Image by the Other michael via FlickrLONG BEACH – A teenage suspect charged with the 2009 fatal shooting of honor student Melody Ross shortly after her high school homecoming game pleaded today to manslaughter and attempted murder, the District Attorney’s office announced.
Daivion Davis, who was almost 16 at the time of the shooting and is now 17, pleaded no contest to an amended count of manslaughter and one count of attempted murder in the Oct. 30, 2009, shooting, said Deputy District Attorney Dean Bengston with the Hardcore Gang Division. The plea was a negotiated settlement with prosecutors.
Davis, who was charged as an adult, is facing eight years, four months in juvenile custody when he returns to court Sept. 13 for sentencing before Long Beach Superior Court Judge Mark Kim.
Trial is set to begin Monday for the second teen charged in the attack, Tom Love Vinson, who was 16 at the time of the fatal shooting. Vinson, now 18, is charged with one count of murder, four counts of attempted murder, and the special allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a handgun and that he committed the crimes to further a street gang. If convicted, he faces 210 years to life in prison.
Ross, 16, was gunned down about 10 p.m. after the homecoming football game at Wilson High School. Police said Ross was an innocent bystander who was shot when two groups of gang members had a confrontation. Two men, ages 18 and 20 at the time, were wounded.
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