A Montgomery County jury found 28-year-old Damarez Dashawn Jones guilty of murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence in connection with the July 2025 shooting death of his uncle, 42-year-old Paul Body, near North Main Street and Ernst Avenue in Dayton.
The verdict came after Jones tried to argue self-defense at trial, according to court filings in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court cited by the Dayton Daily News, which reported that Jones claimed he acted to protect himself when he shot Body. Prosecutors said Jones had asked Body for a ride to pick up his phone, and the two got into an argument before Jones shot his uncle from the back seat of the vehicle, according to the outlet's reporting. Jones then left the scene, and a woman who was in the car identified him to investigators, per the same account.
A Late-Night Shooting and a Days-Long Manhunt
Emergency responders found Body dead after reports of a shooting at approximately 11:25 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, near the North Main Street and Ernst Avenue intersection, according to WHIO-TV. Jones was not taken into custody that night. Six days later, on July 14, 2025, Dayton police obtained an active arrest warrant and charged him in Dayton Municipal Court with murder, tampering with evidence, weapons under disability, and discharging a firearm while he remained at large, the station reported.
The Dayton Daily News reported that Jones's bond was set at $1 million.
Sentencing Set for October
Jones is scheduled for sentencing on October 13, 2026.
Still unresolved are three counts of having weapons while under disability, which a judge is weighing separately from the jury's verdict. That charge is classified as a third-degree felony under Ohio Revised Code § 2923.13, carrying a potential prison term of 9 to 36 months per count, according to the state code cited by Zukerman Law. How that ruling affects sentencing remains to be seen when Jones returns to court next month.
