Thursday, September 24, 2026·Focal News

The Columbus Focal

Columbus's independent voice

Local

Three receive 19-to-24½-year sentences in fatal South High Street fight

Three men pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault in the 2023 death of Donald Smith Jr. Each was sentenced to 19 to 24½ years in prison.

Three receive 19-to-24½-year sentences in fatal South High Street fight
Three men have been sentenced to 19 to 24½ years in prison for their roles in a fight that led to the death of 53-year-old Donald Smith Jr. in south Columbus. Jamarion Evans-Bennett, 22, Dionta Hughes, 21, and Jayden Agee, 19, pleaded guilty last week to involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and felonious assault, a second-degree felony, according to court records. They had initially been charged with murder in December 2023. The fight occurred around 7 p.m. Dec. 6, 2023. The three, who were teenagers at the time, got into an altercation with people inside a business in the 3600 block of South High Street. Security staff asked them to leave, and police said the confrontation continued outside, where they fought with Smith. The men drove away in a red car, leaving Smith in a parking lot. Medics took him to a hospital in critical condition; he died five days later.

More from The Columbus Focal