Suspect named in 2 slayings

Two young men and a teenage boy, all carrying guns, had gone to the Hilltop house late on New Year’s Day to rob a man there of cash and narcotics.

What ensued was a gun battle inside the house that left resident Keith Brian Williams III, 23, and his pregnant girlfriend, Marlazia JonesMattox, 21, fatally wounded, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.

After 52 days of investigation, homicide detectives now believe they know who shot the couple. Murder charges were filed Wednesday against Mario Marshawn Wade, 18, for the shooting of Williams, and Christian Daquan Dillion, 19, for the shooting of Jones-Mattox.

Both men, who lived on the Hilltop and are believed to be gang members, are at large and considered to be armed and dangerous, police said.

A 15-year-old boy who accompanied Wade and Dillion on the robbery was critically wounded when he was shot by Williams, court records show. The teen is still in medical care and has not been charged, said Sgt. Jeff Strayer, supervisor of the third-shift homicide unit.

Doctors were able to deliver Jones-Mattox’s baby boy, who survived even though she was shot numerous times at close range, Strayer said.

“For us it’s a positive step getting the people responsible charged. But that is as far as the upside goes. It’s just a tragic situation all the way around,” Strayer said.

A key to the case was the arrest of the woman who drove Wade, Dillion and the 15-year-old boy to the residence on the 600 block of Hague Avenue.

Columbus police detectives arrested Alianna Royster, 18, of Grove City, on Jan. 22 and charged her with aggravated robbery in connection with the case.

Royster told detectives that she originally drove the three males to the Hague Avenue house so they could buy narcotics. All three men were armed, she told police, and talk turned to robbing Williams of narcotics and cash, court records show.

Only two of the three suspects returned to the car after the shootout. Royster said she soon learned that Wade had shot Williams and Dillion shot Jones-Mattox.

The 15-year-old boy was still inside the house, wounded in the gun fight, court records show.

Physical evidence at the scene confirmed Royster’s account.