CLAY COUNTY – A man accused of killing six people during a shooting spree Friday night in Cedarbluff was denied bond during his initial court appearance on Monday in Clay County Circuit Court.
Daricka Moore, 24, is charged with three counts of capital murder for the deaths of 7-year-old Mikylia Guines, later identified as his second cousin, as well as family friends Barry Bradley and Samuel Bradley. He also faces three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his father, Glenn Moore, 67; his brother, Quinten Moore, 33; and his uncle, Willie Ed Guines, 55.
Moore is additionally charged with attempted capital murder, attempted sexual battery, burglary of a dwelling and two counts of felony taking of a motor vehicle.
As Trina Davidson-Brooks, assistant district attorney for the 16th Circuit, read the charges aloud, Moore glanced back at family members seated in the courtroom pews, his expression blank. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Davidson-Brooks said the three first-degree murder charges are expected to be upgraded to capital murder, and the district attorney’s office intends to seek the death penalty.
Moore’s court-appointed attorney, Clarissa Harris, said Moore will undergo a mental health evaluation before his preliminary hearing.
A trial date has not been set.
3 homes, 6 murders
According to Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott, the spree began at about 7:03 p.m., when deputies responded to a 911 call made regarding a gunshot victim at 299 Blake Road, Scott said during a press conference Saturday at the sheriff’s office.
After arriving on the scene, deputies found 7-year-old Mikylia Guines at the home where Moore allegedly shot the child and forced his way in and attempted to commit a sexual battery with a handgun against the victim’s mother, Davidson-Brooks said during the court appearance on Monday. Moore allegedly shot another child in the home as well, but the child suffered only minor injuries.
Investigators believe that prior to arriving at Blake Road, Moore shot and killed Glenn Moore, Willie Ed Guines and Quinten Moore at 123 David Hill Road, which is about three miles north of Blake Road.
After killing the three men, Daricka Moore allegedly stole a Ford F-150 pickup belonging to his brother, Quinten Moore, and traveled to 299 Blake Road.
Later that evening, investigators believe Daricka Moore drove to 1965 Siloam-Griffith Road, where he left the pickup. Investigators found two deceased men at that address, who were identified as Barry and Samuel Bradley. Both suffered gunshot wounds to the head and were pronounced dead at the scene.
Scott said state and federal law enforcement assisted in establishing a perimeter around the crime scenes. Authorities apprehended Daricka Moore without incident in a second stolen vehicle at about 11:24 p.m. at the intersection of Pine Grove and Joe Myers roads.
Scott said a motive is currently unknown, but for this sort of crime it would require “something drastic.”
“Personally, I don’t know what kind of motive you could have to kill a 7-year-old,” Scott said during the press conference. “It’s just none out there that you can (use to) explain to me why this will happen.”
‘He’s still our family’
Despite the gravity of the charges, family members said unity and faith have sustained them in the days since the shootings.
Edith Watkins Bradshaw, a cousin of the Moore family, said prayer and closeness have been the only things keeping the family afloat.
“Where there’s unity, there’s power (and) there’s love,” Bradshaw told The Dispatch following the court hearing. “… No matter what, we’re family. Even Daricka, he’s still our family. He’s still a human being. We still got to love him too, and we know that love will get us through.”
In the aftermath of the violence, relatives have turned to fundraising to support the victims’ families. Several GoFundMe campaigns have been established, including one organized by Rene Guines McMillian, Daricka Moore’s cousin, which has raised more than $10,000 for Mikylia Guines’ mother and siblings.
“Mikylia, God, she was an angel on earth, literally,” McMillian told The Dispatch on Monday. “She was the dancing queen. … Uncle Glenn, he was the fisherman in the family. … He was a family man. Every time I saw him, he always had a hug and a smile for me and my babies. I couldn’t have asked for a better family.
“Willie Ed was the jokester in the family,” she added. “His girls and his son and his grandkids, they’ll have to do life without him. But as a person, he was the cool uncle you wanted to be around. Quentin, I can’t say enough about him. His smile, the hugs. … Our family will never be the same, but we’re going to be stronger because of this.”
Bradley Dymar Olin, nephew of Barry and Samuel Bradley, echoed a similar sentiment, saying the loss of his uncles has not broken the family.
“You can’t mention the name Bradley without saying family,” Olin wrote in a text to The Dispatch on Monday. “That’s all my uncles loved to talk about God and family, at the end of the day. They loved everyone they came in contact with. No hate in their hearts for no one. This has impacted us tremendously, but it hasn’t broken us. We are stronger, and that is what my uncles would want us to be, strong (and) keep the faith, … not just us but the community.”
Quinten Moore’s wife, Kyerra Moore, has also started a GoFundMe to support herself and her three children. Additionally, the United Way of the Golden Triangle Region has established a family assistance fund for donations.
The case has drawn national attention since Friday. Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit founded by family members of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, released a statement in response to the shooting.
“The pain inflicted by this act will leave lasting scars,” the statement reads. “We stand with all of the loved ones and the community of West Point in demanding a safer future for all.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 26 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
