Columbus police: Suspected Clintonville overdose actually a homicide, one of 3 in 5 days
Columbus police are investigating three homicides reported since Thursday, including the death of a 53-year-old man that appeared initially to be the result of a drug overdose.
According to Columbus police, a man, who has not yet been publicly identified, was found unresponsive around 7:15 p.m. Thursday in a home on the 100 block of Cooke Road in Clintonville.
The man's death initially appeared to be the result of a drug overdose, police said, but injuries discovered during an autopsy were determined to be suspicious and the death is now being investigated as a homicide. Police would not provide further details about the injuries or other details.
Man found shot in crashed vehicle on I-71
Police also are investigating the deaths of two men who were found shot in vehicles on highways.
Around 11:45 p.m. Saturday, a Mini Cooper was reported to have crashed on Interstate 71 northbound, north of the Morse Road exit, on the city's Northeast Side.
According to records from Columbus police, a 911 caller said the Mini Cooper was driving "pressed up" against the median and struck the guardrail multiple times. The caller said the driver appeared to be either passed out or asleep.
When officers arrived, they found 56-year-old Anthony Luney in the driver's seat with a gunshot wound to his left arm.
Luney, of the Far North Side, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Victim found on Route 104 Monday morning
On Monday morning, Columbus police responded to a report of a crashed vehicle on Route 104 near Haul Road on the city's Southwest Side.
Around 2:30 a.m., a caller reported a vehicle crashed and facing the wrong direction on the highway with what appeared to be bullet holes in the windshield. Responding officers found 33-year-old Brandon Joiner, of the South Side, lying in the road a short distance from where the car had crashed.
Police have not yet identified any suspects or possible motive in the shooting.
Meanwhile, Columbus homicide detectives have also arrested suspects in two other homicides and issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in a third case.
Arrest made in North Linden shooting
Dallas Lowery, 31, of North Linden, has been charged in connection with the Feb. 22 death of 33-year-old Heather Chapman.
According to court records, Lowery initially reported that Chapman, also of North Linden, had shot herself around 9:15 p.m. that night inside their home on the 1700 block of Melrose Avenue.
However, when police began their investigation, they discovered the firearm was missing from the scene and Lowery refused to provide police with a statement about the incident. The weapon used was later found with a friend of Lowery's, who told police that Lowery had given him the firearm on the day Chapman was shot.
An autopsy also confirmed that Chapman's wound was not self-inflicted.
Lowery is currently being held in the Delaware County jail on unrelated charges.
Man arrested after killing at North Side barbershop
According to police, around noon on April 26, King went into the Executive Barber Salon, located at 5880 N. Meadows Blvd., spoke with 51-year-old Lawrence Jefferson, of Reynoldsburg, who was working as a barber in the shop. The two stepped outside the shop door into a landing area near a staircase, where Jefferson was reportedly shot.
Jefferson was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:12 p.m. Another barber and customer inside the shop were not injured.
King is currently being held in the Franklin County jail on a $1.2 million bond.
Warrant issued for Maryland man for August deaths
Police are also asking for help in locating a man believed to be responsible for the deaths of two people in a Northeast Side apartment last year.
Daniel Newsome, 28, of Fort Washington, Maryland, has a warrant issued for his arrest in connection with the Aug. 23 deaths of Christina Antoline, 40, and Randall Davis, 66.
Antoline and Davis were found dead inside Antoline's apartment on the 800 block of East Dublin Granville Road after a manager at the apartment complex went to check on an overdue rent payment.
According to court records, witnesses, video evidence and DNA recovered from the scene all connect Newsome to the homicides.
Anyone with information on any of these cases is asked to call detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. Those calling can remain anonymous.
bbruner@dispatch.com
@bethany_bruner
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Overdose-turned-homicide one of 3 killings under investigation
