A Thomson man accused of gunning down another man in the 1200 block of Broad Street almost five years ago faces a jury this week in Richmond County Superior Court.
Terrence W. Cumber, 29, faces charges of malice murder, felony murder and gun possession in the June 21, 2020, death of Ahmad Popal, who was 23. The shooting took place outside the Scene nightclub and drew widespread public attention in the days that followed.
In his opening statement Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney William Hammond told jurors that evidence would show Popal and Cumber had engaged in a “back and forth” at the Scene over a young woman, and at one point, Popal warned Cumber to leave the woman alone.
Outside the club, things escalated. Popal hit Cumber’s brother, Chad, with his fist, and soon after, Cumber shot Popal, who was unarmed, dead with a gun he retrieved from a vehicle, Hammond said.
Cumber’s defense attorney, Scott Connell, told jurors they’d learn Cumber had been working for “48 days straight” when he went to the club with his brother and sister-in-law, Cassidy.
Popal “bum rushed” the couple outside the club and Cumber was thinking, “this is all I can do to stop this,” Connell said. He then shot him to defend himself and the couple, he said.
Jurors heard testimony and viewed body cam footage from former Richmond County sheriff’s deputy Trevor Lamborn, who testified he was patrolling the area at the time nightclubs were closing, because that’s when there was “usually trouble.”
The footage revealed a desperate scene, with police and bystanders attempting to save Popal as they waited for an ambulance to arrive. Cumber, meanwhile, had barricaded himself in a rear room of the club, but came out when authorities arrived, it showed.
The footage also showed Cassidy Cumber telling police “Black guys ran up on us while we were getting in the car,” but that Cumber had told her he’d done “what he needed to do.”
The case prompted a renewed call to reduce crime in downtown Augusta, but it also attracted widespread attention when, a few days after the crime, Cumber was released on his own recognizance and a small cash bond for the gun charge.
Then-Richmond County District Attorney Natalie Paine had asked that his bond be denied, according to prior reports.
His release prompted a small protest outside the Richmond County courthouse and the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement condemning it as “brash leniency” given to a white offender because he killed a Muslim man of color.
Around the same time, Popal’s brother appeared before the Augusta Commission, asking it to revoke the Scene’s licenses for its failure to have special duty officers on duty despite hosting a large crowd.
Testimony in the trial is expected to continue Wednesday and later this week.
