In hopes of solving the three recent homicides to occur over a five-day span, the city of Columbus will open its wallet.
The Columbus City Council unanimously passed a motion Wednesday to offer a $5,000 award to those who give investigators the valuable information that will lead to an arrest and conviction in any of the three homicide cases.
Mayor Robert Smith, the council, Interim Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen and Assistant Police Chief Joe Johnson met Wednesday for a special-called meeting to discuss the homicides.
Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem initially mentioned the idea of offering a financial reward. He asked City Attorney Jeff Turnage if it was allowed.
“I’d have to research that, but I bet you could,” Turnage said.
The motion is contingent on Turnage giving a favorable opinion about offering a reward.
McQueen and Johnson expressed appreciation for the decision, with McQueen saying, “We will take any help.” Johnson added the rewards “help us a great deal.”
Karriem also mentioned possibly bringing back “seasoned or retired” police officers who live in the area to help with the homicide investigations on a part-time basis.
McQueen again said investigators are working to solve the cases and want to make sure it is done right.
“Sometimes that takes a little longer,” McQueen said, noting he wants to arrest someone knowing it will lead to a conviction in court. “It doesn’t mean we’re not doing our jobs.”
Karriem assured McQueen and Johnson his asking if assistance would be helpful “is not a reflection on the police department.”
“We should do everything we possibly can,” Karriem said.
Three in five days
William “Willie” Vaughn, 41, of Columbus, was shot and killed the night of Sept. 22 at the 500 block of 27th St. N. According to McQueen, the incident happened around 10:45 p.m. Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant said the incident happened near the victim’s home.
Tedd Thomas Wood, 35, of Columbus, was found dead at the 300 block of Eighth Street North on the night of Sept. 18. According to McQueen, a motorist found Wood’s body at around 1:30 a.m. at the location. Police said Wood was shot multiple times.
Columbus police obtained surveillance footage from the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library that shows a blurry video of the Sept. 18 incident. In the video, a blast is shown in the left side of the screen, and two more smaller lights shine. A blurry figure can be seen moving south on Eighth Street North toward the nearby traffic intersection. A few minutes later, police cars arrive at the scene.
McQueen said work is being done to enhance the video footage.
“Hopefully someone who had rode through there had seen it and come forward,” McQueen said. “I was hoping someone would come forward.”
The body of 34-year-old Alfonso Lathan Jr. of Columbus was found Sept. 17 at Luxapalila Creek. A fisherman noticed the body around 10:15 a.m. near the boat landing at the Luxapalila Creek Recreation Area off Highway 69. Lathan appeared to have been shot, with a trail of evidence leading from a nearby bathroom to the river bank.
The latest
During the meeting, Smith asked McQueen for an update “as of today,” and McQueen said investigators are still looking into leads in all three homicides.
“We have collected evidence,” McQueen said. “We are still canvassing the neighborhoods.”
Smith then asked how the city can assure Columbus residents that it’s still safe to live in the city.
“We as a police department always continue to aggressively patrol the streets and avenues of the city of Columbus,” Johnson said.
Investigators Natasha Coleman-Brown and Amanda Burrell are heading the Lathan investigation, Johnson said. Investigators George Harris and Tommy Watkins are heading the Wood case, and L.C. Cockrell is leading the Vaughn investigation.
Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin asked if the homicides were related and if it’s believed the same person is responsible, and McQueen and Johnson shook their heads in response to both questions.
“Our investigation has not lead us in that area,” Johnson said, noting there will always be “myths and facts” about the cases.
McQueen asked for the community’s help and cooperation from residents.
“We had doors slammed in some of the investigators’ faces,” McQueen said.
Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor said there are “seven unsolved murders” that occurred in Columbus, and “we don’t want these three to be added” to the list.
Other unsolved homicides “have not been left by the wayside,” McQueen responded, and on some of them, “we’re literally just a phone call away.”
Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens urged the police leaders to “stay focused” and make solving the recent homicides the main objective for the department.
Manpower, substation concerns
Council members and Smith also asked about the use, or lack of use, of the four substations located around the city. They are located at Leigh Mall, the “Fuqua Housing Authority” on the Southside of the city, Sim Scott Park, the CPI Group on Fifth Street North in downtown and at the Retired Senior Volunteer Program building in East Columbus.
“Do we have an overall plan to use the substations?” Karriem asked, noting he did not want to be “snowed” by the CPD. He defined “snowed” as something being taken care of temporarily but not consistently.
Johnson said the substations are used at times but are not staffed regularly. McQueen said he’d rather have officers on the streets than “sitting in a substation” while crime is up.
“When we get caught up and everything simmers down, we can have someone sit in a substation.”
Karriem said the city should identify the substations being used and keep them but get rid of the ones not used by the CPD.
Karriem asked McQueen and Johnson if the CPD had sufficient manpower to effectively police the city. The CPD has 71 officers, up from around five years ago but less than when McQueen started with the department in the 1980s.
Johnson — who said there are four shifts during a 24-hour period with two during the day and two at night — said the department has “adequate staffing” but was not fully staffed.
“We will only ask you for what is adequate,” he said, noting there are eight certified officers patrolling during the day shifts, with uncertified officers riding along, and there are 10 officers patrolling at night.
“Twelve (at night) is ideal,” Johnson said.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
