Nine months after a brutal stabbing at a busy downtown Columbus bus stop, police say they have their suspect in custody.
A Columbus man was arrested Wednesday in connection with an Oct. 7, 2025 attack near East Main Street and South High Street that left a man with multiple stab wounds. The victim was taken to Grant Medical Center after the downtown confrontation, according to police. Detectives say a mix of bus surveillance footage and old-fashioned public tips helped break the case.
According to WSYX, detectives arrested 43-year-old Darren J. Wooden in connection with the October incident. Court documents reviewed by the station say the victim, identified as Jonathan Moses, arrived at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center with multiple stab wounds. Investigators then obtained surveillance video from a COTA bus that showed a person allegedly holding a knife.
Police released still images from that footage on social media. According to the court filings, a woman who saw the photos told detectives she recognized the man in the images as Wooden and that she had dated him in the past. The same documents state that Moses later picked Wooden from a six-photo lineup and that he has been charged with felonious assault.
Transit Safety and Public Tips
The arrest lands in the middle of ongoing worries about safety on COTA buses and downtown streets. Columbus police have in recent months leaned heavily on bus cameras and rider tips to crack other transit-related cases, a pattern local outlets have been tracking.
As reported in coverage of assaults on COTA buses last summer, officers have repeatedly asked riders to help identify suspects in attacks on or near COTA vehicles. Those community tips, officials say, can be the missing piece that moves a case from stalled to solved.
Legal Implications
Wooden is charged with felonious assault, an offense laid out in Ohio Revised Code Section 2903.11 and generally treated as a second-degree felony. The statute makes it a felony to cause serious physical harm, or to attempt to cause physical harm, by using a deadly weapon. Convictions can bring multi-year prison sentences and, in some situations, mandatory sentencing boosts, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
What Comes Next
With the felonious assault charge filed, the case remains under active investigation and police have not released any information about a possible motive. Prosecutors have lodged the charge, but details on Wooden’s next court appearances and scheduling were not immediately available, WSYX reports.
Detectives have not said whether they expect any additional arrests. They are asking anyone with information about the downtown bus stop stabbing to contact Columbus police and help fill in the remaining blanks.
