Columbus man facing trial was on probation when he fatally shot victim, prosecutor says
The suspect facing trial for fatally shooting a Columbus man in 2021 was on probation for having a stolen firearm, court records show.
And the homicide victim was charged in the same stolen gun case before his charges were dismissed, and the suspect pleaded guilty, documents show.
The connection between the two men came to light when prosecutors asked Judge John Martin to sentence Deante Caruthers as a repeat offender if he’s found guilty of murder in the Jan. 20, 2021, death of Joseph Ivory Dukes.
Dukes, 38, was shot on Bayberry Drive, off Buena Vista Road, and minutes later crashed his car on Moye Road, where police called to the car wreck said Dukes named Caruthers as his assailant, before he died.
Caruthers’ murder trial is to begin Wednesday in Muscogee Superior Court. Prosecutor Austin Hammock filed a pretrial motion giving Martin notice of Caruthers’ plea to possessing a stolen Springfield .40-caliber handgun.
Court records show both Dukes and Caruthers were charged with having the stolen gun, on Dec. 18, 2018.
The charges against Dukes were dead-docketed on July 16, 2019. But Caruthers pleaded guilty, and was given five years probation and fined $500.
Because he had no prior felony conviction, he was sentenced as a first offender, meaning his record would be cleared if he met his probation terms and committed no new offenses.
A handwritten notation on the court filing dropping Duke’s charges said his codefendant had pleaded in the case.
Hammock wanted jurors to hear that Caurthers was on probation at the time of Dukes’ shooting. Judge Martin agreed to allow that. Attorneys have not said whether the stolen gun case played a role in the homicide.
Dukes’ attorneys are law partners William Kendrick and Mark Shelnutt. Assisting Hammock on the prosecution side is Ray Daniel.
Besides murder, Caruthers is charged with aggravated assault and two counts of using a gun to commit a felony. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life without parole.
Hammock said prosecutors offered him a sentence of life with parole, if he pleaded guilty to murder. Typically an inmate serves 30 years before he’s eligible for release, under that sentence.
Police arrested Caruthers Feb. 4, 2021.
Investigators say they have other evidence that shows Caruthers shot Dukes twice in the chest, as they met in the street: At least three witnesses saw the shooting, and neighborhood security cameras recorded it, Detective Sherman Hayes testified at Caruthers’ first court hearing.
Hayes said the two men were seen “face to face, nose to nose” in the street, before Caruthers stepped back, pulled a pistol and fired three times as Dukes tried to duck away, falling to the pavement.
Police tracked both men’s cell phones, showing the two were “practically on top of each other” on Bayberry Drive, where police found three 9-millimeter shell casings, Hayes said.
This story was originally published January 23, 2024 at 11:32 AM.