Man sentenced for murder in Whitehall
A Columbus man will serve 24 years to life in prison for killing a Whitehall man with a gun he and his girlfriend bought from a pawnshop and later sold back.
Emanuell Moncrief, 22, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to one count each of murder and aggravated robbery, both with gun specifications. Moncrief was sentenced by Judge David E. Cain.
Moncrief’s plea came as part of a deal made with prosecutors after opening arguments in his trial were presented. As part of the deal, a second murder and a weapons charge were dropped, which could have boosted his sentence to a maximum of 36 years behind bars.
At 9:25 p.m. on April 2, 2016, Edward Earl Braswell, 56, left his apartment in the 4000 block of East Main Street to buy cigarettes at a nearby gas station. Moncrief stumbled upon Braswell as he was leaving the station and tried to rob him, Assistant Prosecutor Renee Amlin said.
Witnesses reported hearing Moncrief demand money from Braswell before he fired three shots. One of the shots hit one of Braswell’s legs, lacerating a femoral artery.
“He died just a few feet from his apartment,” Amlin said.
Moncrief fled the scene in a Ford Escape driven by his mother, she said. Also in the car was his girlfriend, Quanchelle Dampha, 26, who cooperated with authorities in return for a lesser charge.
Dampha was originally charged with complicity to murder and tampering with evidence. On March 13, she pleaded guilty to evidence tampering and faces up to three years in prison and a fine as much as $10,000. She is set to be sentenced on April 7, according to court documents.
Moncrief’s mother was not charged with a crime, Amlin said.
Whitehall police were able to link Moncrief to a gun he and his girlfriend purchased from a pawnshop the day before the shooting and later sold back to the shop, she said. They also connected him through witnesses and other evidence to a shooting at Dampha’s complex that took place a few hours before Braswell was killed.
“The shell casings at both scenes matched the gun,” Amlin said.