Jury returns guilty verdict in 2023 killing of 2 women at a gas station

DAYTON — A man accused in the 2023 double-killing of two women found in a vehicle at a Shell gas station is on his way to prison after a Montgomery County Common Pleas jury found him guilty on all charges Thursday.

>> EARLIER COVERAGE: Friends of 2 women killed at gas station say they just want answers

Trial for Deante Holden, charged with several counts of murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence, began July 22 in Judge Mary Wiseman’s courtroom. The jury returned its verdict of guilty on all counts just after 4 p.m. Thursday.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 21, according to the court clerk.

As News Center 7 has previously reported, Dayton police were dispatched on the report of a shooting at the Shell gas station on West Third Street on Feb. 26 after the clerk activated a silent alarm.

When police arrived, the clerk directed them to a black Chevrolet Suburban parked at one of the pumps. There, police found 38-year-old Felicia Brown and 44-year-old Michaela Daniels inside the vehicle. They had been shot and pronounced dead at the scene.

Police obtained surveillance video that showed the SUV pull up to the pump. Police also said an apparent struggle happened inside of the vehicle before a man, later identified as Holden, got out of the back seat. Video showed him then fire into the SUV “multiple times,” according to an affidavit and statement of facts.

Holden ran, but returned later to gather up both victims’ cell phones and the shell casings, according to court records.

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