Drive-by shooting sends two men to prison for 20 years
COVINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Two men pleaded guilty Monday to a variety of charges stemming from a drive-by shooting.
Dawayne Dixon and Bryce Newborn had been scheduled to stand trial Tuesday but pleaded guilty to five counts of attempted murder and three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.
Dixon also pleadedd guilty to Receiving Stolen Property, Tampering with Physical Evidence, and Fleeing Police Second Degree, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Aaron Levinson, who is recommending each man serve 20 years in prison.
Final sentencing is scheduled for December 15, 2020 at 2:30 PM 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 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, Levinson said in outlining the evidence.
Shortly after, the homeowner at 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.
Dixon was also discovered to be 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. Sshe admitted Dixon told her he and Newborn used her car in the shooting.
Det. Justin Bradbury later interviewed Bryce Newborn 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 saying, “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!” Sanders credits the Covington Police Department’s “all hands on deck” approach to shooting investigations for providing prosecutors 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,” said Sanders. “These two defendants were no strangers to crime but now they’ll be out of our community for a good long time!”
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