Man Indicted in Homicide of 12-Year-Old Boy

Oct. 11, 2021 – A Westwood-area man has been indicted in the shooting death last year of a 12-year-old boy and the critical wounding of another person who was shot in the back, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

     A grand jury indicted Daylyn Byers, 22, on counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder involving serious bodily injury and employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony.

    Byers is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $1 million bond.

   Investigators said the drive-by shooting occurred on Sept. 28, 2020, in the 700 block of Crillion Drive in southwest Memphis following a series of altercations involving a group of people.

    Deuntay Davis, 12, who was struck in the chest, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. A 24-year-old man nearby was shot in the back and was hospitalized in extremely critical condition.

   Witnesses said Byers, who lives near the scene of the shooting, earlier that day made threats about shooting multiple people. He was identified as the person who fired shots from a white SUV that was seen in surveillance video driving away from the scene.

    The case is being handled by Senior Felony Asst. Sarah Poe who is with the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 4 which prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 12 and in Criminal Court Division 4.