The fate of an Ohio gang member who killed two and wounded a third when he ambushed three guys outside an apartment complex while on parole for a robbery conviction has been revealed.
The Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney revealed in a news statement that Datwain Crudup, 29, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 46 years for his involvement in the killings of Kevin Williams and Nickolas Cowans as well as the attempted murder of a third man.
Last month, he was found guilty on four charges of murder, one count of attempted murder, felonious assault, and infractions involving firearms.
Bethany Bruner of the Columbus Dispatch stated that during the hearing, the defendant turned to face the judge and made fun of the victims’ relatives.
“The fact that he could laugh at these women … is the most gross thing I’ve ever seen. Zero has been learned from this,” Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Leigh Bayer stated. “To have the person who is responsible for their deaths laugh in their (families’) faces during their sentencing is just unfathomable.”
Bruce McCaskill, an ordained clergyman and Cowans’ grandfather, chastised the accused.
Datwain Crudup, a documented gang member, had to be moved to a different table in the courtroom during his sentencing because he kept turning around, smirking at the families of the two men he shot and killed in April 2021 and laughing. https://t.co/zzDceMBAJp
— Bethany Bruner (@bethany_bruner) September 26, 2024
“To murder people in broad daylight, it shows an evilness that we shouldn’t have to live with, that we shouldn’t have to be around,” McCaskill stated. “You have put my soul at stake because there’s no forgiveness. It hurts for me to have to set aside everything I have preached and I have taught because I can’t get this hatefulness out of my heart.”
Ebony Williams, Williams’ sister, stated that her family will never be the same. Williams’ brother was one of the victims injured in the shooting. She added that Crudup is a father himself, as reported by the newspaper.
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“I didn’t do what they’re saying I did,” the defendant insisted on his innocence. I didn’t do anything improper.
According to officials, the massacre took place on April 3, 2021, while the victims were gathering outside a Columbus apartment building. Prosecutors said that Crudup ambushed the victims together with an unidentified accomplice.
Local News Station said, citing charge documents, that a gunman exited the passenger side of a gold Pontiac G6 and ambushed the victims from behind.
Shortly after the shooting, Crudup—who was on parole at the time for a 2012 burglary and robbery case—fled to California. On December 21, 2021, more than eight months later, he was taken into custody.
