Man pleads guilty in deadly ‘sucker-punch’ at Dayton volleyball bar

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

A man charged with murder accused of a “sucker-punch” that killed a security guard in the April 2022 at a Dayton volleyball bar has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

Antonio Tarag Deante Jackson Fountain, 37, is scheduled to be sentenced March 13 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court after he pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter via a bill of information.

Antonio Fountain

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Fountain struck 60-year-old Ronnie “Joe” Brown from behind the night of April 22, 2022, causing Brown to fall to the ground and hit his head on the pavement, Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns said at the time.

When officers responded to Setters Volleyball Club on Gateway Drive, they found Brown unconscious outside on the ground. He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries two days later.

During a police interview, Fountain confirmed he was at Setters on Friday, but did not confirm or deny hitting Brown, according to an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court.

At sentencing, Fountain faces up to 16½ years in prison. He also will be ordered to pay restitution for funeral and burial expenses, according to the plea document.

Charges of murder and felonious assault were dismissed as part of the plea, records show.

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