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The second day of testimony on the alleged gang-related deaths of two Columbus teenagers in 2021 began with discussions about jurors.
The trial was interrupted two hours later when a juror said a suspect’s mother had pointed a mobile phone at him during the hearing, prompting Judge Gil McBride to ban mobile phones in the courtroom.
The bystander knew herself as Rodderick Glanton’s mother, but denied pointing her phone at the jury.
“I didn’t point my phone at anybody,” he said.
McBride went on to say that the phones were distracting and that anyone who violated his order to leave them outside risked being held in contempt and in all likelihood jailed.
This after two jurors in the trial of three suspects accused of committing murders in the interest of a local street gang admitted they knew other people connected to the case.
Both jurors were women. One of them said she was friends with the deceased mother of a witness, Glanton’s girlfriend. The other said he met one of the victims, Saiveon Pugh, when he was about 10 years old.
He said his sister was a friend of Pugh’s mother, who also passed away, and that the sister had Pugh in her care.
Defense attorneys objected to the first jury’s excuse, but Judge Gil McBride rejected both, reducing the number of people who heard the case to 12, with no alternates left to update the other excused jurors.
McBride had already fired a juror on Tuesday, after the woman pointed to an upcoming holiday she had overlooked to mention jury selection.
The loss of any other juror could simply result in a mistrial, and defense attorneys first questioned whether the juror pointing to Glanton’s mother had been compromised by the incident.
Later, they said they agreed with McBride’s decision to allow that jury to remain seated.
In her opening statements Tuesday afternoon, prosecutor Cara Convery claims the suspects carried out an “execution” of Pugh, 18, and Jessie Ransom, 17, at Wilson Homes in Columbus in June 2021.
Those accused of shooting more than 50 people at the Dodge Dart in which the teens were traveling are brothers Terrance Upshaw, 31, Homer Eugene Upshaw, 28, and Glanton, 28.
“On June 14, 2021, four other people were shot and killed in a small silver sedan at the Wilson apartment complex, and two other people were executed,” Convery told the jury.
He alleged that the defendants were part of a hybrid street gang, the Marlows, in Wilson.
The sick were in the domain looking for girls, he said. “The challenge is they’re driving toward Wilson,” Convery said.
The car drove past twice, he said, calling the place a “trap house,” a position used for drug trafficking.
Defense attorneys said the occupants of the Dodge were connected to a rival street gang called Zohannons, who were making plans to shoot the defendants.
Terrance Upshaw is represented through Shevon Thomas II. Homer Upshaw is represented through William Kendrick. Glanton’s attorney is Allen C. Jones.
“This is a transparent case of self-defense,” Thomas told the jury.
Jones echoed that. ” It’s not an execution,” he said, telling jurors that one victim was wearing a mask that covered everything except his eyes. A firearm was also discovered in the Dodge, he said.
“Who’s going to meet a group of women with their faces covered and an AR-type gun in their hands?”Jones asked.
Kendrick also pointed this out by saying, “It’s the uniform for a drive-thru service” and telling the jury, “The factor in this case is, ‘How do you protect yourself against a drive-thru?'” »
A 21-count indictment charges the three suspects with murder, assault with violence, damage to property by felons, possession of firearms while committing crimes, and violation of Georgia’s Terrorism and Street Gang Prevention Act.
Convery and his co-attorney T. McKenzie Gray are part of the state attorney general’s anti-gang prosecution unit, which alleges that the Marlow gang is connected to the toughest American world.
U. S. World is affiliated with national gangs such as Gangster Disciples and Crips, the government said.
Columbus police said the Zohannon and U. S. World had a gang war in 2021, an increase from the 70 homicides Columbus reported that year.
Authorities say the evidence against the three men includes surveillance video showing the shooting. It will be shown to the jury as the case progresses, prosecutors said.
Police said they received several calls about the shooting at 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue and discovered four gunshot wounds near the 316 Wilson Apartments building at 3400 Eighth Avenue. Two of the victims survived.
In addition to the murder charges for the deaths of Pugh and Ransom, the three suspects face charges of molesting the surviving victims.
Homer Upshaw faces more weapons and drug trafficking charges because of a prior felony conviction and because police said he had 10 pounds of marijuana when he was arrested on July 26, 2021.
Journalist Kelby Hutchison contributed to this story.
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