UPDATE: On April 18, 2023, Ahmon Adams pleaded guilty to attempted malicious wounding, shoot in a public place, reckless handling of a firearm and use of a firearm in a felony. His sentencing is on August 8, 2023.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Three men charged after the shootings at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront over the weekend made their first court appearance on Monday. One of the men admitted to shooting into the crowd during the incidents, court documents state.
22-year-old Ahmon Jahree Adams, of Chesapeake, 18-year-old Nyquez Tyyon Baker, of Virginia Beach, and 20-year-old Devon Maurice Dorsey Jr. are all charged in connection to the initial shooting incident Friday night, which injured seven people.
They face seven counts of felonious assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and reckless handling of a firearm.
Court documents reveal Baker admitted to shooting into the crowd and handing the gun off to someone else. The paperwork also says several people opened fire and Virginia Beach Police caught it on camera and chased them.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said officers on patrol responded to that shooting at 20th Street and Atlantic Avenue around 11:20 p.m. Friday.
Officials say the initial investigations into the incident revealed that a group of people were involved in some type of conflict which turned into a fight.
Five men pulled out guns and started shooting. An officer on a bike in the area saw Adams shooting and told him to drop the gun, according to court documents.
All of them were in court for the first time on Monday and will be back April 12 for a council determination.
During his arraignment, Baker said he hadn’t spoken to his family since he was arrested.
He said he’d “been in the hole” and felt like he was being tortured. However, a Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said that wasn’t an accurate representation of the situation.
The spokeswoman said: “Mr. Baker is being housed in COVID-19 quarantine (as with all newly admitted inmates) for 14 days; however, he is not “in the hole”. Our disciplinary housing (colloquially called “the hole”) is C3F and he is not housed there. Additionally, he has had access to the phones and tablets throughout his time in custody. He has made more than 40 phone calls in the past two days alone, but the calls were not successful (either because he hung up, the caller did not accept the call or he used an invalid pin). He was active on the tablets earlier today (they allow messaging and video visitation) and had a visit with his attorney today as well.”
Family in the courtroom on Monday declined to speak with 10 On Your Side.
All three suspects in the shooting have preliminary hearings scheduled for the end of May.
Another man, Malik Kearney, is also accused of hitting a Virginia Beach police officer with his car Friday night. It’s unclear if Kearney’s arrest was related to the shooting incident involving the other three suspects. He has a bond hearing this Thursday, and then is due back in court on May 27.
In a statement released Saturday, police said three separate shooting events took place Friday night in the resort area, leaving two people dead, a man and woman, and eight people hurt.
Adams, Baker and Dorsey Jr. were charged in connection with the first incident of the night, in the 2000 block of Atlantic Avenue.
29-year-old Deshayla E. Harris, of Norfolk, was killed in the second shooting of the night, in the 300 block of 19th Street. Police said she was a bystander. There have been no arrests in this shooting.
The third incident involved a Virginia Beach police officer shooting 25-year-old Donovon W. Lynch in the 300 block of 20th Street. Lynch was from Virginia Beach and is a cousin of Pharrell Williams, the superstar musician said Monday.
VBPD said that officers were responding to gunfire, which led to an “individual being confronted by a uniformed Virginia Beach police officer, resulting in a police intervention shooting.”
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate later said investigators found a firearm “in the vicinity” of the shooting. Neudigate also said the officer who killed Lynch was wearing a body camera but it was not activated “for unknown reasons.”
Lynch’s father told WAVY’s Andy Fox that his son was “a father’s dream.”