Suspects accused of killing 2 men in a Lexington gang retaliation take plea deals
Four men have pleaded guilty to reduced charges for their involvement in a deadly daylight shooting that Lexington prosecutors say was a gang retaliation.
A Lexington gang planned to retaliate against two 18-year-olds because members of the group believed those two made “disparaging remarks” about a dead gang member, according to court records. Dwayne Slaughter and Darrian Webb, both 18 years old, died in the shooting on Oct. 19, 2019. All four suspects entered guilty pleas in Fayette Circuit Court Friday.
Three of the men who pleaded guilty in the deadly shooting are among the 14 people who have been indicted in a related organized crime case, according to court records. The fourth suspect hasn’t been criminally connected to the gang but was accused by a witness of being part of the same group.
The shooting happened on Oct. 19, 2019, at the intersection of Winchester Road and Seventh Street. De’Shaun Quantrell Armor, Sevion Mitchell and Kenneth Jakobe Jackson were in a vehicle driven by John George Boulder IV when they pulled up behind a vehicle with the two victims inside, according to court records.
Armor, Mitchell and Jackson were all armed, according to court records. The suspects opened fire and dozens of shots rang out in the middle of the intersection, leaving Slaughter and Webb dead, according to court records. A third person in the victims’ vehicle was injured but didn’t die.
37 shots fired in ‘gang related’ altercation
Investigators recovered 37 shell casings from the scene of the crime, a Lexington detective previously said in court.
“Social media posts after the shooting referenced the incident was gang related,” a Lexington police detective wrote in investigative records. Prosecutors wrote in a separate court record that the suspects “celebrated the shooting and monitored social media for news of the victims’ deaths.”
Investigators spoke with a “cooperating individual” who accused all four defendants of belonging to the same gang. An attorney for Armor disputed in court records the accusation that Armor was a member of any gang. He’s the only of the four men to not be indicted in the organized crime case.
Suspects were handed guns at a gang meeting, witness said
The cooperating individual told investigators that the four defendants were at a gang meeting in a Lexington apartment earlier on the day of the shooting, according to court records. Armor, Mitchell and Jackson were each given handguns during the meeting and instructed to retaliate if they saw Webb and Slaughter, according to court records.
Armor, Mitchell, Jackson and Boulder left the meeting and drove off in a stolen vehicle, the cooperating individual told investigators. Boulder wasn’t armed at the time, according to court records.
“The four defendants coincidentally saw the victims on Winchester Road (after the meeting) and opened fire,” prosecutors wrote in court records.
After the shooting, gang members disassembled the guns, cleaned them and shipped them out of state, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors made efforts to keep their witnesses’ identities confidential, as they were concerned that any witness could be labeled a “snitch” and face dangers of retaliatory violence. A Fayette County judge ultimately ordered that certain information about the witnesses needed to be disclosed, but only to certain people connected to the court case. It had to be kept otherwise confidential.
The gang which at least some of the suspects are considered to be “validated members” of is believed to be involved in drug trafficking and violent crime, according to investigative records.
“This particular gang has been involved in a large number of violent offenses as both suspects and victims in Lexington over the last few years,” an investigator wrote in court documents.
Mediation yields plea deals for all four suspects
Armor, Mitchell and Jackson were each charged with two counts of murder when they were first indicted. Boulder was charged with facilitating murder. More than two years after the shooting, the case was mediated in an effort for the defense and prosecutors to work out a plea deal.
Armor, who’s now 22 but was 20 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter as part of his plea agreement. He also pleaded guilty to charges of evidence tampering and evading police. He faced other charges but they were dismissed.
Prosecutors recommended that Armor serve seven years in prison for each manslaughter count and one year for each of his tampering and evading convictions.
Mitchell and Jackson, who are both 20 but were 17 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter as well. Additional charges were dismissed. Prosecutors recommended that Mitchell and Jackson both serve seven years for each of their manslaughter convictions.
Jackson entered an “Alford plea,” which indicates that he hasn’t confessed to the crime but has admitted that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him if his case were to go to trial. The other three accused shooters admitted they were involved in the shooting.
Prosecutors recommended that Mitchell and Jackson both serve seven years in prison for each count of manslaughter, but they didn’t recommend whether those sentences should be served at the same time or one after the other.
Boulder, who’s now 22 but was 19 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to both counts of facilitating murder. His other charges in this case were dismissed, but he still faces a murder charge in a separate case.
Prosecutors didn’t make any recommendation as to whether the four men should have to serve each of their sentences consecutively or concurrently.
All four will face Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas L. Travis on June 15 to receive their sentences. Travis could decide to accept the state prosecutors’ recommendations for sentencing or issue different sentences. He’ll also decide whether or not each of the men will serve their sentences consecutively or concurrently.