Columbus trial begins for 2 brothers accused of killing man in drive-by shooting
Opening statements began Monday in the murder trial of two brothers in the 2021 death of a man following a drive-by shooting in Columbus, according to court documents.
Johnte Damar Williams and Quinton L. Williams face criminal charges including felony murder and malice murder in the death of Demetrius Daniels, according to the bill of indictment.
Daniels was shot around 3:15 p.m. April 11, 2021, in the 4600 block of Reese Road, before a private vehicle took him to a local hospital, where he died from his wounds at 4:04 p.m.
Police have said the shooting stemmed from an altercation the previous night at a local nightclub.
Assistant District Attorneys Brandi Holland and Elizabeth McDaniel from the Houston County District Attorney’s Office are prosecuting this case. They were appointed as conflict representation due to then-Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Stacey Jackson representing Quinton Williams, according to Holland.
Opening Statements
In opening statements, Holland told jurors the state expects evidence to show, after the fight at the nightclub, the defendants left the club in a black sedan that matched the description of the vehicle used in the drive-by shooting.
Holland said jurors will see surveillance video of the fight at the club, photos of the scene of the crime in the 4600 block of Reese Road, photos of the vehicle used to transport Daniels to the hospital and photos of Daniels taken at the hospital.
Jurors also will hear testimony from the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Daniels and from the FBI agent who triangulated Quinton Williams’ phone in the area of Reese Road during the shooting, according to Holland.
Attorney William Kendrick, representing Johnte Williams, said he expects jurors will not hear from eyewitnesses that capture his client in the car the shooting stemmed from. Kendrick told jurors he also expects them not to hear about any DNA evidence, fingerprint evidence, gunshot residue evidence or phone triangulation putting Johnte Williams at the scene.
Kendrick said he expects the evidence to show the state believes a black sedan owned by the mother of Johnte Williams’ baby was the black sedan involved in the drive-by shooting.
Williams asked jurors to examine video surveillance from Reese Road and whether it gives a description of the black sedan enough to identify it.
Marie Pardue, public defender for Quinton Williams, told the jury a few things the evidence wouldn’t show. Pardue said no eyewitness testimony ties either brother to the shooting. She also said no forensic evidence ties either brother to the shooting.
“This is a case where a lot of small things are what the state is trying to use to paint my client as a murderer, and those things don’t necessarily mean what the state says they do,” Pardue said.
Eyewitness testimony
The first witness called to the stand was Carol Stotser, who testified she witnessed the drive-by shooting while driving down Reese Road.
Stotser said a car in front of her by a few houses slowed down. Stotser said she saw some hands and arms coming out of the car with a weapon and shooting what sounded like an automatic weapon.
Stotser testified she saw a young man, who appeared to be running, come out from the front of the house and go behind the house.
Stotser went to where she was going after the shooting and returned to the crime scene after talking to her son, who advised her to go back, where she talked to law enforcement, according to Stotser’s testimony.
When asked by Kendrick whether she saw Johnte Williams that day, Stotser responded she wouldn’t know who she saw and answered “I did not” when asked whether she saw anyone’s face.
Man at house testifies
Rodney Daniel was at the house on Reese Road when the drive-by shooting occurred, according to his testimony.
Daniel said he remembered hearing gunshots that day and affirmed when asked whether they came from a car. Daniel ran to the backyard after hearing the gunshots, according to his testimony.
Daniel said when he returned home police officers were there.
When asked whether he remembered what he was doing the night before the shooting, Daniel said he didn’t because he was “doing a lot of different things then.” When asked by Holland to tell her about that, Daniel said, “What, about doing drugs and drinking? I mean, that’s what I was doing.”
Daniel said he remembered going out somewhere when asked whether he remembered going to a club the night before.
When asked whether he remembered getting into a fight the night before the shooting, Daniel said he remembered getting into “a little verbal dispute.”
Daniel said he remembered “Red” being at the club with him. Daniel identified “Red” as being Daniels. Daniel said Daniels lived with him at the residence on Reese Road.
Other testimony
Toreze Samuel and Stephen Strange testified they found Daniels behind a shed. Samuel said Daniels was lying on his back with his right hand up in the air, his eyes were open, and he probably had a faint pulse.
Samuel testified Daniels had a gunshot wound to his right shoulder. Strange testified he helped carry Daniels to a vehicle and transport him to a local hospital.
Det. Jacob Myers, a patrol officer at the time of the shooting, was the first officer on the scene, according to his testimony.
Myers observed shell casings in the road way and a group of four black males coming out from behind the residence carrying another black male who did not appear to be responsive and put him in the back of a vehicle and left the scene, according to his testimony. Myers said he could see blood on the front of the male’s clothing.
Myers said the shell casings were larger than handgun shell casings.
The trial is scheduled to resume Wednesday at 9 a.m. Judge Bobby Peters is presiding.