Two Columbus friends argued over cognac. One’s dead, the other’s on trial for murder

Seven years have passed since Torrance Terrell Menefee shot Kenneth Holloway Jr. in a fight over a bottle of liquor.

Menefee and Holloway were arguing outside a party on 17th Avenue, on June 18, 2016, when Menefee shot and killed his friend, later claiming he fired in self-defense.

They were arguing about a $60 bottle of Hennessy cognac, witnesses said.

The Columbus murder case finally went to trial Tuesday after repeated delays related to COVID-19 lockdowns and a conflict of interest caused by former defense attorney Stacey Jackson’s being appointed district attorney here in 2020. Jackson, in private practice, represented Menefee.

A special prosecutor, Gregory Winters of the Houston County District Attorney’s office, has been assigned the case, and Menefee now has a new attorney, Anthony Johnson.

Charged with two counts of murder and one count each of aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime, Menefee, now 36, was able to bond out of jail in 2016, Johnson said Tuesday.

Because he has been out of jail, taking his case to trial was not a priority, as authorities clearing a backlog of murder cases focused first on the suspects still being held, Johnson said.

The testimony

Witnesses testifying Tuesday told a tale of three friends driving around and drinking before going to the party, where the shooting was reported about 10:15 p.m.

One witness was Holloway’s cousin, Roderick Johnson, and the other was the victim’s brother, Tremel Cobb.

They said they first saw Menefee around noon when he came to the home of Cobb’s mother, Ruby Dee Cobb, where guests were drinking in the backyard. That’s where Menefee picked up Johnson and Holloway, and they left in his car to drive around town.

They stopped at a liquor store to buy the Hennessy, and then went to the party, where Menefee got hungry and left, with the bottle of liquor, to get some food.

When he returned, Holloway asked him for the bottle, and Menefee initially ignored the request until Tremel Cobb told him to give Holloway the Hennessy, Cobb said.

Holloway walked away with the bottle, until Menefee walked over and got it back, Cobb said. Then Holloway complained that Menefee had punctured his Styrofoam cup while retrieving the liquor, the witness said.

They started cursing at each other, and Cobb tried to separate them, holding Holloway back, he said. The two were five or six feet apart when Menefee pulled a pistol and shot Holloway in the chest, Cobb said.

“Oh s--t!” Holloway cursed, as Cobb tried to slap the gun out of Menefee’s hand.

Menefee walked to his car, with Johnson following him. “You shot Baby Kenny!” Johnson said.

“I’m sorry,” he said Menefee replied.

Cobb said he also heard Menefee apologize. “He said, ‘I’m sorry.’ He jumped in the car and proceeded to pull off,” Cobb testified.

Police called to the 400 block of 17th Avenue found Holloway, 25, lying in the street. He was pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m.

Investigators got a warrant for Menefee’s arrest after witnesses identified him in photo lineups.

He later surrendered to police, turning over his .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun. Winters said ballistics tests matched the gun to a cartridge casing police found at the scene.

“I expect the evidence will show it’s clear who killed him,” Winters said of Holloway, during his opening statement to jurors. “I expect the issue’s going to be, ‘Was it self-defense?’”

Menefee’s defense attorney did not deny his client killed Holloway, but maintained Menefee was defending himself.

Anthony Johnson told the jury that as Menefee and Holloway argued, Holloway told him, “You’re back here with the real killers now,” and tried to take Menefee’s gun, before Menefee fired the fatal shot.

“We have the God-given right to self-defense,” he said in his opening statement, later adding, “Sometimes you have to take a life to save one.”

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