SC man killed at Columbus’ Wilson Homes was in ‘Insane Crips’ gang, prosecutor says
The 21-year-old South Carolina man gunned down outside Columbus’ Wilson Homes apartments in 2021 was a member of the “Insane Crips” street gang that killed him, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday.
That’s what prosecutor Thomas Kegley said as the murder trial of three alleged gangsters kicked off in Muscogee Superior Court.
Kegley said Samedi was shot dead during a mass gathering of gang members at the apartments complex, where 14 shots were fired at 9:47 p.m., June 5, 2021, and Samedi was left dying on the ground as everyone else fled.
Kegley said the shooting was the result of a dispute between two other gangsters, and jurors would hear testimony about gang culture and the dynamics that led to the homicide.
Samedi was armed, with a gun in his pocket, but never fired it, the prosecutor said. Police found other guns discarded around the crime scene, he said.
Slow start
The trial that’s expected to last two weeks got off to a slow start Thursday after three days of jury selection.
Attorneys first argued over what evidence the jury would see, including how prosecutors would identify Samedi, whether through photographs showing him alive or showing his body after he was shot in the head.
The three accused “Insane Crips” on trial are Corey Troupe Jr., 26; Davion C. Dupas, 22; and Jahiem Rashard Davis, 21.
They’re alleged to have killed Samedi outside Wilson Homes Building 108, where Samedi had traveled with Troupe and others from Rock Hill, S.C., to attend the gathering.
Kegley, a prosecutor with the Georgia Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit, wanted to have the victim’s mother called to the witness stand to identify her son from a photo of him when he was alive, calling the autopsy photos “gruesome.”
One of Davis’ two attorneys, Shawn Hoover, objected to that, saying it was likely to cause the mother to break down crying in front of the jury, which would prejudice jurors against his client and the other defendants.
“I don’t think that’s something we want to see,” Hoover said.
Hoover also objected to prosecutors’ showing the jury evidence of gang-related crimes Davis allegedly committed while jailed awaiting trial.
Visiting Senior Superior Court Judge Richard Winegarden overruled that objection, but did not immediately decide on how to identify Samedi.
All three defense attorneys, including Adam Deaver for Dupas and law partners William Kendrick and Mark Shelnutt for Troupe, objected to having lead detective Sgt. Donna Baker sit with prosecutors while wearing a police jacket that says “HOMICIDE” on the back.
Winegarden let Baker have the seat, but told her to hide the jacket.
The jury finally was ushered into the courtroom at 11:15 a.m.
The three men on trial were not the only suspects charged in Samedi’s death. Five were accused, but one suspect has never been located, and another has decided to testify for the prosecution.
Michael Douglas Brown Sr., 48, charged only with gang violations in Samedi’s shooting, has not been found.
Elysia Cooley, 19, who was only 16 years old when Samedi was killed, is to testify for the prosecution, so her case has been severed from the others and will be decided separately.
The charges
According to the attorney general’s office, the Insane Crips comprise a subset of the Crips national street gang. The affiliate gang started in Long Beach, California.
Here are the charges for the three suspects going to trial, as detailed in their October 2022 indictment:
Troupe, also known as “Lil Pop”:
- 6 counts of violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
- 2 counts of felony murder.
- 1 count of aggravated assault.
- 1 count of using a firearm to commit a felony.
- 1 count of first-degree criminal damage to property.
Dupas, also known as “Yungdemon Dee”:
Jahiem Davis, also known as “Zhg Jah”:
- 8 counts of Violation of Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
- 3 counts of felony murder.
- 1 count of aggravated assault.
- 1 count of using a firearm to commit a felony.
- 1 count of being a convicted felon with a firearm.
- 1 count of first-degree criminal damage to property.
Besides Hoover, Davis is represented also by attorney Mark Lee.
This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 12:30 PM.