A Franklin County grand jury has indicted a 32-year-old man on murder charges in connection with a shooting outside an east Columbus bar earlier this month that left one man dead and another critically injured. Michael Wells faces two counts of murder, one count of aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault in the death of 39-year-old Jeffrey Amaker.
Police were called to Prime Ultra Lounge in the 900 block of Barnett Road around 2:15 a.m. on Oct. 4 after reports of a shooting, according to 10TV. Officers found Amaker and another adult in the parking lot suffering from gunshot wounds, and both were rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Amaker was pronounced dead at 2:47 a.m., while the second victim remained hospitalized.
Fight in the Parking Lot Preceded the Shooting
A preliminary investigation found that Amaker, the second victim and Wells had been involved in a fight in the parking lot before the gunfire, police said. According to the same account, Wells retrieved a handgun after the altercation and shot both men. Surveillance footage captured Wells fleeing the scene in a 2007 Toyota Avalon and driving north on Barnett Road; investigators later reported that the vehicle was recovered on Oct. 5.
Wells did not stay on the run for long. He surrendered at Columbus police headquarters on Oct. 9 and was taken into custody, the station's report states. The grand jury indictment, handed up roughly two weeks later, followed that surrender. Wells was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Charges Carry Serious Weight Under Ohio Law
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2903.01, a conviction for aggravated murder is punishable as provided in a separate statute governing sentencing for the state's most serious homicide offense. The indictment against Wells also includes two separate murder counts and a felonious assault charge tied to the second victim's injuries.
Part of a Rising Toll in Columbus
The shooting outside Prime Ultra Lounge adds to what has become a grim marker for Columbus this year. The city had recorded at least 50 homicide victims in 2026, compared with 46 at the same point the previous year, according to ABC6 On Your Side. July stood out as the deadliest month of the year so far, with 14 homicides, and the outlet reported that the age range with the most homicide suspects in 2026 was 18 through 21.
Parking-lot disputes escalating into gunfire are not new to Columbus. In a separate case earlier this year, police said a verbal dispute in a parking lot between two acquaintances preceded a deadly shooting, as ABC6 On Your Side reported at the time. Another earlier Columbus case saw a man sentenced for killing two people and wounding a third in a bar parking-lot shooting, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
