Accidental foot shooting leads to conviction

Published 11:05 am Monday, October 4, 2010

An Austin man was convicted Thursday on one count felony dangerous weapon discharging a firearm and one count misdemeanor domestic assault for a separate shooting and domestic incident that occurred in May and April, respectively.

According to court records, Bryan Dominic Ray, 20, accidentally shot his friend — who lied and said he was the victim of a drive-by — in the foot.

The domestic assault conviction pertains to a previous incident in which he assaulted his ex-girlfriend. Court documents state that Ray cut off a car that the woman was driving in, got out, and proceeded to pull her from the car and beat and choke her.

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Ray was sentenced to a total of five years supervised probation for the two incidents. He also has to complete 40 hours of community service and abstain from alcohol during his probation period.

According to records, the drive-by occurred May 11. The victim, 20-year-old Deonte Davenport, was treated at the Austin Medical Center for an apparent gunshot wound to his left big toe.

Officers spoke with Davenport at AMC that night. He said he was in the Bremerton Townhomes parking lot in the 300 block of 27th Street Southwest at around midnight when he heard a firecracker-like noise, then felt pain in his foot. A few others in the area, who also reported hearing something akin to a firecracker, drove Davenport to AMC.

Davenport said he saw a vehicle driving away from the area, but he did not provide any details on suspects. Police were also unable to locate any shells in the parking lot, according to records, and witnesses on-scene did not provide any useful information.

However, a day later, an 18-year-old woman called Mower County Correctional Services and said Ray accidentally shot Davenport. That information was forwarded along to law enforcement.

On May 17, police met with the Bremerton apartment manager, who said that several tenants had reported that the incident had occurred inside a unit, according to a criminal complaint. The woman who had called correctional services a few days earlier corroborated the story, saying that Ray had shot Davenport in the kitchen but that it was an accident.

She added that she was in the residence with her sister at the time, but noted that only Ray and Davenport were in the kitchen. The woman said Ray had come over and wanted to show Davenport something, so the two men went into the kitchen. Moments later, both sisters heard a gun shot, according to the complaint.

The woman said she then saw Davenport hopping around on one foot, yelling that he had been shot.

Police searched the apartment on May 19 and found a bullet hole in the kitchen, according to the complaint.

— Mike Rose contributed to this report