Two Kent men plead not guilty in separate shooting, stabbing deaths
Published 12:59 pm Thursday, April 16, 2026
Two Kent men pleaded not guilty in separate cases of a fatal double shooting and fatal stabbing that were on the same April 7 night in Kent.
Deangelo Cyrus Lynch, 34, pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree assault, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Lynch is accused of shooting Denzel Pressley, 26, of Federal Way, and Doneu Gore, 25, of Seattle, in the backyard of a home Lynch shared with others at 12009 SE 210th Pl. He also faces a second-degree assault charge for allegedly threatening a female roommate with a gun right after the shooting, according to court documents.
Antonio C. Solomon, 40, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the April 7 stabbing of Joseph Christopher Moore, 31, of Kent, along a West Meeker Street sidewalk.
Lynch and Solomon each entered their pleas April 16 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Both are scheduled for routine pretrial hearings at 1 p.m. May 4.
Lynch remains in the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle with bail set at $5 million, according to jail records. Solomon is in the same facility and with the same bail of $5 million.
The shooting
Prosecutors claim Lynch was not under any threat of danger or harm when he reportedly shot Pressley and Gore. Lynch denied shooting the men during an interview with Kent Police detectives. He said he did not know either man but became concerned about his girlfriend in the house after an argument broke out.
Several people were in the home watching a NBA game, having dinner and eventually went out to the backyard, where Lynch later entered and allegedly shot Pressley and Gore. Detectives watched a video from a neighbor’s Ring camera that reportedly showed Lynch firing two shots each at Pressley and Gore as he advanced on them, according to charging documents. Lynch also allegedly approached a female roommate in the yard, told her to get on her knees and threatened to shoot her before he fled the house.
Kent Police officers responded at about 10:22 p.m. April 7 to the house after reports of gunshots in the neighborhood. Officers found Pressley and Gore in the backyard. They died at the scene.
The stabbing
Jealousy over a woman reportedly led to Solomon stabbing Moore, according to charging documents.
A woman who knew both men reportedly told Kent Police that Solomon was her boyfriend. She said she knew Moore from her job as a convenience store clerk along West Meeker Street because he was a regular customer and visited with her at the store.
Video surveillance allegedly shows Solomon stabbing Moore four times after following him into a convenience store and later attacking Moore as he walked home along a sidewalk, according to charging papers.
Solomon allegedly admitted during a police interview to stabbing Moore but said he saw Moore grabbing for his waist band and suggested he had a gun. He later said he was not afraid and that he wanted to fight Moore.
Kent Police officers responded at about 11:54 p.m. April 7 to the 1700 block of West Meeker Street after a caller reported they had found a man lying on the sidewalk who they believed had been stabbed, according to police. Moore died at the scene.
