close
close

topicnews · August 28, 2024

Teenager makes deal in connection with 2021 North Port shooting

Teenager makes deal in connection with 2021 North Port shooting

play

A teenager accused of killing an 18-year-old North Port teen in a 2021 drive-by shooting on South Biscayne Drive has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter with a weapon and pleaded no contest, according to court records.

Navarius Mason, 18, is expected to be sentenced in November after agreeing to a plea deal in early August, more than three years after the shooting that killed Micah Dankowitz. The maximum possible sentence is 30 years in prison, according to court records.

On June 18, 2021, officers responded to a shooting near Porto Chico Avenue at South Biscayne Drive, where they found Dankowitz lying on the ground with a gunshot wound. He later died at a local hospital.

Previous reporting: Teenager takes deal in exchange for testimony in fatal North Port shooting case in 2021

Read more: Two more arrests in drive-by shooting of teenager in North Port 2021

During the course of their investigation, officers learned that Mason, Gavin Smith (19) and three other people had driven to Dankowitz and his friend’s home. When they arrived in a red Nissan Cube, shots were allegedly fired at Dankowitz from the car.

The deposition transcript states that Smith and Mason later became angry and wanted to fight with the victim after another teenager told Mason that she had been sexually harassed or assaulted.

Smith was also initially arrested along with Mason and charged with second-degree murder. He was set to be tried as a co-defendant with Mason before taking a deal in December 2022, agreeing to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony against Mason.

Smith pleaded guilty to charges of making false statements to law enforcement and obstruction of justice, both of which are first-degree misdemeanors, according to previous reports.

In March 2023, North Port police arrested two more people in connection with the drive-by shooting: Kayla Seylhouwer, 18, and Kenneth Seylhouwer, 40, of North Port, according to previous reporting by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Both were charged with accessory after the fact, and Kenneth Seylhouwer was also charged with tampering with evidence.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at [email protected] or at X: @GabrielaSzyman3.

You may also like...