By Jeb Phillips
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Wayne M. Winston
A man shot and killed by a 70-year-old woman he was trying to rob in a North Side motel room was wanted in Missouri.
An arrest warrant was issued in August for Wayne M. Winston, 25, because he moved out of state without permission while on probation, said Jacqueline Lapine, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections.
The probation came after a December 2008 arrest in St. Louis County for first-degree tampering with a vehicle, a felony.
Winston had just been released from prison in September 2008 after serving seven years for crimes that included second-degree burglary, stealing a firearm, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and three counts of stealing a motor vehicle, Lapine said.
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Authorities say that Winston barged into a room at the Continent Inn, near I-71 and Rt. 161, on Wednesday night and ordered six people there to the floor.
One of the people, a great-grandmother, reached into her purse on the floor, pulled out a .357-caliber Magnum pistol and shot Winston once in the chest.
The woman's son, who was in the room during the robbery, said that the robber had a black handgun and demanded money.
The Ironton woman was staying at the motel with family members while attending the All American Quarter Horse Congress, her son said. The door of the first-floor room, which opens to a courtyard and parking lot, was ajar so the adults in the room could stay within earshot of two girls in the room next door.
Columbus police have not released the woman's name, and family members do not want to be identified for fear of retaliation.
According to Missouri court files, Winston's last address was in Florissant, a suburb of St. Louis. Columbus police listed his address as "streets of Columbus."
It wasn't clear yesterday why he had moved here from Missouri.
Columbus police say they don't expect to file charges against the woman but the case will be presented to a Franklin County grand jury. County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said it is a long-standing policy to present any case of a death caused by a weapon to a grand jury, even if prosecutors are not seeking an indictment.
"It may seem like a waste of time in a case like this," O'Brien said, but it allows an independent group of citizens to review conclusions that authorities have reached.
O'Brien used the 2004 shootings at the Alrosa Villa nightclub as an example. A Columbus police officer shot and killed a man after the man had killed four people. Officer James Niggemeyer was called a hero, but a grand jury still reviewed his actions and cleared him of any wrongdoing.
The three-week long Quarter Horse Congress ends Sunday. The 70-year-old woman's son said yesterday that family members would return to Ironton sometime this weekend.
jeb.phillips@dispatch.com