A Los Angeles man pleaded no contest Friday to child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, closing out a case tied to the 2019 drowning death of his 2-year-old son, Legacy, who was one of a set of triplets. Durrell Dionte Daniels received a 10-year sentence, but with credit for time already served, the case's resolution leaves open the possibility he could be released almost immediately.
According to MyNewsLA, the 10-year term was the maximum penalty Daniels could face for the charge and an allegation that it resulted in his son's death. Deputy District Attorney MacKenzie Teymouri told Judge Francis Bennett II that prosecutors could not prove the more serious murder charge that Daniels originally faced, along with a charge of assault on a child causing death. Both of those charges were dismissed as a result of the plea.
The judge credited Daniels with more than 2,200 days already served in custody, plus the same number of days in good-time credits, according to the same report. Daniels was arrested in October 2020 and had remained behind bars ever since. His attorney argued he should be released from custody forthwith because he had already served his term.
A Mother's Objection in Court
Legacy's mother, Tywona Wade, along with two other family members, opposed the plea deal, the outlet reported. Wade said Daniels had never shown any remorse for their son's death and told him he was going to hell. She said she believed in her heart that Daniels had put his hands on her son and that she did not believe his death was an accident.
Wade testified that Daniels had taken the two boys from her as she was returning from a store about a week and a half before Legacy died, and that she had told him that morning the boys should be home with her for her then-10-year-old child's graduation. She said she and Daniels had never seen eye to eye, and that she simply wanted her children back.
What Happened the Day Legacy Died
Legacy died on June 6, 2019, after paramedics were sent to an apartment in the 200 block of South Whitmer Street, following a 911 call. Los Angeles Police Department Officer Christina Johnson testified that Daniels told her his two sons were splashing around in the bathtub and that Legacy began choking after being splashed with water.
An autopsy concluded that Legacy died from drowning after being intentionally submerged in a bathtub, along with blunt head trauma, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles. At a December 2023 hearing where Daniels was ordered to stand trial, a witness named Anise King testified that she was asked to perform CPR on the boy but did not touch him because he already seemed dead. King also described Daniels' demeanor that day as very calm.
Protective Order Keeps Daniels Away for a Decade
As part of the plea, a protective order bars Daniels from any contact with Wade or the boy's siblings for the next 10 years. The case, which began with Daniels' October 2020 arrest, moved through years of pretrial proceedings before Friday's plea brought the criminal case to a close.
