Woman's texts to alleged gunman lead to her arrest in fatal shooting at Columbus motel
Columbus police charged a second suspect with murder Tuesday in connection with a fatal February shooting in the parking lot of a North Side motel.
A SWAT team arrested 24-year-old Dashay Avery at a Columbus area hotel for what homicide detectives allege was her role as an accomplice in the Feb. 3 homicide of 42-year-old Jonathan Reddy, of North Linden, detectives said in a release.
Homicides in Columbus: Dispatch map of Columbus homicides since 2017
Avery's address is listed by detectives as the streets of Columbus, though court records list her as a resident of Columbia, Maryland.
Detectives previously identified 17-year-old Harrison Finklea as the gunman charged with murder in the Feb. 3 shooting death of Jonathan Reddy, 42, of North Linden.
Around 12:30 that morning, Columbus police were called to a motel in the 1000 block of East Dublin Granville Road on a report of a shooting. Responding officers found Reddy inside a vehicle suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at 12:56 a.m.
Detectives allege in court records that Finklea got into Reddy's vehicle in the motel parking lot and fatally shot Reddy after a brief altercation. Finklea then ran to the other side of the motel and got into a vehicle with a female waiting inside, and the pair drove off, detectives reported.
Police stopped Avery on East Dublin Granville Road at North Meadows Boulevard a short time later for failure to signal and for driving without a license. She failed to appear in court and a bench warrant was issued for her arrest March 22, court records indicate.
Detectives eventually determined the vehicle Avery was driving was used to flee the homicide scene and located the vehicle. They interviewed Avery, who allegedly admitted to being the driver, but denied knowing the male suspect was planning to rob and kill the victim, according to the probable cause affidavit.
However, the affidavit states further investigation by police found cellphone text messages between Avery and Finklea indicating that she was aware of the planned robbery and shooting.
In one message to Finklea, Avery said she would “park on one side and you pop him come out to the other side and we’ll dip.”
CBehrens@dispatch.com
@Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Woman's texts lead to arrest as accomplice in fatal motel shooting
