The crime and public safety stories that defined Columbus in 2023
Shootings, homicides and a tragic crash dominated central Ohio's public safety headlines in 2023 during a violent year for the city.
The Dispatch previously reported that 2023 marked the third-deadliest year in Columbus history, with 146 homicides recorded as of Dec. 15. The year also included two high-profile sentencings in the most expensive political scandal in Ohio history, police-involved shootings and other assorted crimes.
Here's a look back at some of crime, public safety and criminal justice stories that captured readers' attention in the past year and we'll be following up on in 2024:
Six killed in fiery, multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 70
A fiery bus crash on I-70 in Licking County that killed six and injured 16 on Nov. 14 was the Dispatch’s most-read public safety story of 2023.
The chain-reaction crash occurred at 8:52 a.m. on I-70 as all the vehicles were traveling west.
A tractor-trailer operated by Hebron-based Mid-State Systems failed to slow down as traffic slowed ahead, overriding an SUV and striking the back of a charter bus carrying Tuskarawas High School students to an Ohio School Boards Association conference in Columbus, where the band was scheduled to perform.
Three students aboard the bus and three chaperones in an accompanying passenger vehicle died in the crash.
Mid-State Systems had previously been cited by a traffic safety board for operating vehicles with brakes in poor repair.
Two 13-year-olds arrested in connection with teen’s shooting at Easton Town Center
Police said a fight between teenagers at Easton Town Center in Columbus escalated to gunfire on Aug. 27.
Ra'Shawyn Anthony Carter Jr., 15, died shortly after the shooting at Mount Carmel East Hospital, and police arrested two 13-year-olds in connection with the shootings.
Easton Town Center is a popular outdoor area of the shopping, dining, entertainment, residential and office complex located along the south side of Morse Road west of Interstate 270.
One teen faced a charge of delinquency murder, and the other was charged with a delinquency count of obstructing justice. The teen charged with delinquent murder will appear in court Jan. 24, when the court is scheduled to hear the results of a third psych evaluation to determine whether the teen is competent to stand trial.
Delays persist in county deputy Jason Meade three-year-old fatal shooting case
A defense attorney for Jason Meade told the Dispatch the former Franklin County Sheriff's Office SWAT deputy’s murder trial would begin Oct. 30. The murder trial has since been pushed back to Jan. 25.
Meade is facing charges of murder and reckless homicide for shooting 23-year-old Goodson on Dec. 4, 2020 as Goodson was entering his grandmother's Northland home. Meade shot Goodson six times, five in the back, an autopsy showed.
Ta’Kiya Young’s family, police react to bodycam footage of fatal Blendon Township shooting
Body camera footage released Sept. 1 showed 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young’s interaction with two Blendon Township officers before an officer fired a single shot, killing her.
The shooting took place Aug. 24 in the parking lot of the Kroger at 5991 S. Sunbury Road. Young was accused of shoplifting from the store, and police fired on her after her car began to roll forward toward police.
Young’s family called the shooting “a hateful act” and “avoidable.” The officer who fired on Young has not been named or criminally charged.
Three people dead from multiple Short North shootings in violent May night
Violence claimed the lives of three people in Columbus in three back-to-back early morning shootings on May 6. Police responded to three shootings, and multiple people, including officers, suffered injuries.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther called the violence "completely and totally unacceptable" in remarks made to local media, including the Dispatch, later that morning.
The first report of gunfire came at 2:30 a.m. in the 600 block of North High Street. Police arrived and heard gunfire nearby; police returned fire. In total, 10 people were injured across two crime scenes.
Officers found five people with gunshot wounds at about 3:30 a.m. on the 1400 block of St. Clair Avenue. The suspect, Keith Pleasant, 29, was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Taylin Roland, 28, died at the scene. Three other people were transported to the hospital but survived.
In the third shooting, police were called at 4:41 a.m. for a shooting on the South Side. Isaac A. Clark, 34, was charged with murder in the death of David A. Davis, 36, who was found suffering from a gunshot wound and died soon after. Police said Clark shot Davis and ran away after a verbal altercation.
Charges against Clark were dropped in the Franklin County Municipal Court, but could continue in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. Clark has not been indicted in the Court of Common Pleas.
Columbus police work to identify 16 people involved in East Side street takeover
On April 29, a street takeover on Johnstown Road on the East Side blocked entrances and exits to the gas station, and police said people were seen on surveillance cameras stealing products out of the gas station and eating food without paying for it.
Street takeover events have become an increasing problem in Columbus as groups of young people take over intersections, participating in street racing and other activities.
Nine adults and 10 juveniles were charged in June, and prosecutors were instructed not to offer plea deals.
Columbus police arrest two in connection with shootout that wounded officer
Police arrested two men July 7 in Columbus after an hours-long manhunt.
The two were wanted in an armed robbery spree the previous day that ended in a shootout on the interstate, resulting in one officer wounded and a suspect dead.
Faisal M. Darod, 23, of North Linden, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to nine counts he was charged with, including aiding and abetting robberies and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during the robberies.
Aden Abdullahi Jama, 20, from Reynoldsburg, pleaded guilty Oct. 11 to being an accessory after the fact to bank robbery, two counts of aiding and abetting robberies and two counts of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during the robberies.
Sentencing hearings for both men have yet to be scheduled.
Ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, former Ohio GOP leader Matt Borges found guilty
Two former Ohio politicians were convicted of racketeering conspiracy March 9. Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and Former Ohio Republican Party chair Mathew Borges had been accused of participating in a $60 million bribery scheme.
Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Borges was sentenced to five years.
Jury finds two former Ohio State football players acquitted of rape charges
Amir I. Riep and Jahsen L. Wint, both 24, were defensive players for the Ohio State University football team when a then-19-year-old woman in her freshman year at Ohio State accused them of raping her on Feb. 4, 2020.
On Feb. 9 this year, a Franklin County jury found them not guilty on all charges: two counts each of rape and one count each of kidnapping.
Criminal charge filed against driver involved in fatal bus crash
A Lawrence County bus crash injured 20 and killed one after police say a minivan went into the lane of a bus carrying 52 children from Northwestern Local Schools west of Columbus. One student was ejected from the bus and pronounced dead at the scene.
Hermanio Joseph, 35, the driver of the minivan, was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide. A trial date has yet to be set.
Suspect dies after firefight with Franklin County deputy, Columbus police on East Side
A man died after a July 8 shootout with multiple Columbus police officers and at least one Franklin County sheriff's deputy.
The shootout happened July 8 at about 8 p.m. in the 3000 and 3100 blocks of East Livingston Avenue, near James Road.
The man was later identified as Antwan Lindsey, 45. A 911 caller reported Lindsey, upset that his car had been towed, was armed with a gun and acting erratically.
Police body camera footage from the ensuing confrontation in the stairwell of Bexley Commons Apartments on the 3100 block of East Livingston Avenue showed Lindsey was asked 32 times to put his hands up but did not comply.
An autopsy found Linsey was shot 15 times in the head, chest, arms and legs.
Authorities did not release the names of the officers involved, citing Marsy's Law, which aims to protect the privacy of victims.
Jordan Laird contributed to this report.
bagallion@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The biggest Columbus-area crime stories of 2023
