Hattiesburg man pleads guilty to spring break shooting in Biloxi

BILOXI, MISS. (WXXV)- Twenty-four-year-old Dontavis Omar Magee, of Hattiesburg, pled guilty last Thursday, to shooting in the crowded parking lot of Surf Style on Highway 90 in Biloxi during Spring Break in 2023.

A Biloxi police officer and four civilians were struck by the barrage of bullets fired by Magee.

After accepting the plea on the charges of Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer and two counts of Aggravated Assault, Circuit Court Judge Christopher L. Schmidt sentenced Magee to 40 years to serve in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with 15 years suspended,  leaving 25 years to serve, to be followed by 5 years of post-release supervision.

Investigators from the Biloxi Police Department obtained surveillance videos and issued a press release containing still photos of the masked suspect.

Hattiesburg Police Department investigators saw the press release and recognized the suspect as Magee, and provided the Biloxi Police Department with Magee’s name and various photos, including photos of his tattoos.

Biloxi investigators were able to compare the surveillance videos to the photos provided by the
Hattiesburg Police Department and determine that Magee was the shooter.

Additionally, a photo found on social media showed the suspect earlier in the day wearing the same clothing, but without the mask covering his face. That photograph was shown to an Investigator from the Hattiesburg Police Department who immediately recognized Magee as the person in the social media photograph.

During his plea, Magee admitted to the shooting, but claimed he had been previously threatened by two of the victims.

Magee, who was 21 years old at the time of the shooting, has no prior felony convictions, and is expected to be extradited to Georgia, where charges pending in an unrelated case.