On the night of January 2, 2014, in Columbia, Missouri, 23-year-old Dontay Tolston, a male, was found with a gunshot wound in a residence on Newton Drive. Emergency services transported him to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead in the early morning hours. The initial police response to reports of shots fired had not located a victim or a suspect.
The subsequent investigation into Tolston's death quickly led authorities to three suspects:
20-year-old Martrell Terrell Smith of Columbia, 17-year-old Derrick Copelin of New Orleans, and 20-year-old Jimiah A. Lambert, also of Columbia. The incident was characterized by police as a drug deal that had turned violent. Smith was the first to be apprehended and was charged with second-degree murder. Shortly after, warrants were issued for the arrests of Copelin and Lambert on the same charge, with authorities believing they had fled the Columbia area and should be considered armed and dangerous.
Derrick Copelin was apprehended in New Orleans. In a turn of events, the second-degree murder charge against him was eventually dropped. Instead, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of possession of a controlled substance. Having already served more time than his sentence of 180 days, he was released. His cooperation with the police was a key factor in the plea deal. The investigation revealed that while Copelin was present during the drug transaction, he was not the shooter and was considered a witness to the fatal events.
Jimiah A. Lambert, the man identified as the shooter, was also located and arrested in New Orleans and extradited back to Boone County. He ultimately pleaded guilty to the charge of voluntary manslaughter for his role in Dontay Tolston's death. As a result of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to serve 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
The third suspect, Martrell Terrell Smith, who was the first to be taken into custody, also faced legal consequences for his involvement. He was convicted for his part in the events that led to Tolston's death. Smith pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and, like Lambert, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. His arrest and subsequent conviction were part of the broader effort by law enforcement to bring all individuals involved in the tragic death of Dontay Tolston to justice.
