Drive-By Shooting Sends Two Men To Prison for 20 Years
COVINGTON, Ky. — On Nov. 9, 2020, the day before Dawayne Dixon and Bryce Newborn were scheduled to stand trial, both men pled guilty to five counts of Attempted Murder and three counts of Wanton Endangerment First Degree.
Dixon also pled guilty to Receiving Stolen Property, Tampering with Physical Evidence, and Fleeing Police Second Degree. The prosecutor handling the case, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Aaron Levinson, is recommending each man serve 20 years in prison. Final sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15, 2020, at 2:30 p.m. before Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe.
On April 2, 2019, Yawshura Jones, Samuel Hayden, Zakori Griffin, Kevin Jones, and Simeon Jones were playing cornhole in front of 337 E. 13th Street in Covington when a black sedan drove by. Gunshots rang out as two men in the vehicle opened fire on the group. All five of the victims were struck by bullets but miraculously no one was seriously injured. A stray bullet also went into the residence at 337 E. 13th Street, nearly striking three people inside. The victims described the shooters as white males but they were unable or unwilling to identify them further.
On April 3, 2019, Covington Police Bike Patrol Officers Galvin Adkisson and Jacob Gier spotted Dawayne Dixon and Bryce Newborn smoking marijuana only a few blocks from where this shooting took place. Newborn was arrested and officers discovered a Ruger .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol in his waistband. Dixon ran from police but was caught by Adkisson in the backyard of a house on Kendall Street. Shortly after, the homeowner found a Glock 9mm caliber semi-automatic handgun in the trash can right next where Dixon was arrested and notified police.
A ballistics comparison determined Dixon’s Glock produced two of the empty shell casings recovered from East 13th Street. Police also discovered Dixon was driving a black Acura matching the description of the car used for the drive-by shooting.
Sgt. Jim West and Det. Corey Warner interviewed Dixon’s girlfriend, who owned the black Acura. She admitted Dixon told her he and Newborn used her car in the shooting. Det. Justin Bradbury later interviewed Bryce Newborn, who admitted to his role in the shooting. Newborn said the two were paid to shoot at the men but did not identify the person who allegedly paid them.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said still sentences for such dangerous acts help keep the city safe. “Police and prosecutors know we must respond to this kind of senseless violence swiftly and with severe consequences so everyone knows it won’t be tolerated,” he said.
Sanders credits the Covington Police Department’s “all hands on deck” approach to shooting investigations for providing prosecutors with enough evidence to make charges stick and convict those who put lives at risk. “Covington gets safer every year and their police deserve credit for cracking down on violence,” Sanders said. “These two defendants were no strangers to crime, but now they’ll be out of our community for a good long time!”
Posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2020 @ 3:44PM
Categories: Blog
