Columbus Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Fatal Southeast Side Shooting

Posted on 12/16/2025

Defendant: Caleb Johnson

A Columbus man has been sentenced for the June 2024 shooting death of an unarmed man on the southeast side of Columbus.
 
On November 7, a Franklin County jury found Caleb Johnson, 27, guilty of 11 charges in the death of 25-year-old Jahaan Harris; including two counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder, four counts of felonious assault, and one count of improperly discharging a firearm over a roadway — all with firearm specifications.

Today, Judge Kim Brown sentenced Johnson to life in prison with parole eligibility after 25 years.
 
Case Summary
 
Around 1:40 a.m. on June 14, 2024, Columbus police responded to a shooting on Noe Bixby Road near Refugee Road. Officers found Harris with a gunshot wound; he was transported to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead at 2:31 a.m.

Surveillance footage revealed Harris and his group — including his brother Jayon Harris and friends Tyrell Miller and Chakyra Bailey — were walking home when they encountered a group of armed individuals; Caleb Johnson, Chaz Cooley-Ward, Danielle Hardy, and D’Angelo Gravely, gathering in the Amberly Square Apartments parking lot.

As Harris’s group tried to run away, the armed group opened fire, including Johnson, who fired a rifle. Harris was struck in the back while running and collapsed on Noe Bixby Road.

Detectives confirmed Harris and his friends were unarmed and not involved in any criminal activity — they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Johnson was identified through surveillance footage showing his vehicle coming and going from the murder scene. He was arrested on June 27 in Chillicothe. Police found his clothing from the day of the murder, as well as a rifle matching shell casings from the scene in his apartment.

The three co-defendants — Cooley-Ward, Hardy, and Gravely — also faced charges and pled guilty. The judge sentenced Cooley-Ward to 20–25 years and Hardy to 5–7 years. Gravely was sentenced today to 4-5.5 years in prison.