Derek Blake Ponder, 26, of Columbus, Ohio, was shot and killed on April 28, 2021, during an argument at the home of David A. Johnson III. The shooting took place at Johnson’s mother’s residence on South Harris Avenue; Johnson’s mother was also injured in the incident. David A. Johnson III, then 22, admitted to shooting Ponder and was later sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison.

Investigators found that Johnson was dealing drugs while awaiting trial. After his arrest in a separate 2022 incident in which his 1-year-old son, Dekari Johnson, died after ingesting fentanyl, Johnson pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the child’s death and was designated a major drug offender because of the quantity of fentanyl involved. He was briefly considered a suspect in a nearby gas station homicide, though those charges were later dismissed; Dreyton Johnson, his younger brother, was charged in the robbery-related shooting at that gas station.

If anyone knew Derek Ponder, his movements that day, or has information about the events at the South Harris Avenue residence, please come forward.