Girlfriend of Franklin County murder suspect charged with threatening witness during trial
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The girlfriend of a man currently on trial for murder in Franklin County Common Pleas Court was brought into court in shackles Friday to provide testimony after being accused of sending threatening messages to another witness and driving by the witness' home during the trial.
Sherita Carter, 31, is charged with two counts of intimidation of a witness.
According to Franklin County Municipal Court records, Carter sent messages to a witness who already provided testimony against Thomas Hampton, Carter's boyfriend, and another person who could potentially serve as a witness.
Hampton, 33, is currently on trial for murder, attempted murder, felonious assault and other charges in the June 26, 2023, fatal shooting of 31-year-old James Cunningham.
Hampton's trial began Tuesday. Prosecutors have presented evidence to the jury that police recovered 21 fired rounds at the shooting scene outside Hampton's home in the 1600 block of East 26th Avenue.
Cunningham drove a friend to Hampton's home to confront Hampton about a mutual female friend. Hampton and Cunningham's friend got into a physical fight, which was captured on camera. Hampton then got a handgun and began firing at Cunningham and Cunningham's friend, prosecutors said.
Cunningham sought cover across the street but a bullet struck him in the shoulder and traveled down his body, hitting his lung and causing internal bleeding that led to his death, police said. Cunningham's friend was also injured in the shooting.
Columbus police received a ShotSpotter alert about the gunshots, according to testimony at Hampton's trial, and found Cunningham lying in the backyard of a home across the street. One of the first responding officers testified that he saw a man, later identified as Hampton, walking into a home with what may have been a gun in his waistband.
Testimony at the trial showed the windows and tires of the vehicle Cunningham had driven to the scene were also shot out.
Hampton is arguing that he fired 21 rounds in self-defense after the fight because Hampton is only 5-feet tall and his four children were inside the home at the time. Hampton's attorney, Steven Billing, told the jury in his opening statement that Hampton thought Cunningham's friend was going to get a gun out of the vehicle they had arrived in and that's when the shots were fired.
When testifying in his own defense, Hampton admitted he did not know whether there was a firearm in the vehicle, however, he believed there might be.
Video of the shooting showed Hampton firing an assault-style rifle from the street in front of his home and walking back inside after the shooting, going to the basement. The rifle was found in the basement by police who searched Hampton's home.
Hampton's trial had already been emotionally charged, with members of Cunningham's family being escorted from Judge Jeff Brown's courtroom on Tuesday as prosecutors showed body camera footage from the responding officers. Cunningham's family reacted while watching the footage, which showed an officer performing CPR on Cunningham for several minutes before paramedics arrived and pronounced Cunningham dead.
According to court records, the witness testified on Wednesday. Carter began sending messages to the witness and potential witness that same evening, which continued into Thursday. Court records said Carter also drove by the witness' home in Reynoldsburg and made a comment about how Carter would "spin the block the right way," which the witnesses took as a threat.
Carter was arrested Thursday. She testified in Hampton's defense on Friday but appeared in handcuffs and shackles because of her arrest.
Carter's first court appearance on the charges is expected to take place Saturday in Franklin County Municipal Court.
The jury in Hampton's case is expected to start deliberating Monday morning.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio murder suspect's girlfriend accused of threatening witness during trial
