Victim died in crashed car near Lexington car dealer. Woman allegedly pulled trigger.
A woman and man were sentenced to amended charges for the January 2021 killing of a man found in a crashed car near the Don Franklin Auto Mall on Richmond Road.
In addition to murder, Mercedes Childress, 27, and Davontae Cobb, 26, originally faced murder charges in John Harris’ death, but Childress was accused of pulling the trigger, according to court and jail records.
Childress pleaded guilty to amended charges of facility to murder and robbery in October 2024. In January 2025, she was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Cobb also pleaded guilty to amended charges of first-degree manslaughter in October 2024 and sentenced to 15 years on Jan. 13, 2025. A persistent felony offender charge was dismissed as part of his plea agreement.
According to court records, Cobb provided Harris, 28, an address to meet in the area of Cove Lake Drive and Squires Road in the early hours of Jan. 9. Cobb stated he was in Harris’ car when the shooting occurred.
A witness told police that Childress used a handgun to shoot Harris, according to court documents. Harris had multiple wounds, police said previously.
Cobb immediately left the scene of the shooting with Childress before fleeing the city, court records say. Cobb was connected to the crime with his statements to police and ballistic evidence from other scenes. Additional details, including what set off the violence, weren’t immediately available.
Cobb and Harris allegedly knew each other, as the two were charged in 2018 in a pair of shootings on Hedgewood Court. Several homes, including one riddled with bullets, were hit with gunfire.
Cobb was most recently booked into jail on Feb. 4, per jail records. Along with murder, he faces charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, first-degree criminal mischief, four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment and two counts of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
Childress, who was was booked into the jail on March 19, faces charges of first-degree wanton endangerment and two counts of first-degree burglary along with the murder charges, per jail records.
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 1:30 PM.
