A Georgia resident, Dante Lamar Daugherty, 44, has been sentenced to two years in prison following the tragic death of his 7-year-old son, Z’ayre Daugherty, in 2023. The incident involved an unsecured firearm left in a vehicle with Daugherty’s two young children. The sentence was handed down by DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Courtney L. Johnson.
Daugherty entered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree cruelty to children. This plea was part of a non-negotiated agreement with the prosecution, as stated by District Attorney Sherry Boston. After serving his prison term, Daugherty will be required to serve an additional eight years of probation. Initially, the prosecution had sought a five-year custodial sentence, followed by five years of probation.
The tragic incident unfolded when officers from the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a call about a child being shot at a Texaco gas station in Lithonia, approximately 20 miles east of Atlanta. Upon their arrival, first responders found Daugherty in the back seat of an SUV, holding his son who had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency medical personnel arrived shortly after and pronounced Z’ayre dead at the scene.
Police recovered Daugherty’s firearm and a shell casing from inside the vehicle. Daugherty and his 5-year-old son, who was also present during the shooting, were taken to DKPD Headquarters where Daugherty provided a statement. He explained that he had left his sons in the car after noticing that Z’ayre was missing a shoe and sock. Before entering the gas station, he had removed his gun from his waistband, wrapped it in a cloth, and placed it under the driver’s seat.
Surveillance footage from the gas station confirmed Daugherty’s account. The footage showed the children entering the back seat of the car before a flash of gunfire was visible. The footage also showed the 5-year-old child opening the passenger-side back door and running from the car towards a busy intersection.
Daugherty, a regular customer at the gas station, had stopped in to play the lottery before the incident, according to a clerk who spoke to a local ABC affiliate. Daugherty’s criminal record includes a 2015 guilty plea to charges of battery against a family member and disorderly conduct, for which he was sentenced to 24 months of probation. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of loitering for drugs and was given six months’ probation.