Near East Side man jailed in separate shooting charged in homicide
A Near East Side man who was already incarcerated at the Franklin County jail after he was arrested last week on suspicion of firing a gun into an apartment building in July now faces a murder charge for a fatal shooting in August.
Columbus police on Tuesday afternoon charged 20-year-old Zaire D. Jones with one count of murder after homicide detectives determined he was the alleged gunman in an Aug. 21 homicide less than a half-mile west of his home on Hanley Street.
Jones is suspected of shooting and killing 34-year-old Arthur H. Coons late that night following a confrontation between Coons and several neighbors, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday in Franklin County Municipal Court.
Police were dispatched to a reported shooting shortly after 11 p.m. Aug. 21 in a residential area west of Taylor Avenue and north of Mount Vernon Avenue. Police found Coons wounded by gunfire, and medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
As the investigation proceeded, detectives reported they learned that Coons had been arguing with several residents on the 1400 block of Hildreth Avenue before the confrontation became physical. According to the affidavit, detectives accuse Jones of firing a gun through the window of one of the homes, fatally wounding Coons.
Police records show that officers were dispatched to the same location on July 19 when Coons called to report that a coworker and neighbors made threats against him over an apparent money dispute. No arrests were reported at the time.
Jones was arrested last Wednesday after detectives determined that on July 5, he was among a group of individuals accused of shooting into an apartment building on the 400 block of Barnett Avenue on the city’s East Side, according to an affidavit.
Jones is also awaiting the resolution of three felony cases pending in Franklin County Common Pleas Court after grand jury indictments against him between Oct. 20, 2020 and June 10 of this year, court records show. In those three cases, Jones faces charges of drug possession, a weapons offense and domestic violence.
Eric Lagatta is a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, breaking news and social justice issues. Reach him at elagatta@dispatch.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ericlagatta