Latest news with #Daequavian
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Yahoo
Jury takes an hour to convict man of murder in 2019 East Columbus Circle K shooting
COLUMBUS, Ga. () — It took a Muscogee County Superior Court jury about an hour to convict Daequavian Solomon, 31, of murder late Friday afternoon. Solomon shot and killed Circle K clerk Dontrell Williams on Sept. 23, 2019, at a store at the intersection of Forest and Floyd Roads. Williams' mother, Tanya Weaver, has waited more than five years for the justice the 10-woman, two-man jury handed down after a weeklong trial. 'This means the world,' Weaver told WRBL moments after the verdict. 'This means God answered a prayer. So, I gave him all the glory. And I thank him. Five years is a long time.' She acknowledges it won't bring her son back. 'It doesn't bring my son back,' she said. 'But it lets me know that the man who did it is gone for the rest of his life. My son's life is gone. So, is this young man. But I thank the Lord for what he's done here today.' Weaver sat in the courtroom and listened to the testimony throughout the trial. When the verdict was read, he was next to Columbus Police Department homicide detective Robbie Nicholas, who assisted lead detective Sherman Hayes with the investigation that led to Solomon's arrest and conviction. She had high praise for the police and Chief Assistant District Attorney Wesley Lambertus, who led the prosecution team. 'They did a wonderful job,' she said. 'Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I thank the Lord for them, too. They fought for my baby. They really fought for my baby. I told Wesley he was like Muhammad Ali — float like a bird sting like a bee. You fought for my baby, and I appreciate it.' An Army veteran, Williams was working at the Circle K when Solomon came into the store armed with a handgun and was covered from head to toe with clothing and a hockey-style mask. Solomon, who was a four-time convicted felon who served time in Alabama, shot Williams multiple times then put a final bullet in Williams after he hit the ground. Defense attorney William Kendrick claimed that the state's case was purely circumstantial and there was no direct evidence – DNA, fingerprints. The state's key witness was La'Coya Mason, Solomon's former girlfriend and mother of their child. She turned Solomon in after seeing video of the shooter released to local media by police. The prosecutor argued that Mason had known Solomon for more than 10 years, and knew how he walked and what he was wearing was identification. The person who killed Williams was covered from head to toe and wore a hockey-style mask. Mason identified what the killer was wearing as items that belonged to her and Solomon. Police also said shell casings that went from the store to Solomon's apartment more than a block away pointed to him as the killer. Kendrick tried to say prosecutors had claimed it was a 'scream mask,' like the one in the popular slasher movie. He even put a photo on the projector showing the difference between a scream mask and the one the killer was wearing. 'If the mask doesn't fit, you must acquit,' Kendrick to the jury. Moments before the jury returned a verdict, they sent a note to Superior Court Judge Art Smith asking if it mattered that Solomon's last name was spelled 'Soloman' on the 2023 indictment. The judge ruled that it was not a fatal error that would prompt a mistrial. Solomon's Alabama driver's license was introduced into evidence, and the name was spelled correctly on it. The jury got the case at 3 Friday afternoon, immediately took a 45-minute lunch, then told the judge it had reached a verdict about 5. The rapid verdict surprised prosecutors. 'I am surprised, given the severity of the charges,' Lambertus told WRBL. 'On the other hand, it was a really strong case.' District Attorney Don Kelly had been the lead prosecutor but handed the case to Lambertus when he was hired a few months ago. 'Wesley did a fantastic job, as I knew he would,' Kelly told WRBL. 'I am very happy for the family.' Judge Smith delayed sentencing until next month. The mandatory sentencing for Solomon on the felony and malice murder charges is life in prison without the possibility of parole. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Yahoo
Ex of suspect in 2019 gas station murder testifies against former partner
COLUMBUS, Ga. () — The trial for the suspect in a 2019 murder which happened at a local gas station has continued into its third day. Daequavian Solomon is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. Solomon's former partner Laquoia Mason testified that she identified Solomon as the suspect based on surveillance video of the incident released by the Columbus Police Department. But 2019 video from when Solomon went to the police department to give a statement, shows him claiming he was under the influence of drugs 'heavy' and at home during the time of the murder. Mason's identification of Solomon came down to the suspect's clothes and gait in the surveillance video: She asserted the suspect's too-short sweat pants were hers and that Solomon would wear them around their shared apartment; he wore the red striped socks often; the camouflage hoodie was a gift she remembered Solomon receiving; he used to wear the suspect's 'Scream' mask and goggles to play with her son. Having known the accused for more than a decade prior to the incident, Mason said she also recognized the suspect's 'slew-footed' walk as Solomon's. Defense Attorney William Kendrick took issue with those identifiers during his cross-examination, grilling Mason intensely on how she knew for certain the suspect was Solomon. 'You don't know anything? You just feel [that it was Solomon],' Kendrick asked Mason. 'Yes,' Mason answered, having already doubled-down on her ability to recognize Solomon through the suspect's clothes and gait. According to Mason's testimony, Solomon also had a history of violence toward her. She said he had threatened her with a gun over a money dispute three weeks before the Circle K incident. They were not living together at the time of the murder. Police officers from the Crime Scene Investigation Division said they had found bullet casings and fragments at the scene of the murder. They matched casings and fragments found outside unit 14A at the Hunter Run apartment complex across the street. Mason testified she paid for that unit and lived there with Solomon and her children. The pair share a seven-year-old daughter. The trial, which is being overseen by Superior Court Judge Art Smith, is set to continue Thursday morning. After five and a half years, man accused of 2019 Circle K murder goes to trial Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
After five and a half years, man accused of 2019 Circle K murder goes to trial
COLUMBUS, Ga. () — A high-profile 2019 murder case finally reached a Muscogee County Courtroom nearly six years after an East Columbus Circle K clerk was shot to death. Daequavian Soloman, 31, is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted in the September 2019 shooting. On Monday, Chief Superior Court Judge Art Smith dealt with pretrial motions in advance of jury selection. Prosecutors, led by Chief Assistant District Attorney Wesley Lambertus, call this an execution and plan to introduce graphic video evidence. Defense attorney William Kendrick says his client did not kill Dontrell Williams. The video at the core of the state's case is Circle K surveillance footage shot the night of the murder, showing a masked man entering the store. The video was released to the public, and authorities say it led to Solomon's arrest. Much of the morning was spent arguing over the admissibility of a police videotaped conversation with the defendant the day after the murder. Solomon drove to the Public Safety Center after a Columbus Police detective contacted him. He talked to the police for almost an hour, was never arrested, and was allowed to leave. Defense attorney William Kendrick contends that even though his client was not handcuffed or restrained, he should have been read his Miranda rights — which he wasn't. Police say that Solomon was simply a person of interest at that time. Police were interested in talking to Solomon, who lived about 200 yards from the murder scene. Judge Art Smith decided he would allow the jury to hear the videotape when testimony begins later this week. Here's what the jury may hear from Solomon's police interview: 'But when I came here, I was trying to tell them, like, you know. I don't know why the police needed to surround my house, you know. The streets talk – you see what I mean – the streets talk. As soon as I got word, I just wanted to come down here and see what was going on.' Solomon was speaking to Columbus Police Sgt. Robbie Nicholas. After the morning hearings, the trial moved from the Government Center to the Comer building for jury selection, which will likely continue into tomorrow. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
