COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)— Tuesday morning, the man accused of killing his neighbor during a personal dispute made his first appearance in Recorder’s Court.
Emilio Manrique, 40, is facing murder and drug related charges. According to police testimony, the two were ‘friends or foes,’ and were regularly seen together either getting along or fighting.
Neighbors say the two were arguing throughout the day of the shooting over a payment Manrique failed to give the victim. Allegedly, bottles of alcohol were broken during a physical altercation. The two were separated, but agreed to reconvene later that night, ‘in the street for mutual combat.’
Editor’s Note: WRBL has redacted the victim’s name pending notification of next of kin.
“During my interview with Mr. Manrique, he would explain that he willingly participated in this fight with the victim meeting him out on the street. Then he would explain that he tried to back off from the victim,” Sgt. Sherman Hayes with Columbus Police testified. “During this time, he stated that he presented the firearm to scare the victim, and the victim would grab the gun, and the gun would go off.”
Sgt. Hayes testified Manrique admitted to shooting his neighbor during a 911 call before police arrived. His defense attorney, Public Defender Sheneka Terry, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Manrique was on the scene when the Violent Criems Unit assumed the investigation, apparent methamphetamine was also taken from Manrique’s pockets at the scene. He was ordered to be held without bond on the murder charge and a $2,500 bond for the drug charge. The case was bound over to Superior Court.
Testimony from Sgt. Sherman Hayes
Editor’s Note: WRBL has redacted the victim’s name pending notification of next of kin.
We would find that these two being neighbors were friends and foes. We’d find that through witness testimony that these two individuals were commonly together and if not being friendly with one another, they were arguing or fighting with one another. Specifically on the 8th around noon, the victim had questioned Mr. Manrique about payment for the use of electricity.
Mr. Manrique had recently come into financial struggles and was removed from his home, and which caused him to move into the vacant residence of 4615 Holly Avenue. The victim would assist Mr. Manrique by allowing him to stretch a power cord and electricity over from his residence to this residence where Mr. Manrique is staying. The agreement was for financial payment to assist in the use of electricity.
We would find that Mr. Manrique basically refused to make payment, [Manrique shakes his head in refusal during testimony] which led to a verbal altercation. This verbal altercation led to the victim breaking a bottle of beer or a couple bottles of beer, or maybe a bottle of liquor, leaving glass present. Witnesses would state that several people would clean up the liquor and separate the two. Hours later, they would basically become reinstating a verbal altercation with one another and the neighbors and other people nearby would separate the two.
And it’s approximately 19:40 p.m., 7:40 p.m. when the two encountered one another again. Mr. Manrique claimed that his dog had sustained a cut to its paw from the glass that was broken earlier in the day. He then left his house and went down the street where the victim was located at the time, confronted him. Both parties agreed to meet the street for mutual combat, at which time Mr. Manrique presented the firearm and discharged it.
During my interview with Mr. Manrique, he would explain that he willingly participated in this fight with the victim meeting him out on the street. Then he would explain that he tried to back off from the victim. During this time, he stated that he presented the firearm to scare the victim, and the victim would grab the gun, and the gun would go off.
We would locate two eyewitnesses that witnessed the entire incident from earlier in the day, all the way through the evening, and was present when the gun was fired. And we’d locate two other witnesses who saw bits and pieces of the entire day and were there present when the gunfire happened.
We were able to determine, based upon their statement, that the victim was actually laying on the ground when he was shot. He was shot twice based upon my training experience, it was two obvious wounds to his neck, the left side of his neck. Possible projectile lodged at his ribs on his right side of his body.
He was sent for an autopsy, and we’ll know more about those findings then. We did locate one shell casing by the victim’s body, we did not recover a gun. Mr. Manrique would call 911 and he claimed, ‘it was an accident, it was an accident, it was an accident,’ and would admit over the 911 call that he had fired the gun.
Sgt. Sherman Hayes, Columbus Police Department, Violent Crimes Unit
At one point during testimony, Manrique made the following statement to Sgt. Hayes.
“I just want to say, like the day you came in and did the interview, you know I was in shock still,” Manrique said. Terry continued to ask Sgt. Hayes questions when Manrique attempted to make another statement.
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