On New Year's Day 2023, the life of 41-year-old Daniel Spotards, a male resident of Plattekill, New York, was brought to a violent and tragic end. The father of two was shot twelve times at close range and left to die at the end of his driveway on Campbell Drive Extension. His body was discovered the following day, on January 2, 2023, by a local sanitation worker who immediately alerted authorities by calling 911.
Spotards, a lifelong resident of the area and a graphics automotive technician, was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
The ensuing investigation, led by the New York State Police, quickly zeroed in on two brothers, Junando Dawkins, age 30, of Newburgh, and his older brother, 34-year-old Juwaugh Dawkins of Jacksonville, Florida. A key breakthrough came when residents in Plattekill discovered discarded cell phones a short distance from the crime scene and reported them to law enforcement. This evidence, combined with cell phone location data, linked the brothers to the location of the murder. In a testament to tenacious police work, State Police divers recovered parts of a Glock semi-automatic pistol from the Hudson River which contained DNA evidence from Juwaugh Dawkins.
In March 2023, Junando Dawkins, a U.S. Army Sergeant, was apprehended at Fort Liberty in North Carolina, just days before he was scheduled to deploy overseas. His brother, Juwaugh, initially fought extradition from Florida but was eventually returned to New York in June 2023 to face charges. The brothers were indicted for Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.
The trial commenced on April 15, 2024, and lasted for eleven days. The prosecution presented a compelling case built on the testimony of over forty witnesses, including law enforcement officials and forensic experts. After deliberating for less than three hours on April 29, 2024, the jury returned a guilty verdict on all charges for both Junando and Juwaugh Dawkins. On September 17, 2024, the brothers were sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison. During the sentencing, heartbreaking victim impact statements were presented, including one from Spotards' sixteen-year-old daughter, detailing the profound pain of her loss. The motive for the brutal killing was never publicly released.
