MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A Miami Gardens man who confessed to being a lookout before the 2021 El Mula mass shooting that left three people dead and 20 injured was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
During the start of the hearing, it was noted that Davonte Barnes, 24, is now facing a hate crime charge for allegedly beating up another inmate due to his sexual orientation.
In September, jurors found Barnes, known as “Dey Dey,” guilty of three counts of second-degree murder and 20 counts of attempted second-degree murder, and not guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
Miami-Dade County Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez sentenced him to life in prison for all counts.
Barnes confessed to being a lookout while driving his mother’s car just before shooters killed Shaniqua Peterson, Desmond Owens, and Clayton Dillard III, and injured 20 at about 12:30 a.m. on May 30, 2021, at the El Mula banquet hall at 7630 NW 186th St.
He told detectives a long-standing feud between two groups in Miami Gardens and Opa-locka, and the groups’ rappers Alan “Savage” Chambers and Antonio “Foe Pack” Jones, were to blame for the shooting.
Chambers targeted Jones, who was injured and survived, police said.
Relatives of Peterson, Owens and Dillard released statements in court ahead of the sentencing.
Dillard’s father, Clayton Dillard II, was among those who addressed Barnes directly, telling him “You must burn.”
The bereaved father noted that the justice system worked in this case with Barnes’ conviction and told him that his fellow inmates would “tear your a** up inside and out.”
After the families’ statements, Barnes offered up a short apology.
“I’m truly sorry for what happened to their kids and their family members,” he said in part.
The investigation into the shooting remains open and detectives ask that anyone with information calls Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.