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Murder conviction stands in drive-by shooting case
JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: January 8, 2014
The 10th District Court of Common Pleas recently affirmed that there was sufficient evidence supporting a Columbus man’s murder conviction in connection to an east side drive-by shooting.
Tyrece Ayers was indicted on multiple charges for his alleged involvement in the fatal drive-by shooting of Tyrone Malcolm Jr.
The state did not accuse Ayers of being the triggerman but instead claimed he was guilty by complicity for giving the shooter his own weapon and otherwise aiding and abetting in the crime.
After hearing testimony from Ayers and several witnesses, the jury found him guilty of murder with a drive-by specification.
The trial court sentenced him to 15 years to life for the murder conviction with five consecutive years for the specification and an additional 12 months for having a weapon under disability.
On appeal to the 10th District Ayers argued that there was insufficient evidence to support the murder verdict with the drive-by specification.
Upon review, the three-judge appellate panel found that several witnesses testified about the events involving Malcolm’s death.
Quintin Woods testified that he was driving the car on the night of the shooting. He gave his testimony as part of a plea deal covering his part in the crime.
He told the court that on Jan. 23, 2010 he was driving around with Ayers and three other men.
Alex Ferguson was in the front passenger seat and Woods said that Ayers was sitting directly behind him.
The group decided to drive around the Woodcrest neighborhood on the east side of Columbus and was on Livingston Avenue when Ferguson and Ayers saw Malcolm.
Woods explained that Malcolm was walking on a service road near Livingston Avenue and both Ferguson and Ayers told him to turn around.
As he made a U-turn to go back to the area, he heard Ferguson ask Ayers for a gun.
Woods denied seeing Ayers give Ferguson a gun but stated that Ayers had a gun earlier that day and he assumed he gave it to Ferguson.
As the car pulled even with Malcolm, Woods said Ferguson fired a single shot and Ayers told him “I think you hit him. I seen him fall.”
Woods drove away from the scene and the group later watched a news report indicating Malcolm had died.
Woods said he saw Ferguson return a gun to Ayers and told him to get rid of it. He further explained that all of the men in the car, including himself, were members of a gang called the Woodcrest Bloods.
He said the victim was a member of a rival gang, the Elaine Crips, and that there was a “beef” between the gangs at the time of the shooting.
A woman testified that she was in walking on Livingston Avenue when she saw a light-colored car drive by Malcolm, whom she knew by sight, and fire a single shot. She said she saw Malcolm fall and he did not get up as the car drove away.
Ayers’ cousin, Darell, testified for the prosecution as part of a plea deal in an unrelated robbery.
Darell said Ayers told him about the shooting and said he gave Ferguson his gun, a Glock .357 semi-automatic pistol. Ayers allegedly told Darell that he then traded that gun for a Glock .40.
The detective assigned to the case said they recovered the bullet from Malcolm’s body.
The projectile passed through his right lung, his spine and his left lung before stopping under his left armpit.
He also recovered a spent .357 SIG shell casing ejected from a semi-automatic weapon at the scene.
In his own defense, Ayers denied involvement in a dispute between Malcolm and Ferguson.
He said Ferguson pulled his own gun and used it to shoot Malcolm then turned to the other occupants of the car and stated “if anyone has something to say.”
Ayers said he interpreted that as a threat and feared for his safety and the safety of his family because he was afraid of Ferguson.
He denied speaking to Darell and accused Darell of lying to get a plea deal in his own case.
He also claimed he sat in the middle of the backseat, not behind Ferguson, and denied telling Woods to turn around.
“The evidence summarized above is sufficient to support appellant’s conviction,” Retired Fourth District Judge Grey wrote for the court.
The judges held that murder is defined as a person causing the death of another by committing an offense of violence.
The trial court instructed the jurors that they could find Ayers guilty of murder if they determined that he was complicit in the crime by aiding and abetting Ferguson in causing Malcolm’s death.
The three-judge appellate panel determined that the evidence presented showed that Ayers was more than present at the scene as he asked Woods to turn around, gave Ferguson the weapon used in the murder, told Ferguson that Malcolm fell, and disposed of the murder weapon.
The judges noted that credibility of the witnesses is not a factor of sufficiency of the evidence.
“The jury could reasonably conclude that appellant exhibited knowing conduct in identifying the victim, asking the driver to turn around and go back toward the victim, and furnishing the firearm to Ferguson for purposes of aiding him to cause serious physical harm to the victim,” Grey stated.
The judges ruled that the evidence was sufficient and affirmed the lower court’s rulings.
Judges Lisa Saddler and Julia Dorian concurred.
The case is cited State v. Ayers, 2013-Ohio-5601.
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