VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — We are learning information about the chaotic night that unfolded at the Virginia Beach oceanfront in March 2021.
That night, several shootings happened on Atlantic and Pacific avenues in Virginia Beach. DeShayla Harris, a bystander to a shooting, was killed by a stray bullet; police haven't found a suspect in her case yet. That night, police officers also shot and killed Donovon Lynch.
Several other people were shot that night, but lived.
While all of that was unfolding, Malik Kearney is accused of hitting a Virginia Beach police officer with his car.
In court, Curtis Rogers, the attorney representing Malik Kearney, filed a motion to suppress certain statements Kearney made to Virginia Beach Police Officers after his arrest, because Rogers says they weren’t voluntary and police violated Kearney’s right to an attorney.
Malik Kearney faces multiple charges, including DUI and Hit and Run. Police say he hit an officer with his car while leaving the Virginia Beach Oceanfront during the chaos.
Before Kearney allegedly hit the officer, paperwork says Kearney was walking back to his car, heard gunfire, and fired his gun in self-defense; but his attorney said that fact is in dispute.
During a police interrogation, Rogers said Kearney asked for an attorney and the questioning stopped, but later Kearney asked to speak to a detective again.
Documents went on to say that during the second round of questioning, detectives implied Kearney was responsible for the death of DeShayla Harris, and that he did not have remorse for shooting her.
According to Rogers, the Commonwealth has not discovered any physical or video evidence to indicate Kearney killed Harris, and Kearney is not charged with her murder.
Rogers said he decided to withdraw the motion to suppress the statements Kearney made after consulting a forensic psychologist, but wouldn’t go into more details.
Kearney’s jury trial is scheduled for April 26, 2022. It's expected to last three to five days.
Court documents say Kearney admitted he did not see the Virginia Beach police officer he hit, and feels sorry for him. Prosecutors said the officer has permanent injuries.