He was charged with murdering a Columbus honor student. Now he’s sentenced
Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Don Kelly has announced the conviction and sentencing of a man in the 2017 shooting death of a 17-year-old honor student in Columbus.
The news release says Travonne Washington was convicted in the murder of Destiny Nelson on Jan. 16, 2017, at Bull Creek Apartments and sentenced to life in prison by Judge Bobby Peters.
Detectives discovered during the investigation the shooting may have been a botched revenge shooting for the Jan. 5, 2017, shooting of Dominique Horton, a relative of Washington.
In 2021, a witness identified Washington and Keyona James, 16 and 15 at the time of the shooting, as the shooters, according to the news release.
The news release says the pair intended to target another person they believed was involved in Horton’s shooting, but they went to the wrong apartment and shot through a closed door.
In his statement, Kelly thanked the Columbus Police Department for their work on the investigation, DA Investigator Jeff Carter and Assistant District Attorney Meghan Bowden.
“This case is the perfect example of why it is such a bad idea for people to seek revenge,” Kelly said in the news release. “Destiny’s family and our community lost a very promising young person as the result of the actions of two teenagers.”