Trayvon Straw
A man who fatally shot Davonta Jason Combs with an assault rifle and injured a woman during a chaotic exchange of gunfire as people left a local nightclub was sentenced to jail on Friday, court documents show .
The shooting was at least partially captured on cell phone video, according to court documents.
Trayvon Martease Strawn, 29, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon as part of a plea deal, according to court documents.
30th District Judge Jeff McKnight sentenced Strawn to 15 years in prison for the death of Combs and five years for shooting a woman in the torso as clients left Studio E in the 2400 block of Sheppard Access Road in the early morning hours of August 26, 2018, court documents show.
Strawn will serve the sentences concurrently and receive 967 credit days for the served prison term.
Manslaughter is punished with up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Strawn was originally indicted for murder, which carries the maximum penalty of life in prison.
Another aggravated assault charge was dismissed as part of a plea deal. Strawn was accused of shooting a second woman in the foot in the same incident, according to allegations in court documents.
Aggravated assault is punishable by up to 20 years.
When Strawn’s charges were pending, his bail was lowered after he sent a judge a letter asking for a reduced bail. He joined the conditions, including the use of a GPS ankle monitor.
In March 2021, another judge sent him back to jail and ordered him to pay stimulus money to an ankle monitor company because it was late on payments, according to court documents.
The judge raised bail on Strawn, who was still being held Friday at the Wichita County Law Enforcement Center, according to online court and prison records.
Strawn told police he heard people leaving the club say there was going to be a shooting, so he grabbed an assault rifle from his vehicle, according to court documents.
The story continues
Strawn told police a man fired a gun at him and he returned fire, according to court documents. Strawn was wounded in the torso and thigh during the exchange of gunfire. The police were dispatched to the shooting at about 3:24am that day.
Cell phone video gave investigators part of the story.
The video shows Strawn crossing the parking lot towards the entrance door of the nightclub while firing a shotgun. Then Strawn was shot while facing the front door.
The video shows that at almost the same time that he was wounded, Strawn fired at the front door, court documents show. An investigation determined that Strawn shot Davonta Combs as he was walking out that door.
Demetrion Combs told police he was leaving the nightclub next door to Davonta Combs, who was hit by one of Strawn’s bullets, according to court documents. But Demetrion Combs denied shooting Strawn.
Demetrius Pettini
Demetrion Combs was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A Wichita County grand jury declined to indict him in October 2018, and the indictment was dismissed.
The 36-year-old, however, pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in connection with the Studio E shooting. A witness had spotted him with a gun.
Demetrion Combs was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon by 78th District Judge Meredith Kennedy and sentenced to 18 years in the state prison division on October 11, 2022, court documents show.
The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, but his sentence has been increased.
Two other charges against him in connection with another shooting at Studio E on November 26, 2021, were dropped as part of a plea deal. The charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm were dismissed.
Trish Choate, a corporate surveillance reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, the courts, breaking news and more. Contact her with news recommendations at [email protected]. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared in the Wichita Falls Times Record News: Appeal by Trayvon Strawn
