Two cousins were arrested and law enforcement officials are looking for a third person in connection with the Sept. 14 drive-by shooting that injured a 5-year-old girl and her mother.
Those arrested are Kentrai Re'Shone Patterson, 28, and Kedonte Tyron Davis, 26, both of Reddick.
Patterson was held on three counts of attempted murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle. Davis was held on three counts of principal to attempted murder and one count of principal to shooting into an occupied vehicle.
Patterson and Davis were taken into custody on Sept. 16 and transported to the Ocala Police Department for questioning. After the interviews, they were transported to the Marion County Jail for booking.
Davis made his first appearance in
front of County Judge Tommy Thompson on Sept. 17. The judge was at the courthouse and Davis was at the jail, appearing via Zoom. The prosecutor told the judge that Davis has a criminal record that includes battery and violation of pre-trial release involving battery.
The judge told Davis, who is represented by the public defender's office, he will be held without bail because of concern for the public and being a flight risk.
The judge said Davis cannot have any contact with the victims, and his next court date is Oct. 20 at 9 a.m.
Davis asked the judge if he could be released on his own recognizance, or be placed on an ankle monitor. The answer was no.
According to Ocala police, there was an altercation at the Sutton Place apartment complex, in the 500 block of Northeast 23rd Circle. Officers said the incident occurred in the parking lot and involved multiple juveniles and adults. Police officials quickly arrived and restored peace to the area, Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken said on Sept. 15.
After that altercation, a man, woman and child were traveling in a vehicle when multiple gunshots were fired from a second vehicle that was following them. The woman was shot in the hand, and the child was shot in the torso, police said.
The shooting occurred on Southeast 11th Avenue, near Southeast 12th Street, police said. The injured went to a local hospital for treatment. Police said the victims are expected to recover from their injuries.
At the scene, officers recovered 22 shell casings in the roadway. From their investigation, detectives were able to determine the vehicle trailing the victim's vehicle was a Chevrolet Impala that is registered to Davis, officials said.
Officers found the vehicle in southwest Ocala and seized it. Davis and a woman were with the vehicle.
Detective Dylan Grosso interviewed Davis about the shooting. According to the detective's account, Davis admitted to being in the car with Patterson. He said Patterson told him to follow the victims' vehicle, and he didn't know Patterson would fire shots.
Patterson was interviewed by Grosso at OPD after being arrested in Citra. During the interview, according to police, Patterson denied being with his cousin.
Told he was seen with his cousin, Patterson changed his story and said he was with Davis, and went to Davis' house in Reddick before going home.
He denied he was involved in the shooting, but detectives were able to establish Patterson was with his cousin at a store, Ocala Police said.
Patterson did not appear at Thursday's court hearing because his arrest took place after his cousin's arrest.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Two cousins arrested in Ocala drive-by shooting. What happened?
