Columbus police: Witness identified 16 year old as suspect in shooting that left 2 dead

Columbus investigators say an eyewitness, social media evidence and phone records helped them charge a 16-year-old with murder, according to testimony made in court Thursday.

The 16-year-old suspect in a November murder appeared in Columbus Recorder’s Court Thursday morning, as a judge heard testimony from police about the case.

The teenager is accused of shooting and killing J’Mauri Taylor and Dai’John Ross, both 18. The defendant is charged with two counts of murder, one count of armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission or attempt to commit certain felonies, possession of an illegal weapon and possession of a pistol or revolver by a person under the age of 18. The Ledger-Enquirer typically does not identify suspects under the age of 18.

Columbus Police Department Sgt. Mike Dahnke testified Thursday that police responded at 12:43 a.m. on Nov. 22 to Canaan Drive after multiple 911 calls regarding a shooting.

He said responding officers found Taylor dead in a driveway. Police discovered a white SUV nearby with the driver, Ross, suffering a gunshot wound to the head, Dahnke testified.

He said Ross was transported to Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital where he died days later on Nov. 29.

Dahnke said the driver’s door of the SUV had three bullet impact marks. Taylor suffered a single gunshot wound to the head, which was confirmed through an autopsy, Dahnke said.

Taylor had a plastic bag of about 16 grams of marijuana and a cell phone in his left hand, Dahnke said. He had a pistol in his right hand.

Dahnke said police found two different types of shell casings in the roadway, a pistol caliber and a rifle caliber.

The pistol in Taylor’s possession wasn’t fired — there were no spent casing located from that gun, according to Dahnke.

The responding officers also found two minors who were in the vehicle when the shooting happened. The witnesses were at an address on Twin Chapel Drive, which is close to Canaan Drive, Dahnke said.

Dahnke said the juveniles had a pistol in their possession which matched the caliber of the casings located at the scene. The pistol had blood on it, according to Dahnke.

He said another pistol was found nearby that was the same make, model and caliber as the pistol found on the juveniles. It also was the same caliber as the casings found at the scene.

The only difference between this pistol and the one the juveniles possessed was a red device, referred to as a “switch,” on the back of the upper receiver that turned the semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic pistol, Dahnke testified.

What led up to fatal Columbus shooting?

The juveniles were taken to CPD’s Violent Crimes Division, where additional interviews were conducted. Investigators determined that on the night of the shooting, Ross and a juvenile took Ross’ daughter to their mother’s house, and at some point, the other juvenile who was found by investigators was picked up, Dahnke said.

After dropping off Ross’ daughter, Ross drove to Canaan Drive with the juveniles in the SUV. Ross was texting someone while keeping a pistol in his lap, and then said the three were going to sell marijuana to someone for $400, Dahnke said.

At an unknown time, two males approached the vehicle from the driver’s side and began to talk with them, Dahnke said. One of the juveniles in the SUV was putting a name into their phone to do a Cash App transaction. The juvenile in the backseat said one of the males who approached was dressed in black and the other was wearing gray, according to Dahnke. He said Taylor was wearing a gray hoodie at the time of the incident.

The 16-year-old facing murder charges tried to rob the group in the SUV at that point, Dahnke said, pointing a pistol at them. Ross didn’t put his hands up, instead firing his pistol, striking and killing Taylor, Dahnke said.

The 16-year-old shot into the SUV and hit Ross. The juveniles who were in Ross’ vehicle tried to get him out of the driver’s seat, but couldn’t. One of them grabbed his gun and they fled, Dahnke said.

Phone evidence, eyewitness IDs suspect

One of the passengers identified the defendant from a photo lineup, telling investigators he was the one who shot into the car, Dahnke testified.

Dahnke said a search warrant was obtained for various social media records. A photograph of a pistol was located in a review of the defendant’s social media, according to Dahnke’s testimony.

He testified a comparison of the pistols was conducted and the pistol in the defendant’s Instagram photograph was similar to the pistol that had the “switch” on it.

Dahnke testified a search warrant was obtained for the defendant’s phone. He said phone records placed the defendant’s phone in the area of the scene at the time of the shooting.

Judge David Ranieri found probable cause and the case was bound over to superior court, where a trial could take place.

The defendant also faces other charges including kidnapping and armed robbery in an unrelated incident. He appeared in court Thursday for those charges as well.