A Franklin County jury decided Thursday that a Columbus man was the drive-by shooter who shot a pregnant 15-year-old girl in 2020, killing her unborn baby.
After two days of witness testimony in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, the jury found 27-year-old Christopher L. Payne guilty of all charges, including murder and attempted murder. Two witnesses were the driver and front-seat passenger who said they were in the car Payne shot from.
During the trial, Payne’s defense attorney Jeffrey M. Blosser cast doubt on the credibility of witnesses for the prosecution and on the victims’ ability to identify Payne as the shooter.
Ma’Tiya Bruster-Lewis, now 18, was shot on Aug. 23, 2020 while walking with Diarice Fitzgerald, 34, on the Northeast Side.
She was 35 weeks pregnant. Bruster-Lewis underwent an emergency cesarean section, but her baby son died from a bullet wound to the head.
Common Pleas Judge Carl Aveni will sentence Payne on May 5. Payne faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the opportunity for parole after at least 26 years.
Blosser told The Dispatch he expects Payne to appeal his case. He declined to comment further.
The shooting
Bruster-Lewis had gone shopping with her mom and sister for baby clothes on Aug. 23, 2020. After getting home, Bruster-Lewis walked to a convenience store with Fitzgerald, whom she knew from the neighborhood.
While Bruster-Lewis and Fitzgerald were walking that evening, somebody shot at the pair out the window of a passing black car.
Jalen Lee testified during the trial that he was driving the car and Payne fired from the back seat. Lee said he thought he, Payne and Lee’s girlfriend, Angel Hanks, who was a passenger, were going to buy some marijuana from Fitzgerald when Payne told him to drive the car toward Fitzgerald.
Lee said he was surprised to hear the shots, and testified that Payne later told him he was trying to hit Fitzgerald. He said he didn’t go to the police because he was scared of Payne and getting shot himself. When police first contacted Lee about the shooting, he denied knowing anything.
Bruster-Lewis testified during the trial that she only got to hold her baby, whom she named Asier, for about an hour before he passed away.
Bruster-Lewis said days later, she saw Payne drive by her house in a black car and they locked eyes. Bruster-Lewis said she ran to tell her mom that was the man that shot her and her baby.
Police showed Bruster-Lewis photos of six men a week later and Bruster-Lewis picked out Payne as the shooter.