Five years after a botched robbery plan turned into gunfire at a North Charleston motel, Roman Early Lo'Landon Allen-Davis has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the September 2021 shooting that killed Ra'Shod Arkeem Washington-Moody, 24, and wounded a 33-year-old woman at the Charleston Heights Motel.
According to the Post and Courier, the plot began when Allen-Davis's younger brother, Christopher Shavon Rodney Allen-Thompson, then 20, approached his then-24-year-old sibling with a plan to rob a fellow motel occupant. Allen-Thompson had booked his own room at the Charleston Heights Motel, at 4241 Rivers Ave., and told his brother he wanted to target Washington-Moody. Allen-Davis agreed, and the two went to Washington-Moody's room, with Allen-Thompson entering first.
Jordan Norvell, a Ninth Circuit assistant solicitor, said Allen-Thompson was the one who proposed the robbery. Inside the room, Washington-Moody was armed, and a struggle broke out between him and the two brothers for control of the weapon. Allen-Davis ultimately fired the gun, shooting both Washington-Moody and his partner. The woman survived a chest wound, while Washington-Moody was pronounced dead at the scene.
Evidence Trail Led Police to the Brothers
Officers were called to the motel around 2 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2021, after reports of a shooting, the same outlet previously reported. Washington-Moody, 24, was found shot dead in a separate motel room, and the wounded woman was taken to the hospital for treatment, per the Post and Courier's earlier coverage of the arrests.
After the shooting, Allen-Davis and Allen-Thompson fled the motel on foot, following nearby railroad tracks, and a surveillance camera recorded their movements. Investigators later found Allen-Davis's driver's license and a flip-flop shoe he left behind at the scene, along with a hospital visitor's badge belonging to Allen-Thompson, who had received it a day before the shooting following the birth of his child.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators, according to an affidavit, showed both men getting into a gold 2009 Chevrolet Malibu about a mile from the motel. Live 5 News reported that the car belonged to Sa'Deja Immone Renee Williams, who was identified as the owner and questioned about her involvement.
Conflicting Arrest Dates, Separate Charges Filed
Williams told police she had lent her Chevrolet to Allen-Thompson and said she did not know much about him, but police contended she picked the brothers up after the shooting, according to the same station's report. Williams was reported as the getaway driver and, per the dossier of reporting on the case, still has a pending case connected to the shooting, as does Allen-Thompson.
Williams was charged Oct. 4, 2021, with felony obstruction of justice. Reports on the timing of Allen-Davis's arrest conflict: Count on 2 reported he was arrested Sept. 24, 2021, while Live 5 News reported an arrest date of Sept. 21, 2021, with Allen-Davis admitting to the shooting in affidavits. He was charged with murder, attempted murder, attempted armed robbery and weapons possession, while at the time he was also out on bail on two drug possession charges and two unlawful weapons possession charges. Allen-Thompson, described in court records as Allen-Davis's 25-year-old brother, was charged Oct. 4, 2021, with murder, attempted murder and attempted armed robbery.
Witness Trouble Shaped the Plea Deal
Norvell said several people witnessed the shooting, but the case ran into complications over time: one witness recanted his statement, and Washington-Moody's surviving partner later died from an unrelated cause. Prosecutors accepted Allen-Davis's plea to voluntary manslaughter because of those difficulties with witnesses, the Post and Courier reported.
Circuit Judge Debra McCaslin sentenced Allen-Davis to the maximum prison term for voluntary manslaughter — 30 years. The case was reported by Caitlin Bell, the paper's quick response and public safety reporter.
The 2021 shooting was not an isolated flashpoint at the property. North Charleston police had received calls regarding seven incidents involving weapons at the Charleston Heights Motel in 2020 alone, the Post and Courier reported in earlier coverage, underscoring the kind of volatile environment investigators say set the stage for the deadly encounter a year later.
