killed two Columbus teens
Three alleged gang members accused of killing two teenagers in a barrage of gunfire unleashed on a car are headed to trial this month in Columbus.
The evidence includes video surveillance that shows them deploy for an ambush, police said. That video will show suspects emerging from a house in the 3100 block of 32nd Street, taking positions and firing more than 50 shots at a Dodge Dart, hitting four people and killing two.
Saiveon Pugh, 18, and Jessie Ransom, 17, died from their wounds: Ransom was dead at the scene. Pugh died in the hospital three hours later. A 19-year-old and a juvenile hit in the car were treated and released, police said. That was on June 14, 2021.
The double-murder case authorities have linked to a street gang now is set for trial Oct. 30.
The three defendants were in Muscogee Superior Court with their defense attorneys Tuesday for a pretrial hearing on multiple felony charges, many alleging gang activity.
Two are brothers, Terrance Upshaw, 31, represented by Shevon Thomas II, and Homer Eugene Upshaw, 28, represented by William Kendrick. The third suspect is Rodderick Quaterrius Glanton, 28. His attorney is Allen C. Jones.
A 21-count indictment charges all three with murder, aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, possessing guns while committing felonies, and violating Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
Homer Upshaw has additional weapons and drug trafficking charges because of a prior felony conviction, and because police said he had 10 pounds of marijuana when they arrested him July 26, 2021.
The gang unit
The trio’s being prosecuted by the state attorney general’s gang unit, which alleges they’re members of the Marlow Gang, “a local hybrid street gang” associated with the more powerful US World, which began operating in Columbus in 2019.
US World is affiliated with national gangs such as the Gangster Disciples and Crips, the attorney general said.
The prosecutors, Cara Convery and McKenzie Gray, are with a special gang unit Attorney General Chris Carr established in July 2022 with $1.3 million in funding from the state legislature.
Had they not taken the case, another prosecutor likely would have been appointed, as Columbus District Attorney Stacey Jackson in private practice represented Terrance Upshaw at his July 29, 2021, preliminary hearing in Columbus Recorder’s Court.
Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Jackson district attorney in May 2022, creating a likely conflict of interest in the case.
The evidence
It was during a July 2021 court hearing that Detective Kyle Tuggle testified to the video evidence police recovered.
He said footage from a residence in the 3100 block of Seventh Avenue showed the suspects “rush out” of the residence before “taking position” as a Dodge Dart drove toward them, then firing at it.
Police got multiple calls to a shooting at the intersection of 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue, and found the four gunshot victims near Building 316 of Wilson Apartments, at 3400 Eighth Ave.
Besides murder charges for the deaths of Pugh and Ransom, the three suspects face aggravated assault counts for the victims who survived.
Prosecutor McKenzie Gray questioned Tuggle at Tuesday’s hearing, where he testified that Glanton upon his arrest agreed to speak with detectives after waiving his rights, but that Terrance Hill would not talk with police.
Gray also called William Peterson, a former detective now with the Muscogee sheriff’s office, who said that like Glanton, Homer Upshaw also waived his rights and spoke to investigators.
Judge Gil McBride ruled the police interviews with Glanton and Homer Upshaw will be admitted as trial evidence. He scheduled a followup hearing for Tuesday on other motions.
Homicides peak
Columbus reported 70 homicides in 2021, a recent peak. Authorities later said the violence was fueled by a feud between US World and the Zohannon gang, which police have said is a subset of the Gangster Disciples.
The attorney general’s office also is handling another Columbus gang case: It alleges five suspects in the June 5, 2021 fatal shooting of 21-year-old Marcel Samedi at Wilson Homes are Insane Crips, a subset of the Crips gang based in Long Beach, California.
One of the defense attorneys in the case now headed to trial faces his own felony charges. Allen Jones is accused of smuggling contraband to inmates in the Muscogee County Jail.
Jones has not been convicted and is free on bond, so he is able to continue representing Rodderick Glanton.
This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 12:00 PM.