Fatal shooter charged with child abuse; Suspect had threatened to shoot victim 'at least twice' beforehand

A Roswell man accused of voluntary manslaughter faced four additional felony charges as he made his first appearance in Chaves County Magistrate Court Monday.

According to an amended criminal complaint, Ja-hmariay Quentell McDavid, 19, was charged with four counts of child abuse after fatally shooting 37-year-old Milton Wayne Hopkins in the presence of his girlfriend and her family, including several children.

The complaint, written by Detective Robert Scribner of the Roswell Police Department, states an RPD officer was dispatched to the 200 block of West Mathews StreetJan. 5 at about 12:15 p.m. in reference to a shooting had made contact with a man suffering from at least two gunshot wounds in the bathroom of a residence.

The victim, Hopkins, was being assisted by his fiancée, Kathy Brown.

"The female stated that one of her daughter's boyfriend shot the male, then left," the complaint stated.

According to Kathy Brown in the complaint, the two began to argue after she tried to convince Hopkins to turn himself into authorities due to his outstanding warrants for failure to appear and aggravated battery.

The complaint further states, according to Brown, as the dispute began, her 18-year-old daughter, Devarique Brown, called her boyfriend, McDavid.

According to the mother's statement to police, Milton did not get along with McDavid, as the two had been in an altercation once before.

"Since the altercation, Jay has threatened to shoot Milton at least twice," the complaint stated. "Since the altercation, Milton would not allow Jay in the house."

However, Kathy Brown said Milton had recently changed his mind about prohibiting McDavid from entering their home due to cold weather.

The mother also told authorities that her daughter had warned her about the shooting.

"Devarique said, "Get out of the way Mom, he is gonna shoot him."

Including Devarique Brown, Kathy Brown has a total of five children that were present at the time of the Jan. 5 shooting. Authorities had conducted an interview with each witness.

While each testimony varied from one another, most of the children mentioned that, even though some had been listening to music, an audible slap could be heard, presumably their mother getting hit.

Kathy Brown's children also mentioned a shovel Milton had retrieved from outside, which they believed to be a weapon.Kathy Brown told police she was talking with her fiancé next to the door of their bathroom when he was shot and that McDavid was standing in the door to the living room when he fired at Milton.

"(Kathy Brown) does not know how she did not get shot," the complaint stated. "Milton did not have the shovel or any type of weapon at the time that Jay shot him. Milton fell to the floor and she saw a bullet hole in his chest. She also saw that he had been struck in the lower abdomen. She heard Devarique yell to Jay that the cops were coming and that he needed to run."

According to one of the children's statements, the shovel Milton had was taken from him before he could use against someone.

"(The child) said she heard Milton say, 'Scared cats carry guns. If you're going to carry a gun, I'm going to carry a shovel.'"

Most of the Brown family had also mentioned that McDavid had "always" carried a gun.

Detective Scribner noted that after he told one of the 14-year-old children Milton had died as a result of the shooting, she changed her statement, saying that Milton had been trying to hit her mother with the shovel.

The eldest, 18-year-old Devarique Brown, told police she was able to get the shovel from Milton and throw it on top of a bed.

According to the complaint, the daughter also told authorities Milton had jumped on her mother, choking Kathy Brown to the point that she was changing colors. It was then when McDavid shot Milton, she said.

Police noted that there were no noticeable marks on Kathy Brown's neck during the initial interview with her following the incident.

After McDavid showed up at the Roswell Police Department accompanied by family members, he was read his Miranda rights, in which he chose not to speak with authorities. He was arrested and booked into the Chaves County Detention Center on the charge of voluntary manslaughter.

McDavid is charged with a third-degree felony of voluntary manslaughter and four third-degree felonies for alleged abuse of a child.

During his first appearance before Chaves County Magistrate Judge E. J. Fouratt, the State of New Mexico stated McDavid had interjected himself into a domestic altercation between Milton and Kathy Brown, while making no attempt to call 911 or police for help.

McDavid was bound over to Chaves County District Court.

Multimedia-Crime reporter Trevier Gonzalez can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext. 301, or at breakingnews@rdrnews.com.