Three men charged in 2023 Kent murder of 48-year-old woman

King County prosecutors have charged three men with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting a 48-year-old Maple Valley woman in July 2023 in Kent.

Jaiquane Sherrod Wheeler, 27; Dwight Harris, 48; and Artavious Zyshun Magee, 24, each were charged Dec. 23, 2024 for the July 27, 2023 murder of Amy Dyke as she rode in a vehicle at about 1:50 a.m. in the 23900 block of 112th Avenue SE, according to charging papers.

Wheeler and Harris pleaded not guilty on Jan. 6 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Magee’s defense attorney asked for a stay of proceedings and continuance, which a judge granted. Magee is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 10.

The three reportedly fired as many as 58 shots from semi-automatic pistols at Dyke’s vehicle, according to court documents. Dyke was in the front passenger seat, one of three people in the car. Dyke died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. She died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a day after the shooting. Nobody else was injured.

While charging documents do not indicate a motive for the men shooting Dyke, initial Kent Police reports said it was not a random incident. Dyke had been at the Phoenix Court Apartments visiting friends prior to the shooting, according to court documents.

A witness came forward in December 2024 to help identify the suspects, which led to the arrest of the three men by Kent Police and the filing of charges.

“Although this homicide occurred approximately 16 months ago, the police investigation in this case was complex and lengthy; additional evidence sufficient to prove the shooters’ identities came to light in early December 2024,” wrote Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brandy L. Gevers in charging documents.

A witness told detectives that he/she had knowledge of the homicide and knew the suspects after meeting each of them at the Phoenix Court Apartments through other acquaintances and had spent time with them on multiple occasions throughout the summer of 2023, including the weeks before Dyke’s murder, according to charging papers.

Police had still images from video surveillance of the suspects from a McDonald’s near the apartments that detectives showed to the witness who reportedly identified each of them, according to court documents. Video surveillance from the apartments had showed the suspects carrying food from McDonald’s up the apartment driveway just prior to the shooting which led detectives to collect video from the restaurant.

Officers responded to the shooting after a friend of Dyke’s called 911 to report her car had been shot up and Dyke had been shot. She said the shooting occurred when they were leaving the parking lot of the Guidepost Montessori School, 23911 112th Ave. SE, which is next to the Phoenix Court Apartments.

Prosecutors noted that all three men have violent criminal histories and each of the defendants have killed other people before. All three also were charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm due to previous convictions. They are each in custody at the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle.

A look at the background of the three men:

• Jaiquane Sherrod Wheeler

Wheeler was already in custody for a second-degree murder charge accused of shooting Jeffery Ray Winn, 43, of Seattle, July 15, 2023 at the Phoenix Court Apartments in Kent, just 12 days prior to the shooting of Dyke. Wheeler reportedly left his cellphone at the scene of the July 15 incident.

Kent Police detectives used that cellphone information, video surveillance and reports from witnesses to track down and arrest Wheeler on Aug. 9, 2023.

According to court documents, Wheeler reportedly shot and killed Winn in the courtyard of the Phoenix Court Apartments on a warm summer evening and then shot at another man, hitting that man’s cellphone.

Wheeler also faces a drive-by shooting charge, Wheeler and co-defendant Harris reportedly opened fire at a vehicle and apartment building in the middle of the afternoon, about 10 days after the homicide charged in this case. When their car approached and stopped in back of the victim’s parked vehicle, children were playing outside and had to run to safety.

Harris was already convicted by a jury in that case; Wheeler’s charge was severed at the request of his attorneys.

Wheeler has arrest history in Pennsylvania and has the following felony convictions from New Jersey: aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer (2020) and resisting arrest/eluding with force or threats to use force (2020);

• Dwight Harris

Dwight Harris is currently in custody at the state Department of Corrections, serving a sentence for a recent conviction for drive-by shooting in King County with anticipated release in early February 2025. In that case, Harris and co-defendant Wheeler opened fire at a vehicle and apartment building in the middle of the afternoon. When their car approached and stopped in back of the victim’s parked vehicle, children were playing outside and had to run to safety. At least nine shots were fired from two guns, causing extensive damage.

Harris has a history of violence. His criminal history includes convictions from the state of Louisiana for manslaughter (reduced from murder in 1994); felon in possession of a firearm (2020) and monetary instrument abuse, also from Louisiana. Despite numerous parole violations in Louisiana, the defendant was able to transfer community custody supervision from Louisiana to Washington state in 2021

• Artavious Magree

Prior to his recent transfer to King County, Magee was in custody in Pierce County, held pending sentencing on one count of first-degree manslaughter with a deadly weapon enhancement. He pleaded guilty to that amended charge pursuant to plea bargain in November 2024. In that case, Magee shot and killed a minor female in April 2023 over an apparent dispute with two other minors.. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2025, and according to Pierce County court documents, he faces 102-136 months in prison plus a 24-month weapons enhancement.

Magee also has pending charge for second-degree robbery in King County Superior Court with an outstanding warrant. He has prior gun related convictions, including possession of a stolen firearm in 2020, and first-degree attempted theft from 2021, a charge that was reduced from first-degree robbery (armed with a firearm) pursuant to plea agreement and mitigation evidence presented by his defense attorney, according to court documents.