Columbia man charged with fatally stabbing roommate with a sword

A 23-year-old Columbia man was ordered held without bond Monday as he faces charges of fatally stabbing his roommate with a sword.

Donavan Townsend is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and other offenses in the killing of Jaelon Minor, 25, according to online court records.

A judge on Monday ordered Townsend held without bond.

According to police charging documents, Minor’s mother called Howard County Police to the Columbia Commons apartment complex around 1:40 a.m. Sunday after she witnessed Townsend, whom she said her family had known since he was a baby, stab her son. Minor died at the scene.

She told officers that Townsend and her son were sharing an apartment and had a long-standing dispute over finances, police said.

Minor’s mother said she went to the apartment to observe the young men’s conversation, which escalated into an argument and then Townsend stabbing her son, police wrote in charging documents.

Townsend fled the scene, police said, and was picked up by a relative who washed his bloodstained clothes and gave him new garments. The young man was found shortly thereafter.

Townsend only admitted to pulling out a katana, a sharp-edged, moderately-curved Japanese sword, and pointing it toward Minor as he approached him, police said.

There was no attorney listed for Townsend in online court records Monday evening.

Minor’s loved ones launched a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral expenses and other needs.

“Jaelon was known for his warm spirit, his friendship, and the joy he brought into the lives of those who knew him,” the organizer wrote.