Columbus man who killed ex-girlfriend near her children makes plea deal
A Columbus man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend near her five young children, after putting the gun to the oldest child’s head, has made a plea deal with prosecutors.
Dexter Potts shot Tanuska Jackson in the head in her Eagles Trace apartment on Torch Hill Road, where Jackson’s children, ages 4, 8, 10, 12 and 13 were home, investigators said. He fired the fatal shot after threatening to shoot the 13-year-old daughter for interrupting the couple’s argument, police said.
Potts’ attorney Mark Shellnutt made a deal with prosecutors for his client to plead guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Superior Court Judge John Martin sentenced him to 30 years in prison with 25 to serve and the rest on probation.
The victim’s family sobbed during the sentencing, where Tanuska Jackson’s mother told Martin the children wanted their mother back.
She described their seeing other kids’ mothers dropping their kids off at school, and coming to her to say, “I want my mama.”
“It’s hard. It’s hard,” she repeated, of Potts adding, “I forgive him, but my life will never be the same.... I just can’t understand.”
The victim’s brother, Ocenious Garner, confronted District Attorney Stacey Jackson outside the courtroom, demanding to know why Potts was allowed to plea to manslaughter.
“It’s a slap in the face to me and my family, man!” he shouted, before deputies warned him to lower his voice.
“I made the decision based on the evidence,” the prosecutor explained. Garner did not accept that, but later apologized for the outburst.
Garner said his sister had broken up with Potts about a week before the shooting, and had told Garner she needed to get a gun to defend herself. “I wish I had took heed of what she was saying,” he said.
Both the DA and defense attorney said the gun went off as Potts and the victim struggled over it, the bullet passing through Potts’ hand before it hit her in the head. Potts afterward was heard saying, “Oh no. Oh no,” the prosecutor said.
Judge Martin said he hoped people hearing what happened would see the danger of involving a firearm in an argument. “If nothing else, anyone who reads about this or sees this can hopefully learn from this, because it continues to plague our community,” he said.
Killer called police
After the shooting shortly after midnight on March 5, 2021, Potts called 911 and told a dispatcher he’d killed his wife, officers said. Then he left the gun in the bedroom where Jackson’s body lay, and met police outside, Sgt. Thomas Hill testified at Potts’ preliminary hearing.
The fatal shooting ended what Hill described as a troubled relationship, noting Jackson’s 13-year-old daughter told police the couple fought constantly.
“She said that her mother and Mr. Potts routinely argued..... She made a mention that one reason she looks forward to going to school is that it gives her a break from the arguments at the house,” Hill testified.
On the night of the shooting, the teen was in an adjoining bedroom when she heard the couple fighting, and walked into the master bedroom to find Potts atop her mother on the bed, as Jackson pushed both his hands away, the girl told police.
When Potts saw the teen, he released Jackson, grabbed the girl by the throat, held her against the wall and put the gun to her head, Hill said: “At that time, she said he told her to get out of the room. She said her mother called out to him, ‘Leave her alone!’”
The teen ran back to her bedroom, and heard a gunshot about 30 seconds later, the detective said.
Jackson, 31, was pronounced dead in the bed at 1:30 a.m.
“I killed my wife,” Hill said Potts told him during an interview at police headquarters, but Potts maintained the shooting was an accident: “He just repeatedly said, ‘Yes, I killed her, but it was accident and I did not intend for the gun to go off.’”
Potts, then 25, was not married to Jackson, and they had no children together, authorities said.
Area victims of domestic or family violence can get help by calling the Hope Harbour shelter crisis line at 800-334-2836 or 706-324-3850.
