In the festive days leading up to Christmas, a gathering of friends and family in Danville, Virginia, turned into a scene of tragedy. On December 23, 2018, at a home on Downing Drive, 31-year-old David Bernard Stewart was shot and killed. Another person, a 23-year-old woman, was also struck by gunfire but survived her injuries. The incident cut short a life and left a community in shock just two days before the holiday.
The Danville Police Department immediately launched a homicide
investigation. Their inquiries soon led them to a person of interest, Antwain Maurice Jones. As the investigation progressed, Jones was officially named a suspect in the shooting. However, he had fled the state, prompting a multi-agency effort to locate him. The U.S. Marshals Service joined the search, tracking him to Texas.
In February 2019, Antwain Maurice Jones was apprehended in Texas and extradited back to Virginia to face justice. A grand jury indicted him on multiple felony charges, including first-degree murder for the death of David Bernard Stewart, malicious wounding of the second victim, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Jones was held without bond at the Danville City Jail.
The legal proceedings that followed brought some measure of closure to the family and friends of David Bernard Stewart. Antwain Maurice Jones was convicted of the charges brought against him. For his role in the fatal Christmas party shooting, a judge sentenced him to a total of 88 years in prison, ensuring that the man responsible for the violent death of David Bernard Stewart would be held accountable for his actions.
