An Indiana man is accused of shooting two Good Samaritans who stepped in to help after he allegedly dragged his screaming girlfriend down a sidewalk by her feet before killing her and wounding both men.
Authorities arrested 21-year-old Rylynn Joshua Davis earlier this month and charged him with 10 criminal offenses, including murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, kidnapping, and criminal confinement in the death of 23-year-old Cheyenne Angelina Raines, according to court records.
Prosecutors are also seeking a firearm sentencing enhancement that could significantly increase Davis’ prison time if he is convicted. The murder charge alone carries a maximum sentence of 65 years.
Officers with the Muncie Police Department responded to reports of multiple people being shot in the 2700 block of South Walnut Street around 5:30 p.m. on May 10, according to Indianapolis Fox affiliate WXIN. When officers arrived, they discovered three gunshot victims — Raines and two men — outside a home.
Paramedics rushed Raines to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead after she suffered “numerous gunshot wounds to her face, chest, abdomen, and back.” The two men were taken to separate hospitals for treatment.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by The Star Press states that officers and a bystander quickly detained Davis at the scene. After authorities took him into custody, Davis allegedly told investigators he never intended to hurt Raines and claimed he was only “protecting himself” when he fired the shots.
Court records describe a violent pattern of domestic abuse that began when Raines tried to leave Davis and the home they shared two days before the shooting.
According to investigators, Davis refused to let Raines leave, violently threw her to the floor, and caused her to hit her head. On May 10, Raines again said she was leaving, but as she walked down the street to get away, Davis allegedly chased after her and punched her in the head. He later claimed he picked up a handgun Raines dropped during the assault.
Authorities say Davis then grabbed Raines by her feet and dragged her backward toward their home while she screamed for help. A nearby surveillance camera reportedly captured the disturbing encounter. Two men driving past in a Dodge pickup truck witnessed the attack and stopped 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 police Davis immediately opened fire on the truck and the two men, describing him as “emotionless and cold as he fired the gun.”
Hennessey described the chaotic moments as bullets ripped through the area while he scrambled for cover.
“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 second Good Samaritan suffered a gunshot wound directly to the head and sustained injuries court documents described as “incompatible with life” before he was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital in critical condition, according to Indianapolis ABC affiliate WRTV.
After the shooting, Davis allegedly fled to a nearby home where officers found three young children — ages 3, 2, and 3 months — locked inside a bedroom. Investigators described the room as being in “deplorable” condition and said the children were completely “covered in dirt and feces” with no adult supervision present. The discovery resulted in Davis also facing a charge of neglect of a dependent.
Davis remains jailed without bond at the Delaware County Jail. He is scheduled to appear for his initial hearing on May 27.
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