The Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed charges against Jeffery Lamar Smith in the stabbing death of a man outside a Shops on Lane Avenue restaurant.
Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said this morning, June 19, that aggravated murder charges against Smith, 51, of South Columbus, were dropped following the completion of additional investigation by the Upper Arlington Police Division.
Smith originally was charged with the killing Charles McCoy, 31, of Columbus after an altercation outside China Dynasty, 1689 W. Lane Ave., June 11.
Smith turned himself in to Columbus police the following day and was incarcerated at the Franklin County jail on a $1.5 million bond. His attorney, Joseph Landusky II, told Franklin County Municipal Court that video exists proving Smith was elsewhere at the time of the crime. O’Brien later dropped the bond and Smith was released on his own recognizance at about 1:30 a.m. June 14.
Smith was identified as the suspect by eyewitnesses who picked him out of a photo lineup, but Landusky said it was a case of mistaken identity.
UAPD did not immediately return calls June 19, but the division issued a statement June 15 saying it is seeking help in locating Jeffrey Blaire Harrison, who they called a “person of interest” related to the murder.
Harrison is described as a black man, 6 feet tall and weighing 195 pounds. Police are seeking information about his whereabouts or about a dark green 1997 Ford Expedition, Eddie Bauer edition, with the Ohio license plate GRG8563.
Anyone with information about Harrison or the vehicle is asked to call Upper Arlington police at 614-581-5160.
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