Teen who later died sent Snapchat video of himself to friends after being shot in Parkland
A teenager fatally shot after one of his friends got into a fight at a Parkland park took a Snapchat video of himself bleeding and sent it to several friends asking for help, according to court documents.
Jacob Dawson, 18, then called 911 and told dispatchers he’d been shot in the chest.
Dawson was rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, where he briefly spoke with investigators.
“Before going into surgery, Dawson told a sheriff’s deputy that there was a fight in the park and that a white male who lost the fight pulled a gun and shot him,” according to charging papers.
Dawson died of his injuries.
On Friday, Pierce County prosecutors charged 18-year-old Riley Emmett with first-degree murder and second-degree murder for the Nov. 24 homicide.
A not guilty plea was entered on Emmett’s behalf Friday in Pierce County Superior Court. Court Commissioner Craig Adams ordered him jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.
Also charged in the case is Derious Dyer, 20, who allegedly pulled out a gun first and threatened to shoot Dawson’s friends before engaging in a fistfight.
Dyer is charged with second-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Detectives said Dawson was not involved in the fight and was standing next to his car when he was shot.
Loved ones in court Friday wore sweatshirts that had photos of Dawson on them.
Charging papers give this account:
Earlier in the day, Dawson and two of his friends got into a confrontation with two of Emmett’s friends, but the confrontation was cut short.
Everybody agreed to meet later that evening at Mayfair Playfield, 13510 13th Ave. Ct. E, to “settle the disagreement,” records say.
Dawson showed up with four friends.
After they arrived, Dyer approached and asked if anyone had a gun. One of Dawson’s friends denied that any of them were armed.
Dyer allegedly pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot them. He then put the weapon away and fought one of Dawson’s friends.
That’s about when Emmett arrived and was confronted by one of Dawson’s friends about a previous fight.
Emmett asked someone to hand him his gun and started walking away, firing behind him as went, records say.
At least one of the bullets struck Dawson, who was about 15 to 20 feet away.
Detectives later found three bullet holes in Dawson’s Honda and five shell casings at the scene.
After being shot, Dawson took a video of himself and sent it to friends on Snapchat. In the video, he says, “I can’t move ... I just got shot ... call the cops.”
While deputies spoke with Dawson at the hospital, they noticed 40 Snapchat notifications and a text message asking if the video was real.
Investigators seized the cell phone and found group text messages prior to the shooting indicating they were going to watch a fistfight, as well as multiple people expressing concern about Dawson’s well-being.
It took some time, but detectives were able to identify Emmett as the suspect.
Two former classmates said Emmett admitted to the shooting on Snapchat. Dawson’s girlfriend received a message identifying Emmett as the gunman. One of Emmett’s neighbors told detectives he heard the gunshots Nov. 24 and saw Emmett and two others run to Emmett’s house, which was near the park.
Emmett later told the neighbor “stuff went down” but didn’t elaborate, records say.
After Emmett was arrested early Thursday, he initially denied being at Mayfair Playfield but then claimed two men tried to fight him and he shot behind him as he ran.
He claimed he then ditched the gun alongside a Pierce County road, but Dyer later retrieved it.
Emmett “stated that the other group flashed an ‘AK,’ which put him in fear for his life,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers. “He then apologized for lying and said he wanted to apologize to the victim’s family, stating that he did not intend to kill the victim.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
