COLUMBUS, Ohio — Judge Monica Hawkins told 17-year-old Dreyton Johnson in a Franklin County juvenile courtroom that if he is mature enough to carry a gun, he is mature enough to be tried as an adult.
Johnson is charged with aggravated robbery and murder in the death of 21-year-old Andrew Combs on Dec. 13, 2022.
Johnson was 15 years old when Columbus police said he and two other teens entered a Sunoco on West Broad Street in a robbery attempt. He allegedly turned the gun on Combs after he tried to step in to stop the attempted robbery.
Combs was on his way home from holiday shopping with a friend and his pregnant girlfriend.
William Armstead Jr. was also arrested on a murder charge. A third suspect remains at large.
Johnson’s attorney argued against moving the case to the Common Pleas Court, saying he would have a slimmer chance at rehabilitation. But the judge sided with the prosecution’s argument that Johnson would not be amenable to rehabilitation in the juvenile intervention system by the time he turned 21.
Combs’s mother Deborah addressed Johnson in court, telling him her son’s death has caused emotional distress and trauma within her family and also for Combs’s girlfriend, who gave birth to their son Kyzer after his death.
She was glad to hear the case would move to adult court and feels it is a step toward getting justice for her son.
“Andrew's life mattered, it mattered to us. I'm his mom. I'm never going to not talk about Andrew. I'm never going to give up on Andrew and I'm never going to give up on getting justice for Andrew,” she said.
Johnson will be indicted and arraigned in Common Pleas Court in the next few weeks.