OLATHE — A Kansas City teen on Wednesday pleaded guilty to the reckless murder of a Lawrence girl, which he said occurred when he was “dry-firing” a gun.
Davon D. Washington, 17, was charged with reckless second-degree murder and juvenile firearm possession in connection with the death of Brianna Higgins, 15. She was a sophomore at Lawrence High School.
The shooting occurred on the evening of Jan. 19 in Olathe near the 16900 block of West 127th Street. Brianna was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound, and although hospital staff and local police attempted to take life-saving measures, she did not survive.
Johnson County prosecutors on Wednesday said evidence shows Washington, Brianna and an adult witness were in a car together.
According to Assistant District Attorney Chelsea Beshore, Brianna was in the driver’s seat, Washington was in the passenger seat and the adult witness was in the back seat when Washington and the witness were tossing the gun back and forth and “dry-firing” — the act of pulling the trigger of an unloaded gun. The adult witness fled the scene following the shooting.
Beshore said in one instance, Washington in “kind of joking type manner” pointed a gun directly at Brianna’s head and pulled its trigger — but this time the gun went off. Washington on Wednesday took ownership of that account during his plea. He also said alcohol was involved that day.
Washington was in possession of two firearms that were in the car: a Glock 23 and Glock 43. He also pleaded guilty to the second charge of juvenile firearm possession. It was not clear where Washington got the guns.
Prosecutors did not disclose how or when the bullet that killed Brianna ended up in the gun, nor which of the two guns was fired. Beshore said the gun had an extended magazine.
Soon after, two female witnesses — who did not observe the shooting — came out of the apartment complex and assisted Washington in moving Brianna from the driver’s side over to the passenger side front seat. Washington and the two females made an additional stop at a gas station and then drove Brianna to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
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Beshore said there was no evidence of intent to harm.
“It did appear that they were playing around and that there was a dry-fire, hence the reckless aspect of the murder,” Beshore said.
Brianna’s cause of death was determined to be a brain injury caused by a gunshot wound, and her manner of death was ruled to be a homicide.
Johnson County District Judge Brenda Cameron ruled Washington will receive a “dual sentence,” known as EJJP (Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile Prosecution). He’s expected to be sentenced as a juvenile to minimum 24 months in custody up until he turns 22 1/2. Then, up until he turns 23, he’d participate in “aftercare” — “reintegrative services that prepare out-of-home juveniles for reentry into the community,” according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
He also has an underlying adult sentence of 109 to 493 months in custody. Cameron said according to sentencing guidelines, Washington’s sentence could fall around 123 months. The adult sentence would not go into effect as long as Washington maintains good behavior.
Washington’s sentencing hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. Friday, June 28.
He remains in custody of the Johnson County Juvenile Detention Center. Juveniles are not permitted options to post bail.
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Natasha Torkzaban (she/her), a contributor to The Lawrence Times, is a current senior at Lawrence High School. She was an editor-in-chief of The Free Press at Free State High School before becoming an editor-in-chief for The Budget at Lawrence High School for 2023-24. Read her work for the Times here.
Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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