In the early hours of a Thursday morning in a typically quiet neighborhood of Old Town Bowie, the life of 18-year-old Davonte M. King was tragically cut short. On June 4, 2015, at approximately 1:15 a.m., the sound of gunfire shattered the peace in the 13000 block of Sixth Street. Responding officers discovered the young male in the backyard of a residence, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
He was rushed to a local hospital for medical attention, but succumbed to his injuries about five hours later, dying at 6 a.m. This violent incident marked the first homicide of the year for the city of Bowie. King, who was just a month shy of his nineteenth birthday, became the center of a rapidly unfolding police investigation.
Initially, authorities were in search of three individuals who were seen fleeing the area immediately after the shooting. The motive behind the attack was not immediately clear as Prince George's County police began to piece together the events that led to the fatal encounter. Their investigation progressed quickly, and by that evening, a significant breakthrough was made in the case. A suspect, who was described as an acquaintance of Davonte King, was identified and apprehended by law enforcement.
Robert Anthony Myers, a 22-year-old resident of Bowie, was taken into custody on the evening of the shooting. Investigators believe that the deadly confrontation was not a random act of violence, but rather the result of an ongoing dispute between the two men. Myers was subsequently charged with first-degree murder in connection with King's death. While one arrest was made, it was initially unclear if the other individuals sought by police were still being pursued. During the investigation at the crime scene, a separate incident occurred when a 22-year-old woman drove her vehicle through the police tape and collided with a cruiser; she was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.
