Christopher Daveian Haynes was sentenced to life in prison in Orange County after a jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Joslyn Gray and Errol Irving. The two were killed in March 2024 during a shooting at a business in Pine Hills that was operating as an illegal after-hours club during a birthday party.
According to WFTV, the case was prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. State Attorney Monique Worrell said the sentence holds Haynes accountable while acknowledging the loss suffered by the victims' families. “Nothing can bring Joslyn and Errol back, but this sentence makes sure the person who took their lives is held accountable,” Worrell said, per the same report.
As reported by WESH, Haynes was sentenced Friday after being found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. The shooting unfolded in March 2024 during a birthday party at a business on Pine Hills Road near Silver Star Road, which WESH reports was registered as a tax office but was actually being run as an illegal after-hours club.
Deputies Found Two Men Shot Outside the Club
The Orlando Sentinel reported that deputies responded at 3:34 a.m. on March 23, 2024, to a shooting at the business, labeled a tax office, at 2711 North Pine Hills Road, next to the Creole Bakery. Both men were killed in the gunfire that erupted inside or near the club during the party.
Investigators told WESH that Haynes was targeting Gray, and that Irving, who was standing nearby, was not believed to be the intended target. The victim's surname appears differently across outlets: WESH refers to her as Joslyn Grey, while the WFTV report on the arrest identifies her as 49-year-old Joslyn Gray.
Arrest Warrant Led to Nashville Capture
WFTV reported that the Orange County Sheriff's Office said detectives found cause to charge Haynes in the case and secured an arrest warrant for him on April 22. Haynes was ultimately arrested in Nashville in May 2024 by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the Orlando Sentinel's coverage of his subsequent indictment.
That indictment, handed down on June 27, 2024, formally charged Haynes with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Gray and Irving, the Sentinel reported. More than two years later, the case concluded with the jury's guilty verdicts and the life sentence handed down this week.
State Attorney Points to Gun Violence Toll
Worrell also used the case to speak more broadly about gun violence in the community, according to WFTV. “Gun violence has taken far too many lives in our community, and no family should ever have to endure the loss of a loved one this way,” she said, adding that fighting gun violence remains one of her office's highest priorities and that prosecutors will keep aggressively pursuing those who use firearms to harm their neighbors.
Worrell thanked the prosecutors and law enforcement agencies involved in building the case, WFTV reported, crediting their work and commitment to pursuing justice for Gray, Irving, and their families. The sentencing closes out a case that began with a late-night shooting at an unlicensed Pine Hills club and ended with Haynes facing life behind bars.
