On the night of March 13, 2024, at approximately 10:21 p.m., 28-year-old Dashawn Malyk Boone was fatally shot outside his residence in the 1500 block of Hexlena Road near Aulander, North Carolina. Responding to reports of gunfire, Bertie County Sheriff's deputies arrived to find Boone deceased in his driveway from an apparent gunshot wound.
In the immediate aftermath, Boone's family grappled with the sudden loss. His uncle, James Leary, recounted hearing gunshots and witnessing a car speeding away from the scene, though he couldn't identify the vehicle. Leary described Boone as a "good boy" who avoided trouble, emphasizing the senselessness of the violence that claimed his nephew's life.
The Bertie County Sheriff's Office, in collaboration with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), launched a homicide investigation. Through their efforts, they identified 21-year-old Javyn A’Marion Marqyez Askew of Windsor, North Carolina, as a suspect. On March 26, 2024, authorities arrested Askew without incident, charging him with Boone's murder. He was subsequently held without bond at the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail.
Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin expressed condolences to both Boone's and Askew's families, lamenting the loss of two young lives to senseless gun violence. He also commended the collaborative efforts of the Down East Drug Task Force and the SBI in bringing about the arrest.
Boone's funeral services were held on March 23, 2024, at Conocanary Missionary Baptist Church in Aulander, followed by his burial in the church cemetery.
