VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two suspects connected to the shooting of 8-year-old Landyn Davis will go before a grand jury in December after a judge ruled there is enough probable cause in the case to move forward.
In one of the city's most high profile shootings of 2024, a stray bullet struck 8-year-old Davis while he was in his house playing video games in a house on Peele Court in Virginia Beach. He spent weeks in the hospital learning to walk again before being released to an outpouring of community support.
Tori'Yon Cook and Jawuan Jefferies, two of the four suspects charged in the shooting from last February, appeared in court Tuesday morning for a preliminary hearing. Cook waived the preliminary hearing proceeding, while Jefferies was represented by defense attorney Anton Karpov.
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Witness 1 | VBPD detective
A detective with the Virginia Beach Police Department detailed how Jefferies' cell phone tracking put him at the location of shooting when it happened.
"You have to prove the person is in physical possession of the phone at that time. He owns it and pays the bill but he needs to physically have it," Karpov said, who objected in court that Jefferies' phone movements that night doesn't automatically place him there at the time of the shooting.
Witness 2 | Unnamed witness
A Juvenile and Domestic Relations judge in Virginia Beach ruled media were not allowed to publicize the name of witnesses in the preliminary hearing Tuesday.
One of the Commonwealth's witnesses is an unnamed individual who testified they were with Cook and Jefferies the night of shooting, corroborating Jefferies' movements that night.
The witness continued to say the group of individuals were on their way to the house of Emily Rigsby, who is Landyn Davis' mother, before they saw a group of people nearby on the street that had Jefferies had a previous conflict with.
"We've been out there for 11 years, watched all these kids grow up," Rigsby said.
"[Witness] said he was a friend with Jawuan, but I’ve only seen him one time, [he was introduced] as his friend, but never saw him again."
After cross examination by Karpov, the witness admitted he’s lied to police before about this investigation, prompting Karpov to argue the witness testimony couldn't be trusted.
"The Commonwealth's witness was lying through his teeth to cover his own involvement,” he says.
Cook and Jefferies will now go before a grand jury on December 2.