Although the official statement would reveal Upper Arlington had its first homicide in nearly eight years, the atmosphere outside police headquarters at the Municipal Services Center on Tremont Road was nondescript the night of June 11 except for the reporters in attendance.
Representatives from three television stations and two newspapers surrounded officer Bryan McKean, who about 10:30 p.m. said a man – since identified as Charles McCoy – died after an altercation outside a Shops on Lane Avenue restaurant.
Police subsequently reported McCoy had been stabbed.
Upper Arlington's last homicide occurred in September 2010 when a man on Doone Road killed his two sons, ages 8 and 6, before committing suicide.
The man accused of stabbing McCoy, 31, outside China Dynasty, 1689 W. Lane Ave., is Jeffery Lamar Smith, 51, of south Columbus.
As reported by The Columbus Dispatch, Smith, who is charged with aggravated murder, turned himself in at Columbus police headquarters and then was transferred over to Upper Arlington police about 7 p.m. June 12, according to Upper Arlington police Sgt. Heather Galli.
There was some confusion June 12 about where McCoy lived. The press release Upper Arlington police issued June 11 said he was a Columbus resident, but a separate police report the following day indicated McCoy lived on Brooksedge Boulevard in Westerville and was employed by China Dynasty.
According to an affidavit filed in Franklin County Municipal Court by detective Jason Amweg, police were called to China Dynasty at 4:22 p.m. June 11 on a report of an unconscious man behind the restaurant.
Amweg said the man was found lying in a mulch bed between the restaurant and some bushes, bleeding from a stab wound in his chest. An officer began administering CPR and when Upper Arlington Fire Division medics arrived, they provided "additional life-saving measures" before transporting McCoy to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
According to Amweg's affidavit, witnesses said Smith, identified in a photo lineup, was seen arguing with McCoy and then got into a fight with him.
"An eyewitness saw Smith on top of the victim and fighting with him in the bushes," Amweg stated.
A 911 caller and eyewitness also told police that McCoy had argued with a female restaurant employee earlier June 11.
Amweg stated the female employee acknowledged she called Smith and told him about the argument but said she didn't ask Smith to come to the restaurant.
While briefing reporters June 11, McKean said he didn't believe Smith was in Upper Arlington following the incident.
Court records show that in August 2017, Smith pleaded guilty to an amended charge of disorderly conduct in a domestic violence case. Charges of assault and aggravated menacing were dismissed.
The Columbus Dispatch staff writers Jim Woods and Patrick Cooley contributed to this story.
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