Dwayne Cummings, convicted of murder Friday for a sucker punch outside a Columbus Short North bar that ultimately killed 37-year-old Gregory Coleman Jr. in September 2022, was soon afterward sentenced to life in prison with a chance for parole after 15 years.
After the guilty verdict from the jury, Gregory Coleman Sr. doubled over in grief and joy, tears streaming down his face as he spoke to Franklin County Judge Chris Brown during the victim impact testimony before sentencing.
“He was everything a man would want as a son,” Coleman said of his son minutes after the guilty verdict against Cummings was read aloud.
The elder Coleman said the verdict convicting the 40-year-old Cummings of one count of murder was justice.
Around 2:10 a.m. on Sept. 5, 2022, Cummings threw a sucker punch at Coleman Jr. outside Julep Bar, located at 1014 N. High St. Coleman died 13 days later from his injuries.
Prosecutors said Coleman had been walking by the bar and started talking to a woman who was in the patio area. That woman’s husband, 33-year-old Chrystian Foster , challenged Coleman to a fistfight.