Nov. 27 – A second Dayton man accused of following family members leaving a funeral for the murder of a 14-year-old and shooting at them pleaded guilty to his role.
Thomas Michael Peck Jr., 20, pleaded guilty Monday before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Timothy O’Connell to a lesser offense of attempted assault, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Peck, originally charged with assault, faces up to three years in prison.
His co-defendant, Daviontay Maurice Travis Hunter, 21, pleaded guilty to assault last Wednesday. O’Connell immediately sentenced him to two to three years in prison.
Hunter and Peck were to be tried together and Peck’s attorney filed a motion to end their trial. However, Hunter reached a settlement six days after the motion was filed, prompting O’Connell to contest the motion, according to court documents.
Dayton police were dispatched to the 1500 block of Watson Street on March 25 around 4:50 p.m. for a complaint of shots fired.
Three people said their vehicle was shot four times as they left the funeral for family member Corey Prater and were followed by a Chrysler 300 allegedly driven by Peck, who was accompanied by Hunter, according to an affidavit filed in Municipal Court of Dayton.
“Witnesses identified Mr. Peck and Mr. Hunter as the individuals who shot at (the) vehicle, which was occupied at the time of the shooting,” the document said.
It is not clear if the shots fired incident was related to the fatal shooting nearly two weeks earlier.
Prater and 17-year-old Javonta Morgan were shot to death on the evening of March 14 in the 1600 block of Miami Chapel Road, near Louise Troy Elementary School, during a fight involving a group of boys, a 911 caller reported.
A 14-year-old boy is charged with murder in Montgomery County Juvenile Court. The Dayton Daily News is not naming him because his case is not in adult court.
