Man who killed an innocent bystander during shootout found guilty of murder
Jurors convicted a 21year-old man of murder on Friday for unintentionally killing an innocent bystander as he turned a Norfolk gas station into a war zone.
Dajuan May-Daily of Chesapeake was convicted on Friday of six felonies — including second-degree murder — for lighting up the Happy Shopper just south of t he Campostella Bridge. As he sprayed the gas station with bullets, one hit 54year-old Rodney Epps in the back of the head.
Jurors recommended he spend 27 years in prison for committing those crimes. Circuit Judge David Lannetti is scheduled to formally sentence May-Daily early next year, but judges almost always follow jurors' sentencing recommendations.
May-Daily's co-defendant, Hannah Moore, pleaded guilty last month to five felonies, including accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. She's scheduled to be sentenced in December and testified last week against MayDaily.
The best piece of evidence prosecutors had was surveillance footage from the gas station that showed the shooting.
It was a seemingly normal summer evening at the Happy Shopper and Citgo. Cars pulled in to get gas. People went into the convenience store to buy food and drinks. And Epps, who was raised in Campostella, was helping keep the place neat. Epps was sweeping the carport near the gas pumps around 9:45 p.m. on July 2, 2019. Epps, a regular who hung out at the gas station during the day, wasn't an employee but may as well have been.
Then, a tall man got out of a black four-door car and went into the store as Epps kept sweeping, Norfolk Police Department homicide Detective Jemal Davis said in a search warrant affidavit after watching gas station surveillance video of the shooting.
That man was MayDaily.
A short time later, a silver vehicle stopped behind the black car, Davis said.
Moore, who'd been at the back of the black car, went to the driver's side door as a passenger from the black car jumped out and started shooting at the silver one.
As May-Daily passed Epps, he shot him in the back of the head, the detective said.
The silver vehicle took off, Davis added, and Moore then fired a gun as it did.
Twoothers were hit during the shooting: a 20-yearold man with a gunshot wound to the chest and a woman who was grazed. Both survived.
May-Daily admitted he shot and killed Epps but said he wasn't trying to, defense lawyer Eric Korslund said. May-Daily was shooting in self-defense, not at Epps, but at men in a car who were firing at him.
Epps got caught in the crossfire as May-Daily simultaneously fired back and tried to run away, Korslund said.