Franklin County grand jury decides not to charge officers who fatally shot Donta Stewart
Members of a federal fugitive task force will not face criminal charges for fatally shooting a young Reynoldsburg man after he shot through a wall during an arrest warrant raid at a home in 2021, striking one officer.
A Franklin County grand jury decided Friday to not indict the law enforcement officers involved in the shooting death of Donta R. Stewart, 18, of Reynoldsburg, according to a press release issued late Friday afternoon from Franklin County Prosecutor G. Gary Tyack's office.
On Dec. 8, 2021, members of the U.S. Marshal's Office Southern Ohio Fugitive Aprpehension Strike Team (SOFAST) entered a residence on the 2700 block of Four Seasons Drive in the Madison Mills area of Columbus' Souhteast Side to arrest a man wanted by Columbus police for an aggravated robbery charge.
While task force members were taking the fugitive into custody and clearing the house, Stewart, who was hiding inside a bedroom closet, fired at officers with a handgun, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's office, which investigated the shooting.
Stewart wounded a deputy U.S. marshal, striking him in his chest. The wounded task force member and three other officers fired back at Stewart, according to the sheriff's office.
Officers fired more than 40 rounds, and Stewart was struck nine times, according to an autopsy by the Franklin County Coroner's office. The officer recovered from his injuries.
The Franklin County Prosecutor's office did not identify any of the officers involved in the shooting in its release.
Franklin County Juvenile Court records show Stewart was previously sent to detention for multiple offenses, including car theft and breaking and entering.
After six months in juvenile detention, Stewart was released in June 23, 2021, moved home to Reynoldsburg and was doing well until he got into it with another young man, according to Stewart's mother Kiesha Dome-Stewart. He cut off his ankle monitor, but continued to live at home, she said.
Although she now lives in Missouri, Dome-Stewart came to Columbus for the grand jury hearing. She called the decision to not indict the officers was "a smack in the face."
"I feel like I keep reliving this day over and over and over," Dome-Stewart said through tears. "They call that justified? That's what I call overkill. He's a child."
Dome-Stewart said her son was "a good kid who got in with the wrong person."
"My son should still be here living his life," she said. "Instead, I kiss my son's picture every single night, telling him I won't give up on him."
The Ohio Department of Youth Services lost track of Stewart after he was released on parole and failed to make required contacts with the teen, according to documents obtained through a public records request.
SOFAST is a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement task force created by the U.S. Marshals Service "to arrest the most violent felons in the Southern District of Ohio," according to the office. It has strike teams headquartered in Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton. The task force is made up of U.S. Marshals as well as agents, officers, and deputies from multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
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Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Grand jury declines to indict officers who fatally shot Donta Stewart
