Inset: Rylynn Joshua Davis (Delaware County Jail). Background: The area in Muncie, Indiana, where Davis allegedly killed his girlfriend and shot two men trying to help her (Google Maps).
A 21-year-old Indiana man is accused of opening fire on two good Samaritans who tried to help as he dragged his screaming girlfriend down a sidewalk by her feet before killing the woman and injuring both men.
Rylynn Joshua Davis was taken into custody earlier this month and indicted on 10 criminal counts, including murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, kidnapping, and criminal confinement in the slaying of 23-year-old Cheyenne Angelina Raines, court records show.
Prosecutors are also pursuing a firearm sentencing enhancement that could substantially extend his sentence, if convicted; the murder charge alone carries a maximum of 65 years.
Officers with the Muncie Police Department responded to reports of several people being shot in the 2700 block of South Walnut Street at approximately 5:30 p.m. on May 10, Indianapolis Fox affiliate WXIN reported. Upon arriving, first responders found three gunshot victims — Raines and two men — scattered outside a home.
Raines was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead after suffering "numerous gunshot wounds to her face, chest, abdomen, and back." The two men were taken to separate hospitals to treat their injuries.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Star Press, responding officers and a bystander managed to quickly detain Davis. Once in custody, Davis allegedly claimed that he did not mean to harm Raines and was merely "protecting himself" when he opened fire.
Court documents outline a violent sequence of domestic abuse initiated when Raines attempted to leave Davis and the home they shared two days prior to the shooting.
The defendant reportedly forbade Raines from leaving, forcefully threw her to the floor and caused her to strike her head. Raines again announced she was leaving on May 10, but as she walked down the street to escape, Davis reportedly pursued her and punched her in the head. He also claimed he picked up a handgun Raines had dropped during the attack.
Davis then grabbed Raines by the feet and began dragging her backward toward their home as she screamed for help, an interaction captured clearly on a nearby surveillance camera. Two men driving by witnessed the assault from a Dodge pickup truck and pulled over to confront Davis.
"At first, I thought it was just two kids messing around," one of the men, Michael Hennessey, told WXIN. "Then, I looked closer and realized it was a guy dragging a girl down the road by her ankles."
Witnesses told investigators that Davis immediately opened fire on the truck and the two men, describing the shooter as "emotionless and cold as he fired the gun."
Hennessey recalled the frantic moments as he dove for cover while rounds tore through the scene.
"I jumped out my door, ducked behind the truck, and I [saw the other man] and her both laying on the ground," he told the station. "Almost as soon as I switched directions, it felt like I got hit with a baseball bat."
The other good Samaritan was shot directly in the head and suffered a catastrophic injury described in court records as "incompatible with life" before being airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital in critical condition, Indianapolis ABC affiliate WRTV reported.
After the shooting, Davis fled to a home where officers discovered three young children — ages 3, 2, and 3 months — locked inside a bedroom. Investigators described the room as being in "deplorable" condition, noting that the toddlers were found completely "covered in dirt and feces" with no other guardians present. The discovery led to Davis also being charged with neglect of a dependent.
Davis is currently being held without bond in the Delaware County Jail. He is scheduled to appear for his initial hearing on May 27.
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