In a stark reminder of the perils of unsecured firearms, Dante Lamar Daugherty, 44, has entered a guilty plea for the death of his young son in a heartbreaking incident that took place back in 2023, as reported by the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney. On Thursday, Daugherty admitted to second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree cruelty to children, after his son, Z’ayre Daugherty, age 7, succumbed to a gunshot wound inflicted with the father's gun, which had been left unattended beneath a car seat.
The tragic sequence of events unfolded on September 4, 2023, when Daugherty parked at a gas station on Rock Chapel Road in Lithonia, where he temporarily stepped away, leaving his two sons in the SUV; it was during this brief absence that the shooting occurred, and though Daugherty rushed back upon realizing something was amiss, any intervention was tragically too late as EMS pronounced Z’ayre deceased at the scene, Daugherty in his panic had failed to secure the gun properly, an oversight that led to calamity and now, years later, a plea bargain culminating in a 10-year sentence with 2 years of incarceration and the remaining on probation.
According to the same district attorney's press release, surveillance footage revealed no one else entering or leaving the vehicle, thus ruling out the involvement of an outside party; however, the exact circumstances of how the gun was fired remain unclear, as the other child present was unable to provide a coherent account of the incident. The DeKalb County Police Department, led by Detective C. Williams, spearheaded the initial investigation which ultimately brought this case to a close.
During the plea hearing overseen by DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson, a non-negotiated settlement was reached, conferring a lighter sentence upon Daugherty than the state's recommendation of 10 years to serve 5 years in custody, the case, intensively worked on by the Child Crimes Unit, saw Senior Assistant District Attorney Hannah Pendergast leading the charge with support from her colleague Rachel Plevack, District Attorney Investigator Haley Hines, and Victim Advocate Jenaiya Coleman playing instrumental roles in bringing the legal proceedings to fruition.
