Man who started fight that ended in fatal shooting in Parkland sentenced to prison
A 22-year-old man will spend two years in jail for his role in a fistfight that ended in the shooting death of another man at a Parkland park, and an unrelated robbery.
Earlier this month, Derious Dyer pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in connection to the Nov. 24, 2019, homicide of 18-year-old Jacob Dawson. After being shot, Dawson sent a Snapchat video of himself bleeding to several friends asking for help.
He died at St. Joseph Medical Center after speaking briefly with investigators.
Although Dyer didn’t shoot Dawson, he pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot Dawson and his friends before engaging in a fistfight.
Riley Emmett, the gunman, was sentenced in December to nine years and five months in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
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 it was interrupted. The group agreed to meet later at Mayfair Playfield to settle the dispute.
Dawson showed up with four friends, and Dyer approached to ask if anyone had a gun. After one of Dawson’s friends denied they were armed, Dyer pulled out a handgun and threatened to shoot them. He then put the weapon away and fought one of Dawson’s friends.
When one of Dawson’s other friends confronted Emmett about a previous fight, Emmett asked someone to hand him his gun and began firing behind him as he walked away. At least one of the bullets struck Dawson, who was standing by a vehicle about 15 to 20 feet away.
Detectives said Dawson was not involved in the fighting.
Dawson took a Snapchat of himself after being shot, saying “I can’t move ... I just got shot ... call the cops,” records say.
His cell phone had 40 Snapchat notifications and a text message asking if the video was real.
Dawson attended Clover Park Technical College and “was a very loyal friend and would do whatever he could to help his family and friends out when he was asked,” according to his obituary.
Investigators later identified Emmett as the shooter.
On Wednesday, Dyer was sentenced to 12 months in jail for his role in the homicide but with credit for time served, he only has 44 days left. He was also sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for a March 2021 robbery where he and three others held a man at gunpoint in a Tacoma parking lot before stealing cash and other valuables.
Police later determined that Dyer was holding a taser rather than a handgun during the robbery.
