A 16-year-old wanted for months in connection with an April shooting on Asheville's Atkinson Street turned himself in to authorities this week. Danvonte Pearson faces charges including attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and possession of a weapon of mass destruction, stemming from the April 26 shooting near Hillcrest Apartments.
Before Pearson's surrender, the U.S. Marshals Service had offered a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to his arrest, according to 828 News NOW. The Asheville Police Department, the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, and the State Bureau of Investigation assisted in Smith's arrest. Asheville Police Department officers had responded to a report of a person shot on Atkinson Street at Hillcrest Apartments around 3:30 p.m. on April 26, according to the Charlotte Observer, which cited reporting from the Asheville Citizen Times. Officers went to a home in the area, where they found 36-year-old Damien Dean, of Asheville, shot once in the leg. He was taken to Mission Hospital.
An Adult Co-Defendant Arrested Days Earlier
Pearson's surrender came ten days after adult co-defendant Lamon Tyrik Smith Jr., 20, was arrested on September 8 for his role in the same Atkinson Street shooting. The station's report notes Smith was held without bond at the Buncombe County Detention Facility on a felony conspiracy charge. Marqua Amryie Lamar Davis, 19, was separately charged in connection with the July 5 shooting with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, per the same account, while Pearson himself faces that same charge along with the more serious counts tied to April's shooting.
APD Captain Joe Silberman discussed the April 26 incident with the Asheville Citizen Times on September 14.
What the Weapons Charge Actually Means
Pearson faces a weapon of mass destruction charge along with injury to personal property, in addition to the attempted murder and conspiracy counts.
Because Pearson is 16, his case begins in adult criminal court rather than juvenile court, but it may later be removed to juvenile jurisdiction through a statutory process. Under North Carolina Session Law 2024-17 (H834), which took effect December 1, 2024, 16- and 17-year-olds charged with Class A through Class E felonies — including attempted murder — no longer start out in juvenile jurisdiction, as explained by the North Carolina Criminal Law Blog. State lawmakers narrowed juvenile court jurisdiction specifically for violent teen offenders.
A Chain of Retaliatory Violence
Pearson was also wanted in connection with a related shooting on July 5 at Maple Crest Apartments on Lee Garden Lane, where another man was shot in the shoulder, according to the Charlotte Observer's account. Asheville police charged 19-year-old Marqua Amryie Lamar Davis in that case with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and carrying a concealed gun, according to 828 News NOW. Davis was booked into the Buncombe County Detention Center as detectives worked to establish connections between that shooting and others.
The July 5 shooting was directly connected to a mass shooting two weeks later on Biltmore Avenue, which killed 22-year-old Lamarius Jones and 24-year-old Marques Davis Jr. and injured seven others. The July 19 Biltmore Avenue attack was described as a direct retaliatory strike tied to the Maple Crest shooting, per 828 News NOW's report.
During the investigation into that mass shooting, Asheville police executed more than 25 search warrants and subpoenas, seized the suspect vehicle, and uncovered digital and forensic links connecting it to other gun violence cases across Western North Carolina, according to 828 News NOW's August reporting. The investigation included digital evidence and shell casings.
Downtown Asheville saw several shooting incidents in early 2026. The uptick in public gun violence prompted city leaders to hold community safety briefings.
Whether Pearson will face additional indictments connected to the July 5 or July 19 shootings remains an open question, as does whether prosecutors or his defense attorneys will pursue a motion to move his case back to juvenile court. For now, he remains charged in the April 26 Atkinson Street shooting alongside Smith, as the case moves forward in adult criminal court.
