A 26-year-old woman drove herself to the drive-thru of a McDonald's on Salem Road in Covington early Saturday morning after being shot multiple times, and deputies arrested her husband shortly afterward on charges including aggravated assault. The woman has been identified as Davienne Trejo of Lakeland, Florida, who was found suffering from gunshot wounds when she reached the fast-food restaurant seeking help before being taken to a hospital for treatment.
According to 11Alive, Newton County Sheriff's deputies responded to the McDonald's around 1 a.m. on October 17, according to Atlanta News First. Investigators determined the shooting was domestic-related and happened before Trejo arrived at the restaurant, per the station's report. Her husband, 25-year-old Yovani Lopez-Esquivel, was identified as the suspect and taken into custody after the shooting.
Suspect Jailed Without Bond on Multiple Felony Counts
Lopez-Esquivel was booked into the Newton County jail on October 17 and is being held without bond, per inmate records from the Newton County Sheriff's Office. He was arrested by Deputy Odalis Alberto shortly after the shooting occurred. Police say he faces charges of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, false imprisonment, and terroristic threats, with the aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and terroristic threats charges all falling under the Family Violence Act.
Georgia's Family Violence Act gives law enforcement officers warrantless arrest authority whenever probable cause exists to believe family violence occurred, even without deputies witnessing the act firsthand, according to Ted Morgan Law. That authority is why deputies were able to arrest Lopez-Esquivel shortly after locating his injured wife.
What the Charges Could Mean in Court
Aggravated assault under Georgia Code § 16-5-21 is a felony carrying a statutory prison sentence of 1 to 20 years, and the law allows judges to issue strict protective orders and impose firearm restrictions when a charge is filed under the Family Violence Act, per BixonLaw. Separately, Georgia Code § 16-11-106 mandates a consecutive five-year prison sentence for possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, a term that must be served in addition to any sentence for the underlying offense, according to Kaufman Law; a second conviction for the same firearm offense would escalate the penalty to 10 consecutive years.
The false imprisonment charge, which was also designated under the Family Violence Act, involves arresting, detaining, or confining another person without legal authority and is punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison under Georgia Code § 16-5-41, per Cansino Blanchette & Oswalt-Smith, LLC. The terroristic threats charge involves threatening to commit a crime of violence with the intent to terrorize another person, a felony carrying 1 to 5 years in prison under Georgia Code § 16-11-37, according to BixonLaw.
Firearms and Domestic Violence in Georgia
Data from the Georgia Commission on Family Violence shows firearms are involved in roughly 80% of domestic violence fatalities in the state, despite guns being present in just 2% of total reported domestic incidents statewide, according to Safer Georgia. Georgia recorded 163 domestic violence-related fatalities in 2024. Research highlighted by the commission also indicates that an abusive partner's access to a firearm increases the risk of domestic homicide by 500%, with Georgia ranking 9th nationally for gun-related homicides.
The McDonald's on Salem Road sits along a high-traffic commercial strip in Newton County where deputies have investigated prior violent incidents, including a January shootout between two groups at a nearby Circle K that led to four arrests, per the Newton County Sheriff's Office. Investigators have not said whether any prior domestic violence incidents or protective orders existed between Trejo and Lopez-Esquivel, and the investigation remains ongoing.
