Jamar Brantley, 33, was arrested by Columbus police on Saturday, November 14, and charged with murder after a 17-year-old boy was found shot dead on a lawn on the city’s Far East Side. The teenager, identified as De’Montrez Jackson, was discovered in the early morning hours of November 6.
The case began at approximately 5:10 a.m. that Friday when Columbus police officers were sent to the 1300 block of Yorkland Road. Officers had received a report of a deceased person and went to the location to investigate.
What they found was Jackson lying outside on a lawn with a gunshot wound. Emergency crews responded to the scene, where he was pronounced dead at 5:20 a.m. His death was later investigated as a homicide.
For several days, investigators worked to establish what had happened and who was responsible. Police did not publicly release details about the circumstances leading up to the shooting, and no motive was announced.
A major development came on Thursday, November 12, when investigators obtained a murder warrant for Brantley. Authorities moved to arrest him two days later, with members of the Columbus Police SWAT team taking him into custody on Saturday.
Brantley, 33, has been charged with murder in connection with Jackson’s death. He is expected to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court on Monday, November 16, for arraignment, where the charge will be addressed.
The arrest gives investigators a named suspect in the teenager’s killing, but it does not answer every question surrounding the case. Police have not explained what led to the shooting or disclosed any known connection between Brantley and Jackson.
Brantley remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The investigation is still ongoing, and authorities have not released further details about the events that led to Jackson being shot.
The fatal shooting took place on the Far East Side of Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. The reported location is the 1300 block of Yorkland Road, although police have not identified a precise street address for the scene.