They pleaded guilty Dec. 12 to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter plus two counts of felonious assault after their trial in September ended in a hung jury.
Jackson acquitted the pair of two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault after defense attorneys moved for a judgment of acquittal at the close of the state’s case. Jackson found the evidence “insufficient as a matter of law to sustain a conviction” on those counts, according to the dismissal.
As part of their pleas, two counts of aggravated burglary plus weapons charges were dismissed against the pair, court records show.
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
The Dayton Police Department responded to a shooting June 4, 2023, at an apartment in the 300 block of Superior Avenue.
Kevin Eugene Jones II, 38, of Dayton was identified by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office as the man pronounced dead in the hallway outside the apartment.
Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns said previously that Jones was the driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe that arrived at the apartment with Davis, Pate and a fourth man who remains unidentified.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
Jones and Pate went inside the apartment first to meet with a man and woman inside, and then a minutes later Davis arrived along with the unidentified person, who ran in wearing a mask and started shooting at the couple, according to an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court.
“At this same time, Jones and Pate pull out guns and start shooting at (the apartment residents),” an affidavit read. “While Jones, Pate and the other male wearing the mask are fleeing the apartment, all three are shot.”
The man and woman in the apartment also were shot and were taken to Miami Valley Hospital.
Video from outside the apartment building showed Davis, Pate and the unknown man leave out the back door and get into a white SUV that fled the scene, according to court records.
Dayton police tried to stop the SUV and chased it for approximately two minutes until it stopped outside Miami Valley Hospital.
Of the four people who were shot and wounded, two suffered serious injuries, including the woman, Johns said.
Following the shooting, Johns said police seized a large amount of drugs, mainly marijuana and marijuana-type products, from the apartment.
Although Davis and Pate did not shoot Jones, under Ohio law defendants can be charged for any death that occurs during an aggravated burglary, including the death of an accomplice, according to the prosecutor’s office.
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