Man charged with killing fellow inmate while in Franklin County jail
A man being held in the Franklin County jail in a homicide case has now been charged with murder in connection with the death of another inmate there.
Varmunyah Dunor, 21, of the Near East Side, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the Nov. 28 death of 35-year-old Dustin Ray, of Reynoldsburg, while in the Franklin County jail at 370 S. Front St.
A second man, Royalle Mosely, 24, of the East Side, has also been charged in connection with that murder and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
According to court records, Ray had been arrested on Nov. 27 on domestic violence charges and placed in a unit within the jail that housed 16 other adult male inmates in a bunk-style dormitory.
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Dunor had been in the jail since February 2021, after his bond in a separate homicide case was revoked. Mosely had been in custody for a non-violent offense and had since been released, according to Franklin County Sheriff’s office Chief Deputy Rick Minerd.
Around 11:20 a.m. on Nov. 28, a deputy in the jail and a nurse were alerted that Ray was unconscious in his bunk. Ray was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a head injury. He never regained consciousness and died on Dec. 2.
Lunch tray led to attack that resulted in inmate’s death, chief deputy says
According to court records, multiple inmates identified Dunor and Mosely, who were housed in the same unit, as having assaulted Ray using their hands and feet.
Minerd said the delay in charging Dunor and Mosely was because detectives were waiting on a final determination on Ray’s death from the Franklin County Coroner’s office.
The coroner’s office has had problems with forensic pathologists resigning and has had to rely on outside agencies like the Montgomery County Coroner’s office to handle cases. Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz, a pediatrician, has insisted that the resignations and use of outside agencies would have “little or no impact” on timely completion of autopsies relied on by law enforcement agencies.
When a determination on Ray’s death was given to them on Thursday, Minerd said charges were filed that same day against Dunor and Mosely.
Minerd said initially, there was some concern that Ray had suffered a medical emergency or had been ingested narcotics prior to arriving at the jail that contributed to his death.
A sheriff’s investigation determined that Ray had overslept the lunch period and had asked about the location of his lunch tray. Minerd said Dunor and Mosely assaulted Ray as a result of that inquiry and then placed Ray in his bunk, assuring other inmates he was fine.
Charges filed:East Side man charged after drug deal goes bad
Dunor is also accused of killing 28-year-old Jarrin Hickman, of the Southeast Side, on April 17, 2020, after a drug deal involving marijuana had gone bad, according to court records. The shooting took place in a parking lot on Chatterton Road and when mourners had gathered to remember Hickman one year later, an errant shot fired during a drive-by shooting claimed the life of LaToya Carpenter.
Carpenter was in a vehicle driving east on Chatterton Road and was not a part of the group of mourners.
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Juvenile arrested in fatal shooting
Columbus police also announced this week the arrest of 17-year-old Ellis Caldwell in connection with the May 21 shooting death of 29-year-old Keishawn Riley.
Around 2 p.m. on May 21, Riley was shot inside a vehicle in a shopping center parking lot he shopping center near the Columbus Palace Bowling Alley, located at 5707 Forest Hills Boulevard on the city’s Northeast Side.
A witness described seeing a male shoot into the vehicle Riley was in and then run to a waiting sedan and flee the scene.
On Wednesday, a Columbus police SWAT team arrested Caldwell in connection with the shooting. He has been charged with delinquency counts of murder and felonious assault in Franklin County Juvenile Court.
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