TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Three people charged in a 2020 Topeka murder will stand trial, the Shawnee County district attorney announced Wednesday.
District Attorney Mike Kagay charged the three suspects James Boatright, Diquan Clayton and Davontra Alston separately, but they were joined together for a preliminary hearing. The court determined there was probable cause and each suspect will now have their own separate jury trial.
On April 4, police responded to a shooting at Southwest 5th Street & Southwest Western Avenue. When officers arrived, they found D’Angelo Payne in a car with a gunshot wound to the head. He died on the scene.
Boatright, Clayton and Alston all face the following charges:
- Premeditated first degree murder
- First degree murder committed during an inherently dangerous felony
- Conspiracy to commit murder
- Criminal discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle
All three of them are being held on a $1 million bond each. Their arraignment hearings are as follows:
- Diquan Clayton is set for arraignment at 4 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2021.
- Davontra Alston is set for arraignment at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2021.
- James Boatright is set for arraignment at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 2, 2021