In the late hours of May 28, 2021, the life of 26-year-old Dakota Richard Johnston, a Black/African American male from Donora, Pennsylvania, was tragically cut short. Johnston was at his home on 3rd Street when Javonne Malachi Crawford, 22, and two other men arrived. According to testimony from Johnston's girlfriend, Tionya Gaston, who was also present, Crawford said to Johnston, 'you know why we're here,' before brandishing a handgun.
What followed was a burst of violence that left
Johnston fatally wounded. Crawford allegedly shot Johnston twice in the head at close range. He then turned the gun on Gaston, shooting her four times as she tried to protect herself. Despite her injuries, which included gunshot wounds to her ear, shoulder, arm, and hand, Gaston was able to flee the house with her son and seek help from the nearby Fraternal Order of Eagles, whose members called for emergency services. Johnston was rushed to Monongahela Valley Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.
Following the shooting, Crawford fled the scene but was apprehended by police after a brief foot chase that ended in a wooded area near the home. At the time of his arrest, he was found in possession of a. 45-caliber handgun and 148 stamp bags of what was suspected to be heroin. While in the back of a police cruiser, a body camera reportedly captured Crawford admitting, 'I know I killed someone,' and lamenting that he would spend the rest of his life in jail.
Crawford was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide and attempted criminal homicide. Following a preliminary hearing where Gaston testified against him, additional charges were filed, including carrying a firearm without a license, theft, drug possession with intent to deliver, and tampering with evidence. Prosecutors have since announced their intention to seek the death penalty, citing aggravating factors that include the killing occurring during the commission of another felony and knowingly creating a grave risk of death to another person. Crawford is being held without bond at the Washington County Jail.
