Charges filed in West Jefferson mass shooting
West Jefferson police Chief Chris Floyd said Monday a Columbus man has been charged with four counts of murder in connection with a mass shooting last month in Madison County.
Floyd said 35-year-old John P. Steckel, whose last address in court records from 2020 was the streets of Columbus, was charged Monday in Madison County Municipal Court.
Steckel is accused of killing Andrew
Swindall, 45, of West Jefferson; Shawn Wright, 45, and Leon Daniels, 38, both of London; and Jamie Lavender, 30, of Springfield on May 24.
Floyd said Monday at a press conference that video evidence from residences and businesses throughout West Jefferson helped put together a timeline for investigators and helped connect Steckel, known as "JP," with the case after his name came up in the early stages of the investigation.
Floyd said Steckel knew the victims, and the motive is possibly connected to a robbery attempt. Steckel declined to be interviewed by investigators, the chief said.
The victims all were shot multiple times, Floyd said Monday. He said there is no evidence at this point to lead investigators to believe Steckel was acting with someone else or that anyone else was involved in the homicides.
A passerby called 911 around 5:27 p.m. May 24 to report that he and a relative leaving work at a nearby warehouse found a man lying outside of an entryway at the north end of an apartment house on the 100 block of Jackson Street. The victim had an apparent
gunshot wound to the face and was dead, he reported.
West Jefferson police and Madison County Sheriff 's deputies responding to the scene soon found three more victims inside the apartment house on Jackson, just north of Burnham Street. The area where the apartment is located is a dead end and is next to a series of fields.
A crime scene team from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called to assist West Jefferson police with the investigation.
Floyd said May 25 that investigators believe the shooting occurred around 3 p.m. May 24.
It was the first homicide case in nine years in West Jefferson, a village of just more than 4,000 people located on the eastern edge of Madison County about 18 miles from Columbus.
Steckel was arrested on April 21, 2017, for illegal possession of a gun by a convicted felon and was sentenced on June 21, 2018, to 48 months in the federal Bureau of Prisons.
The court had ordered that Steckel be given credit for time served from his arrest until his sentencing. On Feb. 23, 2020, Steckel filed a motion in federal court alleging that the Bureau of Prisons had deleted his time credits for six months and approximately two and a half weeks.
U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley in Columbus ordered on May 1, 2020, that Steckel be given credit for the time served. Records show Steckel was released from federal prison in January 2021.
Steckel also has prior convictions in Franklin County. Floyd said Steckel was arrested by Columbus police on a parole violation warrant after receiving a call about a man with a gun on June 2. He is not currently facing any charges for that incident.
Steckel has remained in the Franklin County jail since that arrest and likely will make his first court appearance in Madison County on Wednesday or Thursday.
Additional charges are likely to be considered by a grand jury in Madison County.
Floyd said Madison County Prosecutor Nick Adkins will also make a determination about any potential death penalty specifications in the case. Ohio law allows for the death penalty to be sought when a case involves multiple victims. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner