CINCINNATI — The man who choked another man to death in 2023 has agreed to plead guilty to two of the charges he'd faced.
Lavontez Davis, 26, pleaded guilty in court to one count of strangulation and one count of involuntary manslaughter.
On October 4, 2023 at 10:20 p.m., Cincinnati police were dispatched to E. 14 Street after multiple 911 calls were made about an altercation after an FC Cincinnati game.
When officers arrived, officers found a 48-year-old man suffering from injuries on the sidewalk, CPD said. That man, Jason McKinnon, died in the hospital four days later.
Witnesses at the scene said McKinnon was walking with a woman when they saw another woman driving the wrong way down 14th Street, a one-way street. The witness said McKinnon and the woman told the driver she was driving the wrong way; The driver then got out of the car and began fighting with the woman.
Taryn Brown with the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office said Davis then got out of the car, grabbed McKinnon around the neck and choked him. A police report says Davis put the man in a headlock. McKinnon was taken to UC Medical Center and later died from his injuries on Oct. 8. After he died, the coroner's office determined his death was a homicide.
"The defendant choked the victim during an interaction which occurred because the victim and someone he was with were trying to tell a woman driving that she was going down a one-way street the wrong way," Brown said.
You can see video released of the fight below:
During his arraignment, Davis' defense attorney said he acted in self-defense of himself and his girlfriend, who was eight months pregnant at the time. The defense attorney told the judge the victim had acted aggressively toward the two.
In court on November 17, over two years after McKinnon was killed, his family addressed the court following Davis' plea.
McKinnon's sister Kelly described losing a brother who she said was the last family she had.
"Since Jason's death, I've been a shell of myself," said Kelly. "We're no stranger to grief, we lost our mom when she was only 52 ... But this was so much harder. I didn't expect to lose my brother until we got old — the only person I can reminisce about my childhood with."
She said McKinnon was close with her son, and their families would often to get together for holidays — but that now, her son wants to avoid the holidays altogether.
"The magnitude of what Mr. Davis stole from our family is unbearable," Kelly said.
Davis was given the opportunity to speak for himself; he stood in the court room and repeatedly apologized. He listed numerous family members he's lost in his life, including his father, and said he only thought of protecting his family.
"I'm not a bad guy," said Davis. "I'm sorry, I'm deeply sorry. I want y'all — I'm just sorry. I'm not a messed up person like the news made me seem to be."
He said he'd prayed for McKinnon, and for forgiveness from God, but he repeated multiple times that he'd thought he needed to protect his family.
"I didn't mean for it to go that way," said Davis. "I was just trying to be a good man and protect my family."
Davis's mother also spoke, turning to the court's gallery to apologize directly to McKinnon's family members and crying as she did.
"I apologize to y'all as well," she said. "My son is not a bad person ... I'm sorry that you even had to go through this."
She spent the rest of her time at the podium speaking directly to her son.
After that, the judge sentenced Davis to spend 15 years in prison — five years for the strangulation charge, and 10 years for the involuntary manslaughter charge.
