VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Two people had charges in the February shooting of an 8-year-old boy certified to a grand jury Tuesday.
Jawuan Jefferies, 21, and Tori’yon Cook, 24, are two of the four people charged for the shooting of then 8-year-old Landyn Davis on Peele Court Feb. 13.
The other two individuals charged, Jerry Davis, 24, and Jakyra Epperson, 21, are due in court in December.
Both Cook and Jefferies are charged with malicious wounding and shooting into an occupied building.
Landyn was shot in the head with a stray bullet while he was at his home playing video games. After spending more than 90 days in the hospital, Landyn was discharged.
10 On Your Side last spoke with Landyn’s parents in June, when he turned 9-years-old. Landyn’s mom Emily Rigsby said it was amazing to see the progress her son made.
“From not thinking that he was going to make it in the first 96 hours, to if he did make it, he’d never be able to do anything, to doing everything is, it’s amazing,” Rigsby said.
In court, three witnesses — a Virginia Beach detective, a forensics specialist and a witness 10 On Your Side is not allowed to name — testified they were at the scene when the shooting happened.
The first defendant, Cook, waived his right to a preliminary hearing. His attorney made it clear, however, that it was not an admission of guilt. His case will be sent to Circuit Court, and then onto trial. Cook faces 29 felony charges, including malicious shooting.
As for Jefferies, a Virginia Beach Police detective testified they found a cell phone on the scene that led them to him, and they were able to pinpoint his movements throughout the night of Feb. 13.
An unnamed witness testified they were on the scene when the shooting happened detailing that Jeffries and a group of people were walking to Rigsby’s house to shoot dice and smoke before later going on to a recording studio. She said that while she knows Jeffries, she didn’t know they were coming over that night.
“Jawuan Jeffries is from the neighborhood,” Rigsby said. “Tori’yon, I have no idea who he is.”
The unnamed witness said it was outside Rigsby’s house that Jefferies saw a “enemy” and began shooting.
Jeffries has been charged with 24 counts of malicious shooting into an occupied house, but testimony from the forensics specialist said only about seven bullets hit the house. The defense argued that Jeffries should only be charged for those bullets that struck the house.
“Well, my position was that the statute requires shooting at that occupied building,” said Anton Karpov, defense attorney for Jeffries. “But the courts could prove only how many shots were made. But I don’t think they could prove where the rest of the bullets missing went. So they could have been shot in the ground. They could be shot in the sky, but not in the direction of the building. So my point was, if they can prove that on the seven bullets [that] hit the building from point-blank shooting, then it means those bullets only were intended for the building and everything else was not.”
The case will move onto the grand jury next month.
Meanwhile, Rigsby said Landyn doing well and is getting stronger, doing physical therapy three times per week.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.