Suspected gunmen arrested in two separate killings on city’s West Side
Suspected gunmen in two separate fatal shootings more than a month apart but less than five miles away from each other on Columbus’ West Side have been arrested this week on murder charges — one man by U.S. Marshals in a neighboring state.
Cortez J. Jackson, 31, of the city’s East Side, was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of fatally shooting a woman before 6 a.m. inside her West Side apartment.
Clyde T. Litltlefield, 21, was arrested Wednesday by U.S. Marshals in Morgantown, West Virginia after police identified him as the suspect in the July 1 killing of a man inside a Franklinton bar on Sullivant Avenue.
The arrests of both men come as homicides continue to climb toward a record level this year in Columbus, and as the city Division of Police makes changes to its homicide unit to solve more cases. As of Thursday, there have been 132 homicides this year in Columbus, a figure not reached until Oct. 22 in 2020, itself a record-setting year for killings with 175 homicides.
Jackson was arrested after Columbus police officers were dispatched before 6 a.m. Thursday to the 3700 block of Eakin Road south of Sullivant Avenue and west of Wedgewood Drive on a reported shooting.
Police found the victim, identified as 34-year-old Alyse S. Edwards, shot in the hallway. Officers performed lifesaving measures on Edwards until medics arrived and continued those efforts while transporting her to Ohiohealth Doctors Hospital, where she died around 6:30 a.m.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud argument between Jackson and Edwards before a loud noise — presumably a gunshot, according to a court complaint. Edwards was then seen stumbling out of her apartment bleeding from her torso, followed by Jackson, the complaint states.
Jackson is scheduled to have his first court appearance on Saturday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court.
Littlefield, whose last known address is on Belvidere Avenue on the city’s West Side, was arrested in connection with the city’s 100th homicide of the year. That shooting occurred around 2 a.m. July 1 after a reported altercation inside the Patio Bar at 945 Sullivant
Ave.
Witnesses reported that a male suspect fired multiple gunshots at Edward C. Hunter, 29, of the South Side. Columbus police say Hunter died at the scene.
Within five days, Columbus homicide detectives issued a warrant for the suspected gunman, who they identified as Litltlefield through witness statements, photo arrays and evidence collection, according to a court complaint.
Police are also looking for a second West Side man, 22-year-old Logan Besse, who they say is a person of interest in Hunter’ death. Besse, whose last known address is on Wheatland Avenue near where Littlefield was known to live, is wanted on a weapons charge for carrying a firearm on a premise that serves liquor.
Anyone with information on Hunter’s or Edwards’ deaths, or any other homicide, can call the Columbus Division of Police Homicide Unit at 614-6454730 or report an anonymous tip to the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-4618477.
Eric Lagatta is a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, breaking news and social justice issues. Reach him at elagatta@dispatch.com.