Family friend of alleged shooters speaks out

Lexington, Ky. (WTVQ) — Three suspects involved in what police are calling an ‘ambush situation’ that injured a detective ,appeared in court on Friday.

A ‘family friend’ of the suspects was there and says the men were ‘defending themselves’. They are calling for transparency from the Lexington Police Department.

The three suspects all pleaded ‘not guilty’ during court on Friday for the shooting on Wednesday night.

27-year-old Daquis Sharp, 19-year-old Jatiece Parks and 19-year-old Zalan Dulin all appeared in court via video conference.

Both Parks and Dulin asked for their $1,000,000 bond to be lowered, but were denied due to them being a ‘flight risk’.

According to arrest citations, the men fired multiple rounds into an occupied home, which was struck several times and had six people inside.

All three men are facing six counts of wanton endangerment, attempted murder of a police officer, assault 2nd degree and criminal mischief 1st degree.

Sharp is also facing a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A close family friend of Sharp, Dulin and Parks gave this statement.

“The similarities to the circumstances and charges surrounding this incident mirror Kenneth Walker in the Breonna Taylor case, he too was criminalized when defending himself as are the three in custody right now,” said the family friend. “They were put in an impossible situation that jeopardized everyone’s safety, they believed they were under attack. The officer involved was in an unmarked vehicle in plain clothes and they’ve all been victims of gun violence with extensive mental health histories involving PTSD.”

“We’re thankful that the officer involved wasn’t severely injured and we’re apologetic for this very serious misunderstanding. There is some accountability that needs to be taken on both sides and I don’t believe the Lexington Police Department is being transparent. They are trying to deflect by linking past offenses to justify the criminalization of these three black men, two of which have no prior criminal record.”

According to Lexington Police, detectives were following up on an investigation in the 900 block of Royal Avenue, at 11:54 p.m. someone opened fire on a detective who was inside a vehicle.

The detective was shot in the thigh, but did not require hospitalization.

Sharp, Parks and Dulin were all arrested on the scene.

All three men are set to appear in court on March 11 at 8:30 a.m.