A 24-year-old Kent man and alleged gang member faces charges of first-and second-degree assault for reportedly shooting and injuring two men Aug. 5 at a park during an annual South Seattle memorial for a teen shot to death in 2008.
Durrea Keith Davenport is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, Sept. 11 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Davenport remains in the county jail in Seattle with bail set at $750,000. He also is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm because of a previous King County conviction for second-degree robbery.
Davenport allegedly fired as many as six to 10 shots at about 7 p.m. at a gathering at Benefit Park in the 9300 block of Beacon Avenue South, according to charging papers filed Aug. 29. About 60 people, including children, were at the park when the shooting occurred.
Seattle Police arrested Davenport on Aug. 19 after a witness came forward and identified him as the shooter through a photo montage. The witness said Davenport had attended the event and even posed for photographs before later firing shots. Davenport fled the park by catching a ride in a tan vehicle.
Friends and family held the memorial for Pierre Lapoint, 16, who was shot and killed during a rash of teen shootings six years ago in Seattle. Lapoint was reportedly a member of the gang Down with the Crew. The killing of Lapoint remains unsolved.
Davenport is a member of Down with the Crew, a violent criminal street gang, according to charging papers. He also has a violent history including second-degree robbery in 2005 and 2008, second-degree burglary in 2005 and 2012, third-degree assault in 2007 as well as convictions for theft.
The men hit by the shots are ages 22 and 24. A friend transported the two men to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where they were treated for their injuries. Detectives interviewed both men at the hospital. Neither man said they knew who shot them.
Davenport reportedly had been playing dice, an illegal street gambling game, earlier in the day at the park. The charging papers didn’t indicate whether Davenport spoke to detectives about the incident after his arrest.
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