Columbus police ID three men with Lumpkin

Columbus police have confirmed the identities of three men who were with Frank Lumpkin III on Tuesday when he allegedly shot a teenager he found in a vehicle stolen Sunday from his wife.

The men with Lumpkin were Robert Hinson, 41, Howard Pound, 47, and Joseph Carson Patrick, 34, said police Capt. Gordon Griswould.

Police Chief Ricky Boren said all three were, like Lumpkin, armed with guns Tuesday when they found the 2006 Lincoln Navigator that had been stolen about 8:15 p.m. Sunday from a 3720 Macon Road Circle K. Lumpkin's wife, Tammie, 47, had left the car running at the station with the family's dog inside.

Lumpkin, 50, of 3225 Cathryn Drive, faces an aggravated assault charge in the Tuesday confrontation. Police accuse him of shooting a 16-year-old in the side with a 9 mm pistol at a gas station at 1538 Fort Benning Road.

According to police, Lumpkin and his three companions found the Lincoln Navigator there about 8 p.m. and pulled in behind it. Lumpkin, armed with a pistol, got out and approached the driver, police said. An altercation erupted, during which Lumpkin fired a shot, investigators said. The driver backed the Navigator into Lumpkin's car and tried to flee, but the vehicle crashed into a pole, police said.

Three youths reportedly were in the Navigator, and a police report states a second 16-year-old has been charged with felony theft by receiving a stolen automobile. The report says officers were called to the gas station at Fort Benning Road and Pine Terrace Drive because of the fight.

"Upon arrival, officers learned that Frank Lumpkin III had located his stolen 2006 Lincoln Navigator... occupied by three black males. Mr. Lumpkin and three other friends attempted to retrieve the vehicle when the suspect stopped to get gas. When Mr. Lumpkin approached... the driver threw it in reverse and struck Mr. Lumpkin's vehicle in an attempt to get away."

That report did not list the other witnesses' names, nor give Lumpkin's age or address. The report listed the victim in the case as the "State of Georgia."

Lumpkin is a member of one of Columbus' most prominent families. He is the son of the late Frank Lumpkin Jr., for whom Columbus State University's Lumpkin Center is named. The suspect's sister is Muscogee County Probate Judge Julia Lumpkin.

The probate judge previously has dated Gray Conger, Columbus' district attorney. Conger said he has not yet decided how the aggravated assault case will be handled when it gets to his office.

Public reaction

Lumpkin's alleged taking the law into his own hands has made him a local hero among residents angry about crime. He reportedly was frustrated with local authorities' slow response to his calls.

His attorney, Frank Martin, maintains Lumpkin's action to recover his stolen car is justified by a Georgia law allowing a citizen to detain a felony suspect until police arrive.

That law states: "A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge. If the offense is a felony and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion."

The law Lumpkin is accused of violating states: "A person commits the offense of aggravated assault when he or she assaults... with a deadly weapon or with any object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in serious bodily injury." Violating this law "shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 20 years," it says.

Martin cites a series of incidents that led Lumpkin to try to recover his stolen vehicle:

• Police spotted the vehicle Sunday and tried to stop it, but the driver got away.

• In the stolen Navigator were Lumpkin's home address and house keys. On Monday he discovered a Smith & Wesson gun had been stolen from his 2008 Nissan Titan, parked in the garage at his Cathryn Drive home.

• Lumpkin had spotted his stolen vehicle Monday night, parked in the driveway of a south Columbus house. He called 911, but by the time police arrived, the car was gone, Martin said.

• When he and his companions found the car Tuesday night, Lumpkin called 911 again and waited 20 minutes for police to arrive, Martin said. He decided to block the Navigator when it appeared about to leave.

Boren said Thursday that police still were checking their record of 911 calls from Tuesday night but had not yet found earlier calls originating from the phone number Lumpkin gave them.

Neither Boren nor Martin knew how Lumpkin came to be with the three men accompanying him.

Said Martin: "I've been able to put this much together. When he saw the car on Monday night parked at a residence in a driveway and there were about eight or 10 boys standing around the car, I would imagine that the thought occurred to him that, you know, to get his car back, he might need more people, even if the police were there."

Lumpkin had reason to feel his family's safety was at stake, Martin said: "They had the keys to his house and knew where he lived." The same culprits also may have had the gun taken from his Nissan, Martin said.

Martin said the youth driving the Navigator on Tuesday night had a gun in his lap when Lumpkin got to the vehicle's window. Lumpkin was struck with the Navigator's door, complained of pain in both elbows and had a cut on his left hand resulting from the scuffle, according to his arrest report.

The three men who were with Lumpkin face no charges, Griswould said. Police have not yet charged the teen who was shot. He was listed in satisfactory condition Thursday at The Medical Center.

His name, and that of the teenager charged with receiving stolen property, are not being published because of their juvenile status.

Lumpkin is out of jail on $2,500 bond. Beyond the continuing police investigation, typically the next step in his case would be for it to go to the district attorney's office for a decision on whether to present the evidence to a grand jury.

Conger said the case might not reach his office until after Thanksgiving. He said he had not dated Lumpkin's sister lately and had not decided whether to withdraw from handling the case.

"I'm not planning on recusing at the present time, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility," he said.

Police have been criticized for charging Lumpkin in the shooting. Chief Boren said investigators felt that under the circumstances, the shooting warranted the assault charge and a review by the courts.

"I feel like there needs to be some judicial review," he said. "I feel like a judge or a grand jury or something needs to make the decision on this."

The dog taken when the Navigator was stolen Sunday later was recovered at Forrest Road near Avalon Drive.