Murder of 13-year-old budding preacher ‘never supposed to happen,’ suspect says

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Thursday, August 01, 2024

Matthiew Stavkovy, a beloved 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot last month during a botched robbery in Kent, Washington, wasn’t supposed to be killed, according to one of four suspects police have arrested and charged with murder.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office previously charged Faysal Abdullahi, 18, of Kent, with murder and robbery for the shooting of Stavkovy on July 16.

On Tuesday, according to KOMO News, murder charges were filed by prosecutors against three additional suspects who participated in the robbery at Turnkey Park. They are: Diavante Dunmore, 20, of Covington; Marsais Dunmore, 17, of Covington; and Semarias Woods, 16, of Kent. All three were charged with robbery and murder in the first degree. Dunmore, who allegedly fired the bullet that killed Stavkovy, was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree.

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According to the police report on the incident, Dunmore told police that he did not plan to use the gun.

"Diaviante stated the shooting was never supposed to happen, the gun was there in case 'something goes wrong for the opposite way from a transaction perspective.' When Detective Pribble asked Diaviante if the taking of the camera without paying was supposed to happen, he stated 'Yeah,'" the Kent police report states.

Prosecutors say Stavkovy was killed on July 16 after he accompanied his 15-year-old sister and a male juvenile friend to Turnkey Park to sell a camera and equipment, according to the Kent Reporter. The transaction was arranged through OfferUP, an online mobile-first marketplace.

Charging documents allege that the male friend, Stavkovy and his sister went to the park to sell the camera and arrived at the location at 8:58 p.m. on July 16. Abdullahi arrived with another male first, then a third male showed up wearing a face mask and brandished a pistol.

Stavkovy’s male friend was knocked to the ground and his camera equipment in a silver case and black backpack was taken from him. The 13-year-old’s sister told detectives that after seeing the armed male, she ran with her brother toward their four-wheel ATV hoping to escape. Once they mounted the ATV she heard a gunshot behind them.

Stavkovy, who was driving the ATV, soon realized he was shot and lost consciousness. His sister drove them to the Kentwood Apartments at 22415 Benson Road SE, where she got help from residents in calling the police. Stavkovy died at the scene.

“While there is no way to compensate for the incredible loss felt by the Stavkovy family and the community, it is my hope that today’s (July 25) arrests in addition to the arrest made last week, provide them some measure of comfort,” Police Chief Rafael Padilla said in a news release.

Despite the young ages of the defendant, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Thomas C. O’Ban II noted in the charging documents that the robbery was carefully planned.

“Evidence recovered from the defendants’ phones indicates the defendants chose the time and the place for this robbery,” O’Ban wrote in the charging documents. “They planned an approach route. They had a getaway driver. They arrived early so they could stage themselves before the victims’ arrival. Despite the defendants’ young ages, this shows a surprising amount of planning and forethought.”

Stavkovy, who was well-known at his local church in Kent as a budding preacher, singer and musician, was mourned by his family and community on Sunday.

O’Ban noted that even though the suspects did not plan on killing anyone of July 16, they knowingly engaged in dangerous behavior involving a deadly weapon that led to Stavkovy’s death.

“While the defendants may not have set out that evening to kill anyone, they knowingly engaged in a dangerous and violent offense while one of their numbers was armed with a deadly weapon and set in motion a chain of events that killed one victim and could easily have killed others,” he said. “Moreover, the accomplices committed these crimes in the middle of a residential neighborhood, as children played at the park nearby.”