Columbus Man Pleads Guilty, Sentenced for Multiple Violent Crimes

Posted on 2/4/2025

Defendant: Myshawn Butler

Today a judge sentenced a Columbus man for multiple violent crimes, including for his role in the fatal shooting of Melione Tucker, 16, on March 6, 2022, on Dunbrooke Court in the Hilltop neighborhood. Myshawn Butler plead guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter with 3-year Firearm Specification and Aggravated Robbery. Judge Karen Phipps sentenced Butler to an indefinite 25-30.5 years in prison.

Background on the death of Melione Tucker:
Officers responded after a 911 caller reported hearing a gunshot and seeing two people—one in a red hoodie and another in dark clothing—flee from the Havenwood Townhome Community in a dark-colored sedan.

When officers arrived, they found Tucker with a gunshot wound to the head. Columbus Fire personnel pronounced him dead at 11:50 PM. Investigators later recovered a single 9mm bullet casing from the scene. The investigation would reveal that Tucker also had a firearm and cash taken from him at the time of the shooting.

The next day, forensic testing linked the bullet casing to a gun used in a previous shooting on February 14, 2022. That case involved Myshawn Butler, linking him to the firearm used in Tucker’s death. Investigators then reviewed security footage and identified the suspect’s car as a black 2015 Hyundai Sonata, registered to Butler’s co-defendant, Terrance McNeely.

Cell phone records showed that Butler and McNeely were together before the shooting and that their phones traveled to Tucker’s home before arriving at the crime scene. Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies found Tucker shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.

The trial for Butler’s co-defendant in this case, Terrance McNeely, is set for March 5.
 
Butler Linked to Additional Violent Crimes
In addition to Tucker’s death, Butler was involved in the shooting on February 14, 2022, at the Fine Fair Food Market on Cleveland Avenue where Butler fired multiple shots at an occupied vehicle. No one was hurt. Columbus Police responded and found shell casings and broken glass. Butler was arrested March 14, 2022, and admitted to firing his gun. As mentioned above, the shell casings found would later link Butler’s gun to Tucker’s death.

Butler was also involved in a jail assault on September 8, 2023, inside Franklin County Correctional Center II. An inmate, Rakeem Barnett, was found with serious injuries, including a broken jaw that required surgery. Barnett reported that multiple inmates, including Butler, punched and kicked him in the face. In a recorded jail phone call, Butler admitted to attacking Barnett, saying he had "beaten up a new guy."

Judge Phipps sentenced Butler to 8-12 years in these cases, running concurrent to the 25-30.5-year sentence.

Ryan Pfefferle was the prosecuting attorney on all these cases.