New details emerge in 2021 shootout, double homicide at Monticello home

MONTICELLO, Fla. (WCTV)- Newly-obtained court documents are shedding a light on what transpired outside a home in Monticello where two young men were killed in 2021. Recently, on the one-year anniversary, a 70-year-old woman was also gunned down at the home. Investigators said they are looking into if the crimes are connected.

The double homicide occurred at 1290 East Clark Avenue on August 23, 2021. According to Jefferson County court records, the victims, 23-year-old Lyndon Dawson, Jr. and 21-year-old Jamien Davis, died in a shootout with each other. That determination was made after the ballistics test came back during the investigation.

In the days that followed the shooting, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant for then 15-year-old Christian Venisee. The agency offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. He was located several days later in Tallahassee and was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals.

Venisee was initially wanted for second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and shooting into an unoccupied dwelling. However, court records show the murder charge was later dropped after neither victim was found to have been shot by Venisee. The State Attorney’s Office later issued a ‘Nolle Preosequi’ on the second-degree murder charge, which officially stated there was no evidence found that Venissee committed either murder.

On June 27, 2022, Venisee, pleaded no contest to shooting into a building, tampering with evidence, and possession of a firearm by a delinquent. Due to the nature of the crime, Venisee is now 16 and serving a two-year sentence within the Florida Department of Corrections.

According to the document, the incident stemmed from a prior dispute between Dawson, Jr., and Davis.

Davis, Venisee, and a third man went to the home on Clark Avenue to confront Dawson, Jr., alleged prosecutors. After a verbal argument, the document states the first shot rang out and Venisee ran from the scene. Dawson, Jr., and Davis began shooting at each other, which resulted in fatal wounds, it states.

The document also states Venisee returned to the scene in a vehicle driven by another male and began firing into the home as the vehicle passed by. Venisee then allegedly returned a third time to the scene and retrieved Davis’s firearm. Court records state it was later found discarded underneath a nearby mobile home.

When first responders arrived, both Dawson, Jr. and Davis were found in critical condition. Davis died within minutes of law enforcement arriving. Dawson, Jr. was able to crawl inside the home and later died at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Several other people were named in the court documents. However, WCTV could not find any official charges filed in connection to the incident and has refrained from naming them. Venisee has been named because he was charged and sentenced.

Exactly one year later, on August 23, 2022, 70-year-old Essie May Copeland was found shot at the same home, said JCSO. Neighbors told WCTV they heard roughly seven to eight gunshots. The sheriff’s office said both cases are still open and under investigation.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 850-997-2523, contact Big Bend Crime Stoppers at 850-574-8477, or contact the group online.

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