Teen charged for murder in Double Churches shooting pleads not guilty on his 16th birthday

A teenager stood in a Columbus courtroom Wednesday on his 16th birthday facing a murder charge for a shooting that left one dead on Double Churches Road in August.

Akiraon Reed, who was 15 when the shooting happened, is charged with the murder of Dayton Willis.

Willis was found inside of a vehicle on Aug. 31 of this year, a day after his 16th birthday.

Reed plead not guilty to all charges.

Sgt. Demetrius Battle with the Columbus Police Department testified that Reed knew the victim based on social media videos.

Battle said the victim’s phone was recovered from the car where he died and a social media message was found on the phone that read, “Here I come.”

The social media page was then linked to Reed, according to Battle’s testimony.

A revolver style firearm was found under the victim’s arm with five bullets in it, according to Battle’s testimony.

Battle told the court that in one surveillance video you can hear multiple gunshots being fired.

Judge Alonza Whitaker found probable cause and bound the case over to superior court.

“We did hear some holes in their story,” said Reed’s attorney Shevon Thomas II.

Thomas said that Reed is the youngest client he’s defended for murder charges.

“We are going to stand on our not guilty, and we look forward to taking this case to trial,” said Thomas.

This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 12:36 PM.