A Hattiesburg man has pleaded guilty to shooting a Biloxi cop and four others during spring break festivities two years ago.
District Attorney W. Crosby Parker announced Thursday that Dontavius Omar Magee, 23, admitted in a plea deal last week to shooting into the crowded parking lot of Surf Style on April 16, 2023.
After accepting the plea on the charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer and two counts of aggravated assault, Magee was sentenced to 15 years behind bars, followed by five years of supervised release.
Assistant District Attorney Ian Baker, who helped prosecute the case, stated that “video from Surf Style and neighboring businesses show a dangerous and chaotic scene where a masked suspect, later identified as Magee, walk between two cars, raise a handgun, and open fire across the parking lot into a crowd, striking the five victims, before he calmly walked way to the east.”
Pictures of Magee walking away from the scene were posted shortly after the incident by the Biloxi Police Department with the Hattiesburg Police Department recognizing the suspect. The departments exchanged information, and through the investigation, located pictures of Magee on social media wearing the same clothes before the shooting happened but without the mask on.
Magee was then arrested outside of Hattiesburg in Collins on May 10, 2023. It was also discovered that Magee had a warrant out for his arrest in Georgia for kidnapping and robbery.
During his plea, Magee admitted to the shooting but claimed he had been threatened beforehand by two of the victims. He is expected to be extradited to Georgia for the other charges.
