Man already serving 20 years in prison indicted for 2021 Columbus murder

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Nearly two years after a man was murdered at a northeast Columbus gas station, police found their suspect already serving time in a Chillicothe prison.

On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted 23-year-old Dontrell Jaynes for aggravated murder and aggravated robbery for his alleged involvement in the death of 62-year-old David Gaines, who was fatally shot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Gaines was found at 3:18 a.m. suffering from a gunshot wound at the Sunoco gas station on East Hudson Street in Argyle Park. He was taken to Grant Medical Center in critical condition but died about an hour later. His murder was one of eight within the first six days of 2021 in Columbus.

Police said that the ongoing investigation led them to Jaynes, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence at the Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe for an unrelated crime. In February, Jaynes pleaded guilty to felonious assault, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, attempted murder, and obstruction of official business. He received a seven-year concurrent sentence for those charges and received an additional three-year firearms specification for each charge.

His current charges include two counts each for murder and aggravated robbery, and one count each of aggravated murder, felonious assault and having weapons under disability. All charges include a repeat violent offender specification.

Jaynes has also been convicted twice for weapons charges and three times for receiving stolen property, all since 2021.