Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office secures guilty plea from third and last defendant in a

Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office secures guilty plea from third and last defendant in a 2022 attempted murder case.

Posted on 2/29/2024

Defendant: Breon Kelly

On Feb. 27, the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office secured a guilty plea from Breon Kelly, 21, of Columbus for a 2022 shooting incident in Whitehall. Kelly was the third and final person to plead guilty in the shooting. His co-defendants, Larry Latham III, 21, and Mark Smith Jr., 21, both of Columbus, pleaded guilty in May and April of last year, respectively.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Jason Manning and Steven Schott prosecuted the case for the prosecutor’s office. The Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s office would like to give special recognition to litigation paralegal Leah Beswick, whose work helped prosecutors secure the guilty plea.

The gang-related shooting on Jan. 23, 2022, followed a large fight at a bar at 5200 Riding Club Lane in Columbus. Kelly, Latham and Smith got into a car and chased another vehicle with three people inside. Smith and Kelly both fired guns at the other car, indifferent to the possible loss of life beyond their intended targets, while Latham drove. Kelly modified his gun to fully automatic via the use of a Glock switch. They struck the targeted vehicle and two additional vehicles, including one with a 7-year-old child. No one was injured in the shooting.

While Latham and Smith both pleaded guilty last year, Kelly chose to take his case to trial. Right before opening statements, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced immediately to 32 to 33-1/2 years in prison for the following charges:

2 counts of attempted murder with drive-by, automatic firearm and criminal gang specifications.
1 count of discharge over a prohibited premises with an automatic firearm specification.
1 count of having a weapon while under a disability.

Latham pleaded guilty on May 2, 2023, to the following charges and was sentenced to 11 to 13-1/2 years in prison:

2 counts of attempted murder with a drive-by firearm specification and a criminal gang specification.
1 count of discharge over a prohibited premises.
2 counts of having a weapon while under a disability.

Smith pleaded guilty on April 27, 2023, to the following charges and was sentenced to 17 to 20 years in prison:

2 counts of attempted murder with automatic firearm and criminal gang specifications.
1 count of discharge over a prohibited premises.
2 counts of having a weapon while under a disability.

The investigative work of the Whitehall Division of Police, Columbus Division of Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives helped lead to a grand jury indictment in 2022.