Pair charged with aggravated assault in alleged shooting incident

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Destiny Carmen Alexis Crowley, 26, and Xavier Raydell Fayson, 30, were arrested yesterday after Crowley allegedly waved a gun at two victims and Fayson allegedly shot at the victims’ car.

At about noon on October 15, the victims went to pick up belongings from a house in the 3200 block of NW 41st Avenue where Crowley lived; Fayson was reportedly at the residence to visit Crowley at the time of the incident. Crowley reportedly became angry that the victims were back inside the house, blamed one of them for taking kitchen items from the house, and allegedly went to her bedroom to get a handgun from Fayson’s backpack.

Crowley allegedly displayed the gun, causing the victims to fear for their safety and retreat to their car in the driveway.

The responding Gainesville Police Department officer reported that one of the victims showed him a video taken outside the home in which several people were arguing when Crowley held up a gun and said, “I’ll bust you up.”

The victims reportedly drove down the street, pulled over a few houses away, and called 911. The victims told the officer that they looked back and saw Fayson holding the gun and running toward their car. Both victims reportedly saw Fayson standing in the roadway and pointing the gun at their car, and then they heard a gunshot. They said Fayson ran back into the house as they drove to the nearest fire station to meet the police officer.

The officer reported that no bullet casing was found.

Crowley reportedly said at first that she had not gone outside and had not seen a gun but said another resident of the house confronted the victims and opened their car door. Post Miranda, she reportedly admitted that she had taken the gun from her bedroom because someone came into the house and she didn’t know who it was. She reportedly admitted that she went outside and yelled at the victims in their car and said, “I just held the gun in my hand; I talk with my hands, so that’s why the gun was waving around, but I didn’t point it at anyone.” She reportedly said that Fayson took the gun from her and ran after the victims’ car, and then she heard a gunshot.

Post Miranda, Fayson reportedly said he took the gun from Crowley after the victims drove away and said, “I saw the car pull over a few houses down the road and [one victim] got out of the car like he wanted to fight.” He said he held the gun and ran after the victims but denied shooting the gun and denied that the gun went off. He said he only wanted to fight and had no intention of shooting or killing anyone. He reportedly said he went back inside the house and gave the gun to Crowley.

A witness reportedly said they were all arguing at the victims’ car, and he tried to get Crowley back into the house. He said he saw the victims drive away and park down the street and then he saw Fayson run down the road after them, holding a gun. He said he ran after Fayson to tell him to come back and heard a gunshot before Fayson ran back into the house.

A second witness at a nearby home reportedly said that he heard a group of people arguing in the front yard and saw a car drive away as Fayson ran down the road holding a gun. He said he saw Fayson point the gun at the car, fire a shot, tuck the gun into his waistband, and run back to the house.

The owner of the house gave consent for a search, and the search reportedly produced a 9mm loaded handgun in a laundry basket in Crowley’s bedroom.

Crowley has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She has one felony conviction (violent) and two misdemeanor convictions (none violent). She is on pre-trial release for attending a dog fight. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered her held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold her without bail until trial.

Fayson has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He has one felony conviction (non-violent) and seven misdemeanor convictions (none violent). Judge Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.