The atmosphere inside the Elbow Room Lounge on the night of Feb. 15 was “just calm as it could be,” a state’s witness testified Monday.
That atmosphere changed within hours when two men were shot and eventually died.
Michael Ward — a former Elbow Room Lounge bartender — was the first witness in the Elbow Room murder trial, which began Monday in the final week of the Lowndes County Circuit Court session.
Daniel Paul Copple, 44, of 31725 Kingly St. in Lucerne Valley, Calif., is charged with two counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault.
The incident took place in the early morning hours of Feb. 16 at the Elbow Room, a downtown Columbus bar on Second Avenue North near Fifth Street North. Copple is accused of killing Mark Caudill, 33, of Birmingham, Ala., and James Bennett Mann II, 42, of Columbus, and threatening Ward.
A jury of eight men and four women heard opening arguments before Ward was called to the witness stand by District Attorney Forrest Allgood.
Ward told the court he was about to shut the bar down when the incident took place. He said he usually closed the bar at around midnight or 1 a.m.
“During the week it was probably an average night for a Tuesday night,” Ward said.
He then drew a sketch of the configuration of the establishment and used it to show the court the general locations where the incidents took place.
Ward then testified that Caudill came into the bar and showed a gun.
“Mark got a beer, and again we were just chatting, and all of the sudden he pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and said, ‘Look at this. This is a good gun,'” Ward said, noting Caudill also showed him a permit for carrying the weapon.
Put the gun up or leave
“He had one and I said something along the lines of ‘I don’t know what the rules are but you’re going to have to put the gun up or leave’ or something like that. He said ‘You’re right. You’re right,’ and he put the gun up, drank his beer and he left.”
Ward said Caudill then left and Mann came into the bar and acted calm. This was unusual for him, Ward said, adding he knew Mann for more than a decade.
“This is amazing and I’ve told his mother this. I’ve never seen Bennett that calm in all my life,” he said.
Mann never left, Ward said, and Caudill returned. Ward testified that both had been drinking, but Caudill was not “staggering around” and he believes Mann was not drunk.
Ward said he went to the bathroom to do some maintenance and then went to the jukebox to turn the volume down.
“It was late and I was in full close-the-bar mode,” he said.
Ward said he next heard a gunshot.
“I thought I heard something, but in hindsight I thought I might have heard some scuffling. Something unnatural … Then I heard a gunshot. There’s no doubt about that,” he said to the court.
“I said, ‘Oh my god,’ and I hoped somehow it was some sort of accident, and I began to walk to the front of the building, the north side of the building.”
After he heard a second gunshot, he testified, “All my hopes for an accident vanished at that point.”
Ward said he then went to the front of the bar and saw Copple with the weapon.
“I dropped down to my knees … and it wasn’t something I did on purpose. It just happened,” he said, noting he did not remember Copple entering the venue.
Ward said Copple headed toward him, which made him fear for his life.
‘Don’t shoot me’
“He took a few more steps and then I knew I was going to die. I had nothing and he had a gun, and I started talking to him … I said, ‘Don’t shoot me,’ and ‘Please don’t shoot me’ multiple times,” he said. “He looked at me like I was an object that he had no interest in.”
Ward told the court Copple didn’t say a word but was standing 2 to 3 feet away with Ward still on his knees.
“He was pointing it at my head,” Ward said.
“His arm tensed up like it would if you pulled the trigger, and, surprisingly, nothing happened.”
Ward said Copple’s arm tensed up again and again nothing happened. He told the court he “did not hear any kind of click,” but the jukebox was still playing.
“He very quickly walked out the door. An expression changed, not in his eyes but his face, and he walked out the door,” Ward said, and then pointed out Copple as the man.
“He has a beard and his hair is a lot longer … He was very clean-cut looking that night,” Ward said.
Testimony continues today
The court recessed until this morning when defense attorney Steve Wallace had a chance to cross-examine Ward.
The two sides spent much of Monday morning deliberating on whether there should be a change of venue because the case received recent coverage in the local media. Wallace argued for a change of venue due to people possibly having prejudicial thoughts about Copple’s guilt. The Commercial Dispatch published an article in Sunday’s paper previewing the case and citing from court documents. WCBI, the TV station serving Columbus and the surrounding area, also ran a story previewing the case in the Sunday 10 p.m. broadcast and again Monday morning.
Wallace brought Donna Smith and William Starks, both from Columbus and both public defenders, to the stand. Both said they have heard people make prejudicial comments.
Allgood brought Sarah Fowler, associate editor for The Columbus Packet; Steve Rogers, WCBI assignment editor; and Lisa Younger Neese, Lowndes County chancery clerk, to the stand. All three said they have not heard any prejudicial comments made recently.
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