Jurors return verdicts in murder trial for shooting outside Lakewood nightclub
Jurors have returned verdicts in the murder trial of three men accused of a shooting outside a Lakewood nightclub in 2018.
They convicted 29-year-old Dominique James Avington and 25-year-old Darry Daquan Smalley Friday of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree assault for the shooting that killed 28-year-old Terrance King.
They’re scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 20.
Jurors acquitted Kenneth Maurice Davis, and charges were previously dismissed against Monroe James Ezell, Thomas Earl Cooper and Leonard Ray Brightmon.
Charging papers and other court records made these allegations about what happened:
The shooting Oct. 21, 2018 followed fights inside the club that night.
“Shortly after arriving and entering the club, the codefendants’ group provoked a fight by being rude to a female bartender and others,” one of the state’s court filings alleged.
Then shots were fired into a crowd outside the club, killing King and injuring three others. One of those injured was paralyzed by the shooting.
Attorney John Polito, who represented Davis, said in statement Tuesday: “Kenny is ecstatic to return to his family after being in custody for nearly two years for crimes he did not commit. His life begins anew at only 20 years of age and I see a bright future ahead of him, honed by his quest for justice in this case and emboldened by the unwavering support of those close to him.”
