Jury convicts man of murder for sucker punching, killing 37-year-old
Dwayne Cummings, convicted of murder Friday for a sucker punch outside a Columbus Short North bar that ultimately killed 37-year-old Gregory Coleman Jr. in September 2022, was soon afterward sentenced to life in prison with a chance for parole after 15 years.
After the guilty verdict from the jury, Gregory Coleman Sr. doubled over in grief and joy, tears streaming down his face as he spoke to Franklin County Judge Chris Brown during the victim impact testimony before sentencing.
“He was everything a man would want as a son,” Coleman said of his son minutes after the guilty verdict against Cummings was read aloud.
The elder Coleman said the verdict convicting the 40-year-old Cummings of one count of murder was justice.
Around 2:10 a.m. on Sept. 5, 2022, Cummings threw a sucker punch at Coleman Jr. outside Julep Bar, located at 1014 N. High St. Coleman died 13 days later from his injuries.
Prosecutors said Coleman had been walking by the bar and started talking to a woman who was in the patio area. That woman’s husband, 33-year-old Chrystian Foster, challenged Coleman to a fistfight.
Video taken of the fight shows Foster and Coleman throwing punches, without landing any, for several seconds before Coleman drops his hands to his side and appears to turn to walk away. That’s when Cummings comes at Coleman from the opposite side and throws a singular punch.
Foster and Cummings both worked security at bars in Short North, including Julep. Foster had been working security at Julep on the night of the fight, Cummings’ attorney, Nicholas Vassy, said during the trial. Cummings had been working at another bar that night but had ended his shift and come to Julep to hang out with his friends and coworkers. Coleman worked as a bartender at a different bar on North High.
All 12 jurors — five men and seven women — returned to the courtroom to watch Cummings’ sentencing, which occurred immediately after the jury returned their verdict. The jury deliberated for four and five hours over two days in the case.
“He did not deserve this,” Coleman’s sister, Amanda Kusek, said of his death. “It’s just a shame there’s no remorse.”
Dr. Michael Caplan, a deputy coroner with the Franklin County Coroner’s office, testified during the trial, which began Tuesday, that he believed Coleman was unconscious from the punch when he fell backward onto the concrete curb, striking the pavement.
Caplan said in his testimony that he could not separate whether the punch or Coleman hitting the pavement caused Coleman’s fatal injuries. After Coleman was punched and struck his head, he lay unconscious for more than 10 minutes as Cummings and Foster each stood over him and hit him in the face. Bystanders took photos and videos instead of calling 911. A Columbus police officer driving by saw Coleman lying partially on North High Street and partially on the curb and stopped, prompting witnesses to scatter.
Ed Hastie, one of the attorneys representing the Coleman family in a lawsuit against Cummings, Foster and the owners of Julep Bar, which has since ceased operations, read a statement from another of Coleman’s sisters, Glenay Coleman, after the verdict.
“You stole our hearts,” Glenay Coleman said in the statement. “My brother deserves to be living.”
Before Brown sentenced Cummings, Cummings offered a brief statement on his own behalf.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Cummings said. “I apologize for my actions and my actions only.”
Hastie said that if Cummings is still alive when first eligible for parole, he plans to attend the hearing. In the meantime, the Coleman family, including the young daughter left behind following her father’s death, will remain grateful for the hard work done to get to a conviction, he said.
“This family will sleep a shred better tonight and sleep a shred better tomorrow,” Hastie said.
Foster, the other defendant who initially called Coleman out for a fight, has decided to have a bench trial before Judge Brown, meaning there will be no jury. His case will be heard at a later date. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner