BANGOR, Maine — One of the four people charged in connection with a June brawl that led to an exchange of gunshots in the parking lot of the Augusta Wal-Mart pleaded no contest to an assault charge on Wednesday.
Diana Davis, 29, of Rochester, New York, originally was charged with aggravated assault, but the charge was reduced to simple assault during an appearance at the Capital Judicial Center because investigators determined that she “was not a primary aggressor,” Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said Thursday.
Maloney said that the judge waived a proposed $300 because Davis had no criminal history and because of her financial status.
The dispute, which was allegedly over money and drugs, ended after legally armed bystanders stepped in and stopped it before it escalated further.
Also charged in connection with the incident were Kwiesha McBride, 45, of Harlem, New York; Frankie Dejesus, 27, of Rochester, New York; and Samantha Tupper, 25, of Augusta, according to a statement issued by Augusta police at the time.
Police were called to the Wal-Mart parking lot shortly before 5:30 p.m. June 26, after receiving multiple calls about an exchange of gunfire.
All four suspects were allegedly sitting in vehicles parked next to each other when the gunfire broke out. Police received conflicting reports about who fired first, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
Police said at the time that after shots rang out, two legally armed bystanders who saw the dispute unfold stepped in to help keep the situation from escalating any further.
McBride, who was allegedly found with 42 grams of heroin on his person, was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm and aggravated heroin trafficking. Maloney said Thursday that he since has been indicted on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Dejesus was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm and aggravated assault, and Tupper was charged with furnishing heroin and violating her probation.