DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A pair of 19-year-olds were indicted for the murder of Brandoniya Bennett, 9, on Thursday, the Dallas County District Attorneys Office confirms.
Davonte Benton, 19, and Tyrese Simmons, 19, are charged in the deadly shooting inside Bennett’s apartment at the Roseland Townhomes in August.
Davonte Benton (credit: Dallas Police Department)
Tyrese Simmons mugshot (Credit: Dallas County Jail)
Simmons turned himself in just hours after Dallas police identified him as the suspect in Bennett’s death.
Brandoniya Bennett (credit: Bennett family)
Police said Simmons considered himself a rapper and was upset about another rapper, 17-year-old Benny Fountain, who insulted him in his lyrics. According to police, the 19-year-old retaliated by firing shots into what he thought was Fountain’s apartment.
One witness heard Simmons state that he was going to shoot at the residence, according to the affidavit.
Instead, it was the wrong unit.
Brandoniya’s family described her as a free spirit and that she was looking forward to starting the fourth grade when she was killed.