Second man sentenced to life in prison for deadly beating outside Short North bar
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A man has been sentenced to life in prison for beating a man to death outside a Short North bar.
Chrystian Foster was convicted of murder on Friday for the 2022 beating death of Gregory Coleman Jr. outside a now-closed bar. Just over an hour later, the judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Gregory Coleman, Coleman Jr.’s father, broke out in tears as soon as the judge read the verdict.
“We found justice for Greg,” Coleman said.
The Coleman family said they’ve spent every day since Sept. 5, 2022, wishing to hear those words. They said it brings them closure. Coleman Jr.’s father and mother had the chance to speak in court Friday.
“He does not know the devastation that he caused this family, the hurt, the pain. The day that I went to see my son when I found out he was in the hospital that was just devastating,” said his mother Geraldine Coleman.
Coleman, 37, died over a week after being assaulted outside Julep in September 2022. Because the assault was captured on video, police quickly identified Foster and Dwayne Cummings as Coleman’s suspected assailants, and they were arrested weeks later. Coleman’s family has claimed in a lawsuit against Julep that Cummings and Foster were the bar’s employees, while Julep — which closed in July 2023 for unrelated reasons — claimed the two never worked at the bar.
Coleman was a longtime bartender at nearby Short North Pint House and had a daughter. His father, Gregory Coleman Sr., cried as the judge read the verdict.
“He does not know the devastation that he caused this family,” Coleman’s mother, Geraldine Goleman, told the judge before sentencing. “The hurt, the pain, the day that I went to see my son in the hospital, it was just devastating.”
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The video showed Coleman squaring up to Foster when Cummings came up from Coleman’s blind spot and hit him on the side of the head. Coleman fell to the ground – half on the sidewalk and half in the street — while Foster proceeded to hit him multiple times.
Before sentencing, Foster told the judge that he made a mistake and never intended for Coleman to die. Judge Chris Brown said the evidence presented at trial strongly suggested that Coleman might have lived had Foster not continued to hit him, and told Foster that he should have walked away.
“I thought he was conscious,” Foster said. “I made a mistake and I apologize for my mistake. He definitely deserved to be home just like I deserved to be home. Like I said I never meant for any of this to happen.”
Foster’s verdict came three months after his co-defendant in the case, Dwayne Cummings, was also convicted of murder. After being found guilty by a jury in February, Cummings was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Coleman Jr. has a daughter who is now 10 years old. His family tells NBC4 she misses her dad everyday. They said they plan to spend everyday showing her how loved she is.
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