A Kansas City man was sentenced to the maximum term of 15 years in prison for shooting at a female driver of a separate vehicle near Interstate 635 in Riverside. Davion Gunion, 25, pleaded guilty on June 23 to the class B felony of assault in the first degree.
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said, “The victim in this case was unharmed. Her vehicle was riddled with bullet holes and it is a miracle she was not hit by any gunfire. She somehow drove her car while ducked down on the floorboard.”
According to court documents and the facts obtained during Gunion’s guilty plea, the evidence showed on Jan. 10, 2021 around 2:15 am, the Riverside Police Department received a 911 call about one vehicle shooting at another while following it.
Riverside officers searched the general area and did not find any vehicles. Minutes later, KCPD officers found the vehicle near 9200 NW Prairie View Dr. and Interstate 29.
The female driver was shaken and the car was peppered with bullet holes. The victim told officers that she had been at a party in Jackson County earlier and was coming home when she noticed she was being followed by a red car. She stopped at a QuikTrip in an effort to lose her pursuer, but the red car followed her into the QuikTrip parking lot and a tow truck showed up as well.
The driver of the red car and the occupants of the tow truck accused her of stealing items at the party. The occupants of the tow truck, including Gunion, brandished weapons including an AK- or AR-style assault rifle.
The victim left QuikTrip and both vehicles pursued her. Riverside police obtained video surveillance from QuikTrip which confirmed the victim’s story about being followed and confronted by the driver of the red car, Gunion and the other occupants of the tow truck.
The victim attempted to evade her pursuers and Gunion began shooting at her with the assault rifle on a roundabout near I-635 and Argosy Casino. With assistance from a police dog, officers located the area where the shooting occurred near the casino. Several rifle shell casings were found on the road.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kaylee Haight introduced photographs of the bullet-riddled car with trajectory rods which showed the path of the bullets striking the rear of the car and traveling through the driver’s side and the driver’s side headrest.
Missouri law mandates that Gunion serve 85 percent of his 15-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
