Judge Angelina Jackson acquitted the pair of two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault after defense attorneys on Thursday 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 filed Monday.
Davis and Pate will now be tried together on Jan. 6. Each remains held on $1 million bail in the 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 unidentified man.
Jones and Pate went inside the apartment first to meet with a man and woman inside, and then a couple minutes later Davis arrived along with the unidentified person, wearing a mask, who ran in and started shooting at the couple, according to an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court.
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
“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.
The man and woman in the apartment also were shot and were taken to 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 Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
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