22-03-2025
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.
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