‘I just got to screaming;’ Teen shooting victim’s mom shares relief after alleged killer’s capture

DAYTON — After two months on the run, the man accused of killing a 16-year-old boy and a 32-year-old pregnant woman has been taken into custody.

The shooting happened on May 22 on Shaftesbury Road and it led to two months of extreme sadness and anxiety for the families until they finally got the call that the suspect, Nicole “Nico” Cunigan, Jr. had been caught in Cleveland.

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Jennifer Louis, the mother of 16-year-old Deante Johnson, said she was in the car when she got the call Tuesday evening with the news that her son’s alleged killer had been caught.

“I just got to screaming out the window like, ‘Yes, yes justice is served,’' Louis said.

As shown on News Center 7 at 5:00, Louis said the two months since her son’s death have been “so stressful.” That’s why the phone call and social media post by Dayton Police announcing Cunigan’s arrest were like a huge weight being lifted off her.

“Now our families can have the justice that we need, have the peace that we need,” she said.

News Center 7 obtained Cunigan’s mugshot taken at the Cuyahoga County Jail. It shows that he had chopped off his distinctive dreadlocks that were seen in pictures Dayton Police previously released.

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“Like he was really trying to disguise himself,” Louis said. “Like that’s crazy.”

Police said Cunigan killed Johnson and Precious Taste, who shared twins with Cunigan and was four months pregnant at the time of the shooting.

Taste’s neighbor Joyce Buckingham said the news of her death “hurt.”

Buckingham suspected that Taste struggled with her relationships. Police believe she’d been a victim of violence at Cunigan’s hands before the fatal shootings.

“To me, she was a special kind of person,” Buckingham said. “She was wonderful and when she smiled, she smiled and she loved her children.”

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Cunigan remains booked in the Cuyahoga County Jail and could face charges of stealing a car and aggravated robbery. It is expected that he will be headed back to Montgomery County soon.

As News Center 7 previously reported, he was charged in Dayton Municipal Court in May with several charges, including four counts of murder.

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