On Monday, Lavontez Davis entered a guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter and strangulation in the 2023 killing of Jason McKinnon in Over-the-Rhine. This plea came as part of a deal that reduced the original charge from murder to the lesser offenses. The incident occurred after an FC Cincinnati match resulted in a violent altercation caught on camera, where McKinnon was fatally strangled during a dispute with Davis, who was the boyfriend of a DoorDash driver that McKinnon had tried to direct after she turned the wrong way on a one-way street, WLWT reports.
The conflict began when McKinnon and his spouse spotted the DoorDash driver going in the wrong direction. After they attempted to flag her down, Davis left a nearby business and engaged in the brawl that led to McKinnon's death. According to LOCAL12, despite the lethal outcome, prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty and instead initially sought life imprisonment on charges including first-degree murder.
The sentencing for Davis ranges between 15-20 years' imprisonment. The closure of the criminal aspect of this case, however, does not conclude the legal actions associated with the altercation. Davis finds himself facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed by McKinnon's widow, Emily Livingston, and his estate, extending liability to not only Davis but also Shimya Berry, the DoorDash driver, and the San Francisco-based food delivery company, DoorDash, as stated in documents obtained by a FOX19 report.
Amidst the aftermath of this tragedy, Livingston's attorney, Tabitha Hochscheid, has voiced the family’s grievances and their aspiration for broader accountability. "My client, Emily Livingston, as well as the family and friends of Jason McKinnon have endured a loss that is immeasurable," Hochscheid explained, "No criminal case outcome can undo the harm done. Today's plea brings a measure of relief that the criminal process has reached its conclusions. They are grateful for the prosecution's work in securing accountability from Lavontez Davis," she told FOX19. The ongoing civil suit aims to address and question DoorDash's safety protocols and operational practices that may have played a role in the events leading up to the deadly altercation.
