A metro Atlanta mother is outraged after the man seen on surveillance footage fatally shooting her son as he mistakenly got into the wrong vehicle was released on bond for a misdemeanor charge.
Police arrested Dericole Daniels, 52, and charged him with voluntary manslaughter for the December 2022 killing of Trayvon Dunnaville after he opened the door of his car, according to WSB-TV.
Surveillance video from the College Park gas station where the shooting occurred showed that Dunnaville’s vehicle, which looked similar, was parked two gas pumps over from Daniels’.
His pregnant fiancée sat inside waiting for him. He was texting when he walked up to Daniels’ car as the driver shot Dunnaville on Dec. 12, 2022.
Dunnaville’s mother is now trying to understand how a man that killed her son so senselessly bonded out of jail on Monday, April 17.
“He could have locked his doors, or he could have said may I help you or something?” said the man’s mother, who didn’t want to be identified. “He did nothing but shoot.”
Carmella McKenzie had to beg Daniels to stop shooting him, explaining that the 26-year-old mistook his vehicle for theirs. She gave birth to their son in late March. The couple had been together for at least five years before he was killed, according to social media posts.
“And [McKenzie] runs over and says, Don’t shoot him no more. He was at the wrong car,” the victim’s mother told WSB-TV. “He saw my son coming towards him. He was parked like this. So you see him coming.”
Daniels’ release comes as three other shootings over common errors made national headlines.
Two cheerleaders were shot on Tuesday, April 18, after one mistakenly got into the wrong car. The teenager apologized and exited the man’s car before he unloaded his gun into the vehicle she returned to, leaving her friend and teammate, Payton Washington, 18, in critical condition.
Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot and wounded on April 13 after he rang the wrong doorbell. The teenager ended up at 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street instead of 1100 block of Northeast 115th Terrace, one block from where he was supposed to pick up his siblings.
Two days later, Kaylin Gillis, 20, was killed after her boyfriend drove into the wrong driveway in rural New York while looking for a house party. Blake Walsh told CNN Gillis was killed instantly after the homeowner fired two shots into their car. Two other friends were also in the vehicle.
Although, it’s unclear if Daniels’ was licensed to carry the weapon he used to gun down Dunnaville. Georgia is among 26 states that allow civilians to carry concealed weapons without a permit.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting, and “if a decision is made to seek a felony indictment,” the office will prosecute it in Superior Court.
“If the decision is made to leave it as a misdemeanor as the police cited it, it will be prosecuted in state court by the Solicitor’s Office,” according to a statement.
However, the victim’s mother said Daniels’ current penalty and being able to walk out of jail with a $150,000 bond is unfair.
“I have not been able to sleep,” she said.
