Grand Jury Indicts Inmate for 2021 Columbus Homicide

Bars from a prison jail cast a shadow on the floro.
Bars from a prison jail cast a shadow on the floro.

COLUMBUS, OH – The Franklin County Grand Jury has issued an indictment in a nearly three-year-old homicide case. Dontrell Jaynes faces charges for the 2021 murder of David Gaines at a Columbus gas station.

On January 6, 2021, Columbus Police responded to a shooting report at the Sunoco station on 1799 E. Hudson St. at 3:18 AM. They found David Gaines, 62, with a gunshot wound. Gaines was transported to Grant Medical Center in critical condition and pronounced dead at 4:19 AM.

Grand Jury Indicts Inmate for 2021 Columbus Homicide

The Grand Jury indicted Jaynes on December 28, 2023, for Aggravated Murder and Aggravated Robbery in connection with Gaines’ death. Jaynes is currently serving a sentence at the Ross Correctional Institution for an unrelated crime.

The indictment follows persistent investigative work by Detective Westfall, who has been pursuing the case since Gaines’ murder. The development marks a significant step in the ongoing effort to deliver justice in this case.