Tried for murder in a fight over cognac, a Columbus man’s charges have been dropped

Prosecutors have dropped the charges a Columbus man faced in a fatal fight over a $60 bottle of cognac outside a midtown birthday party.

Torrance Terrell Menefee already was tried for murder once in the June 18, 2016, death of Kenneth Holloway Jr., who was shot in the chest outside the party in the 400 block of 17th Avenue.

But Menefee’s April trial ended with a mistrial after someone in Holloway’s family was seen hugging and chatting with a juror outside court, after the jury had begun its deliberations.

Menefee’s defense attorney Anthony Johnson requested the mistrial, after witnessing the juror’s encounter with Holloway’s relative, and afterward learned the jury was going to find his client not guilty.

Judge Bobby Peters granted the mistrial, having instructed jurors to have no contact with anyone involved in the case, lest they be prejudiced against one side or the other.

“Evidently it didn’t work on everybody,” the judge said.

Menefee could have been tried again, but prosecutor Gregory Winters later filed a motion to drop the charges, so Menefee’s fate no longer hangs in the balance.

The 36-year-old could have been sentenced to life, if convicted of murder.

“Although probable cause exists for the issuance of the warrant, subsequent investigation reveals that there is insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” wrote Winters, an assistant district attorney for the Houston Judicial Circuit.

Winters was assigned the case because the local district attorney’s office had a conflict of interest.

Menefee had faced two counts of murder and one count each of aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime.

He did not deny shooting Holloway, but claimed he did so in self-defense, as the two argued over a bottle of Hennessy cognac.

‘Outnumbered’

Taking the stand in his own defense, during the trial, Menefee said he, Holloway, Holloway’s brother Tremel Cobb and cousin Roderick Johnson had chipped in to buy the cognac before the party.

Menefee paid $50 and the others covered the rest, he said.

Because he had not eaten dinner, Menefee left the party to get food at McDonald’s, and took the cognac with him. That angered Holloway, who was left with nothing to drink.

Holloway confronted him upon his return, he testified, saying Holloway was “talking crazy,” and “got very aggressive, got loud, got violent.”

He tried to calm Holloway, telling him, “Man, I got nothing but love for you, brother,” but it didn’t work. “This man would not stop,” he said.

He said he feared for his life when Holloway pushed him twice and touched a gun Menefee had holstered on his left side.

“The gun moved. It felt like it was coming out of my holster,” Menefee testified. He pushed Holloway’s hand away, jumped backward, drew his .40-caliber Smith & Wesson and fired. “I shot him dead in the middle of his chest,” he said.

Winters pressed Menefee to explain why he felt threatened by an unarmed man.

“When he grabbed my gun, that’s the danger,” Menefee said, adding that Holloway’s brother and cousin also were present. “I was immediately in fear because I was outnumbered.”

He claimed that as Holloway, 25, confronted him about the cognac, Holloway threatened him, saying, ““You’re back here with the real killers now. I’m going to take your s--t, man.”

Holloway first reached for Menefee’s cell phone, clipped to his waist on his right side, and then for the gun holstered on his left side, Menefee said, adding, “I just shot him.”

Cobb testified that he was standing between the two men, and could feel the heat as the bullet passed by.

Police were called to the shooting at 10:15 p.m., and Holloway was pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m.

Though Menefee afterward left the scene, he later surrendered to police, turning over the gun and his permit to carry a concealed weapon.

His attorney filed a motion asking Judge Peters to find his client immune from prosecution under Georgia’s “stand your ground” law on self-defense, but Peters denied that motion after a Feb. 17 court hearing.