The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department held a press conference Wednesday to release the names of eight people who were arrested for obstruction of justice for allegedly helping 21-year-old Daveonte Dixon hide from law enforcement.
Dixon allegedly shot two Mifflin Township police officers during a traffic stop on May 28 and hid from law enforcement for two days.
The names of the people taken into custody on the morning of June 18 are:
- Nathan Brown, 22
- Latoya Birdsong, 42
- Namina Goler, 20
- Isaiah Ingle, 23
- Kaitlyn Mellon, 25
- Grace Mellon, 23
- Elijah Robinson, 22
- Au'nusti Solomon, 21
“They served as communication lines from one to another. In some cases, they provided disguises and they turned their homes into hideouts,” Franklin County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Rick Minerd said.
Jayla Call, 31, was previously arrested for obstructing justice and tampering with evidence after Dixon was found and arrested at her Obetz apartment on May 30. He remains hospitalized after shooting himself inside the apartment.
Minerd said that the car that Dixon was in was stopped for “acting suspiciously in the area,” after the vehicle was stopping and starting in the street and was blocking traffic.
After stopping the car, the first officer asked what the driver and Dixon were doing in the area. The officer asked both for identification, which Dixon didn’t have. The officer then asked about the smell of marijuana in the car before Dixon fled the vehicle and allegedly started firing at the officers.
Officials say Dixon fired 15 shots, and 11 of the shots hit the police officers. Both officers were hospitalized for their injuries. One officer has been released and is recovering at home. The other officer is still awaiting inpatient therapy.
The names of the officers have not been released. Authorities are citing Marsy's Law, which protects the identities of crime victims.
