$3 million bond issued for suspect after body found in trunk of abandoned car
For a previous report on this story, view the video player above.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The second of two people charged with murdering a man who was found in the trunk of an abandoned car faced a judge Tuesday morning.
Tajuan Smith, who had evaded police for months, turned himself in and was arrested Monday. He was in a Franklin County Municipal courtroom Tuesday for his alleged role in the killing of Hajid Jordan. A judge issued Smith a $3 million bond.
Jordan, who was from Howard County in Maryland, near Washington D.C., was found in the trunk of a car in a parking lot of Woody’s Towing Services on Hilliard Rome Road.
Jordan was found with a gunshot wound and plastic bags covering his head and feet. The bags were analyzed at the Columbus Police Crime Lab, and fingerprints recovered matched that of Tajuan Smith through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, according to a police report.
On March 28, Smith was charged with tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse, but those charges were dismissed in April. Since then, Columbus police filed an arrest warrant for Smith on a charge of murder. He remained at large until Monday.
The investigation concluded that Jordan, Smith and William Robertson were at Robertson’s home near the 1100 block of East North Broadway on Jan. 13 when an argument escalated.
Police said that Smith, 24, and Robertson, 44, fired several shots into Jordan. The suspects placed Jordon in the trunk of his rented car and drove it to Volney Avenue, where it was abandoned.
The Columbus Police Homicide Bureau said the surveillance video shows two people walking away from the car. The car was towed to Woody’s Towing Services off of Hilliard Rome Road. Jordan’s body was found on Jan. 24.
A search warrant at Robertson’s residence provided physical evidence of the shooting and the suspects were both charged with murder. Robertson was arrested Aug. 23 and issued a $2 million bond the next day. He is next scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 1.