Manslaughter or self-defense? Columbus man pleads guilty in fatal 2020 midtown shooting
A fatal shooting that started with women brawling at a Columbus public housing complex ended Wednesday with the young suspect pleading guilty to reduced charges.
Derrick Jones was 17 years old when he shot Dorian Gibson at Warren Williams Homes in midtown on Jan. 17, 2020. Jones fired after Gibson hit him, knocking him to the ground, attorneys said.
Wounded in the chest and abdomen, Gibson, 50, was pronounced dead at 6:46 p.m. that day at Piedmont Columbus Regional.
Jones initially was charged with murder, aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime. In a deal defense attorney William Kendrick negotiated with assistant district attorney Robin Anthony, Jones pleaded guilty Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter instead of murder.
Superior Court Judge Gil McBride sentenced him to 20 years in prison with 10 to serve and the rest on probation. Jones is 20 years old now.
Kendrick said Jones could have claimed self-defense, as Gibson assaulted him first. Anthony noted in court that Gibson was a much larger man than Jones, and had a history of assaulting others. Records showed Gibson was 5-foot-9 and weighed 241 pounds; Jones was 5-foot-7 and weighed 120 pounds.
Anthony said the shooting involved a fight between several women, with those from Warren Williams on one side and outsiders who’d come there for a confrontation on the other. Gibson reportedly tried to break it up, but Kendrick said Gibson targeted those who were not from Warren Williams, and apparently went after Jones because Jones did not live there.
About 20 people witnessed what happened, giving various accounts, authorities said.
Anthony said that had the case gone to trial, the jury would have had the option of convicting Jones of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder, and likely would have chosen that, based on the evidence.
Children saw shooting
Gibson’s family was not present for the sentencing, but his mother sent a statement for a victim’s advocate to read aloud in court.
Her son intervened in the fight to stop Jones “from hitting a female,” she wrote.
“There were children there who saw all this,” she added. “I hate that it happened. I am sure his mother wants her son out of jail. I want my son above ground, but that is never going to happen.”
She noted how young Jones was: “I wish I knew why such a young man had a gun on him, but that is not a question that can be answered. I hope this child learns a lesson from all this, but I don’t think that he will.... Nothing can bring my son back, but I just want the violence to stop.”
Jones declined to give a statement during the sentencing.
Outside the courtroom, Kendrick said Jones spent 633 days in jail waiting for the case to be resolved.
Kendrick said he felt the outcome was “equitable to all parties,” though Jones still could have claimed self-defense.
“Of course the argument was going to be that self-defense was in order,” he said. “But then also too, there was other evidence that could point toward what you call enough provocation to justify a voluntary manslaughter charge. That’s why we ended up in that middle ground.”
