Man found guilty in double homicide at Dayton gas station

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

A man accused of shooting and killing two women in February 2023 at a Dayton station following an apparent struggle in a vehicle was found guilty.

A jury found Deante Taviann Holden, 34, guilty of four counts each of murder and felonious assault and three counts of tampering with evidence on Thursday, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 21.

The charges stemmed from the Feb. 26, 2023, deaths of 38-year-old Felicia Brown and 44-year-old Michaela Daniels.

“This is probably one of the most brutal murders that I’ve seen in my time at Dayton PD,” Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns previously said. “The callousness was just shocking. You think you’ve seen it all, but I really haven’t.”

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

The shooting took place around 2 a.m. at the Shell gas station at 4125 W. Third St. However, police weren’t called until three hours later when a gas station attendant hit the silent alarm after seeing a person around the SUV where police found the women inside.

The worker apparently thought someone was attempting to steal the vehicle.

Surveillance footage showed an apparent struggle in the Chevrolet Suburban before Holden got out of the SUV and shot into the vehicle, according to Dayton Municipal Court records. He then fled.

Multiple people went to the gas station after the shooting, but before police arrived.

One person looked inside the SUV and then left, Johns said. Shortly after, a black Chrysler arrived with Holden and another man.

Holden reportedly took the women’s cellphones and bullet casings from the ground. He left about two minutes before police responded, according to municipal court documents.

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