Columbus police identify suspects in two separate fatal shootings

Arrest warrants have been issued for three men charged with murder Monday by Columbus police homicide detectives for their alleged involvement in the fatal shooting last month of a man who may have sold a relative of one of the suspects drugs that caused a fatal overdose.

Detectives have also arrested and charged another man with homicide in connection with a fatal shooting during an August vehicle chase.

In the potential retaliation case, detectives have obtained arrest warrants charging Rayshawn Rogers, 31, of Linden, and Christian A. Capers, 34, Damon R. Capers, 35, both of the East Side, with murder in connection with the fatal Sept. 23 shooting of Mario Copeland, 38. It was not immediately clear whether the two Capers are related.

Police say Copeland was standing in an alley south of the 1200 block of East Hudson Street in North Linden around 1 p.m. when he was confronted by a group of men.

During the confrontation, detectives say one of the men pulled a gun and shot Copeland multiple times. Immediately after the shooting all the men fled.

Officers responding to a report of a shooting found the wounded Copeland. He was transported to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased at 1:34 p.m.

Detectives believe from their investigation that Copeland may have sold drugs to a relative of Rogers, 45-yearold Lithasha Streeter, who died earlier that day Sept. 23 of a suspected overdose.

A funeral service for Streeter is planned Oct. 14 at the Marlan J. Gray Funeral Home, The Chapel of Peace North, 2500 Cleveland Ave. She will be buried at Eastlawn Cemetery. Visitation begins at 10 a.m. followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Eastside Cemetery.

Man arrested in fatal car chase

Detectives last week also arrested and charged Hussein Bilal, 21, of the South Side, with murder and felonious assault after he allegedly shot and killed a man during an August vehicle chase.

Police report they were dispatched at 10:19 p.m. Aug. 19 to the 3000 block of Wicklow Road on a report of gunfire. Additional calls that came into 911 reported two vehicles chasing and shooting at each other.

Once officers arrived in the area, they were directed to Parkside Road and South Roys Avenue, where officers found 32-year-old Miguel Arriola seated in his vehicle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Medics pronounced him deceased at the scene at 10:42 p.m.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call Columbus police Homicide Unit at (614) 6454730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS (8477).

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