COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man was acquitted on an involuntary manslaughter charge Friday following an incident in June of 2021 in east Columbus, according to the Franklin County prosecutor's office.
On Oct. 7, Robert Thomas, 73, was indicted on a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing in connection to the shooting death of 43-year-old Jason Keys. He was found guilty of aggravated menacing.
Columbus police said Keys was shot and killed during a neighborhood dispute in the 2000 block of Walnut Hill Park Drive in June of last year.
A release from the prosecutor's office says Thomas confronted his neighbor's granddaughter and her husband, Keys, as they were leaving a grandparents' Father's Day brunch. Thomas believed that Keys had been letting the air out of his tires and pouring herbicide on his lawn for several years, the release says.
Thomas pulled out an assault rifle on the street and was loading the clip when Keys was able to take the clip and disarm him.
Elias Smith, 24, who was not involved in the dispute, heard arguing and fired several shots at Keys from his home, fatally wounding him. Smith then went back inside his home and refused to come out, prompting SWAT team members to respond to the home.
According to court records, Smith told police he believed Keys "may have been a threat because he believed he was holding a rifle magazine" and didn't recognize him.
Smith was then arrested and indicted for murder. His case is set for trial on Dec. 5.