A fourth person charged in the case, Savon Anthony Davis, 30, of Clayton, pleaded guilty in April to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated burglary via a bill of information. He has not yet been sentenced.
Jaykwan D. Hardy, 26, was identified as the man found dead following the March 11, 2023, fire at a house in the 5300 block of Gardendale Avenue in Trotwood. He died of multiple gunshots, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
“The investigation was ongoing into the death of Jaykwan Hardy, and the additional evidence was sufficient to indict the three additional co-defendants,” Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Greg Flannagan said.
Hardy’s death started as a scheme to steal items from his home, and Trotwood police said they always had the four defendants in the investigation.
Trotwood firefighters found Hardy’s body and four dogs, which survived, inside the house and opened a homicide investigation.
Davis was arrested May 11, 2023, during a traffic stop on Salem Avenue.
He caused Hardy’s death and a fire or explosion to the house, according to an affidavit filed in Montgomery County Municipal Court - Western Division.
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
The fire was among a spate of fires in March 2023 in Montgomery County where eight people were found dead.
In addition to the Gardendale Avenue fire and homicide, there were three other fires with seven people found dead in Dayton — March 5 on Ashwood Avenue, March 8 on North Broadway Street and March 13 on Bierce Avenue. Five people were found dead following the fire on North Broadway Street, which was the only involving multiple fatalities.
Davis is expected to be sentenced to between 18 and 20 years in prison because “the offenses were committed separately or with separate animus and do not merge at sentencing,” the plea agreement stated.
The nine charges for which he was indicted — four counts of murder, one count of aggravated burglary, two counts of felonious assault, and single counts of aggravated arson and having weapons while under disability — were dismissed.
Davis remains held on $1 million bail in the Montgomery County Jail.
Warrants have been issued for their arrests of Messiah, Murphy and Norman.
Murphy was arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Jail Wednesday, and is scheduled to be in court Thursday.
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