Keith Melvin Moses, left, shot and killed Nathacha Augustin, 38, T’Yonna Major, 9, and Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons, right, according to deputies. (Images: Orange County Sheriff’s Office)
As authorities anticipated, there are new charges against the man who allegedly killed a woman, a news reporter, and a 9-year-old girl.
Keith Melvin Moses, 19, on Tuesday, faces two more counts of first-degree murder with a firearm, two counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, and one count of armed burglary of a dwelling with a firearm, according to online records in Orange County, Florida.
These charges cover two separate shootings that happened on Wednesday.
In one incident, he allegedly opened fire on Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, and photojournalist Jesse Walden, 29, while they were working on Hialeah Street. Lyons was found in the front passenger seat of a white Ford Escape, and Walden had been by the vehicle’s trunk, according to a newly released arrest affidavit.
Investigators claim that the round struck Lyons entered his left arm, exited the limb to enter his chest, and exited his chest to lodge in his right arm. That was consistent with Moses standing outside the driver’s side and firing into the vehicle, authorities said.
Around the same time, Moses entered the home of T’Yonna Major, 9, deputies said. He allegedly shot the child twice in her torso. Her mother had been napping at the time.
The mother said she “woke up to T’Yonna Major yelling, ‘HE SHOT ME!’ as she ran into her room and jumped into her bed,” investigators wrote.
As the mother woke up, she heard two gunshots and felt like she was being shot in the arm. She grabbed her daughter, and they barricaded themselves in the master bathroom until law enforcement arrived, according to the affidavit.
“As she spoke to T’Yonna Major, she told her that the suspect entered the residence through the sliding glass door, and she described the suspect as having dreadlocks,” deputies said. The mother “attempted to describe the suspect and said all she could see was short dreads and further described the suspect as tall and slim built.”
The mother said she typically locked all her doors but occasionally left the rear sliding glass door unlocked to let their dog out, investigators said.
As seen on body cam footage, deputies soon arrested Moses. They found a gun on him. Authorities claim it was hot.
“At the time deputies discovered the firearm, they noted the firearm was physically hot to the touch, and the slide was in the locked position with the magazine still inserted in the magazine well,” deputies wrote. “This is consistent with the firearm recently being shot until it ran out of ammunition and the slide locking to the rear.”
This is the moment OCSO deputies apprehended Keith Moses, who shot five people on Feb. 22, killing three: 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin, 9-year-old T’yonna Major and @MyNews13 reporter Dylan Lyons. pic.twitter.com/KS7hx1Q2V2
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023
Lyons and Major died.
“She was a light to everyone that knew her,” T’Yonna’s father Tokiyo Major, said in a GoFundMe campaign to pay for the funeral, memorial, and therapy. “She was everything to us. She was a great student at the top of her 3rd-grade class and reading at a 5th-grade level. She was outgoing as well as an amazing gymnast. As her teachers would say ‘The next Gabby Douglas.’”
Walden and the child’s mother survived.
Moses was previously charged with first-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing Nathacha Augustin, 38, on Wednesday morning.
The victim had been riding around with a man who knew Moses, deputies said. This man told investigators he and Augustin found Moses walking north on Hastings Street. Moses “seemed down,” and they offered him a ride.
Moses got in the back, behind Augustin, this man said. According to documents, the driver did not hear Moses and Augustin argue, and they did not know one another. But after 30 seconds, the driver heard a “bang” and saw blood on the woman’s face.
He pulled over. Moses allegedly fled the scene. Investigators arrived to find Augustin on the stomach outside a white Hyundai’s passenger side. She had been shot on the left side of her chin.
Lyons and Walden were at the scene later because they were doing a story on her death.
Casings from the three shooting scenes matched Moses’ gun, authorities claim.
Moses pleaded not guilty on Friday through his attorney, records show. The lawyer waived the defendant’s presence at a first appearance on Thursday, citing “mental health.”
“As Keith Moses was in the hospital, he would not talk to deputies or the medical staff but made facial expressions such as smiling at them,” authorities wrote in the new affidavit. “At times ,Keith Moses made hand symbols of guns as he pointed the gun at his head.”
They moved him to the sheriff’s office for an interview. He refused to tell detectives anything, keeping his eyes shut through the conversation, investigators said. According to the affidavit, he shook his legs and made facial expressions at detectives.
Once detectives left him alone in the room, Moses got up from the chair and looked at the cameras, authorities said. Detectives tried talking to him again, but he only smiled at them, kept saying nothing, and kept his eyes shut, according to the affidavit.
Detectives once again left him in the room alone.
“Keith Moses then got up from his chair and opened the door with his hands behind his back,” authorities said.
Detectives told him he had to stay inside until they were done. But Moses later opened the door again and continued walking toward the exit door, according to the affidavit.
“As deputies held on to Keith Moses’ arms, he attempted to break their hold of him and run,” officers said. They took him back into custody.
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