Suspect in Picnic Day shooting at Community Park in Davis pleads not guilty
DAVIS – A suspect in a triple shooting that happened on Picnic Day at Community Park in Davis pleaded not guilty in Yolo County court, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Joseph Davis, 19, was arrested at his home in Sacramento by law enforcement officials serving a search warrant on May 23. Detectives located a firearm in the home. He was booked into the Yolo County Jail for assault with a deadly weapon and several firearms-related charges, such as possession of an illegal assault rifle.
The Yolo County District Attorney's Office said a preliminary hearing is set for June 23.
Gunfire rang out during Picnic Day festivities at Community Park, located about a mile away from the UC Davis campus, on April 12. The shooting left two teenagers and a 24-year-old woman with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Davis Police Department said about a week after the shooting that it suspected there was more than one shooter and that it was believed the suspects lived outside of the Davis area.
Davis police said they are still working to identify other people who were involved in the shooting as the investigation is ongoing.
"Based on the facts that investigators have developed during the course of this case, it is very evident that there were more than one individual that discharged a firearm at the park that day," Davis Police Chief Todd Henry said.
Henry said he couldn't speak on the suspect's previous criminal history, but said Davis has been arrested before.
The motive of the shooting remains under investigation.
The city has previously said the shooting "was not motivated by a desire to randomly harm community members."
