Adreian Payne’s Accused Killer Pleads Not Guilty
More is coming out about former Michigan State basketball star Adreian Payne’s tragic death.
According to the Detroit Free-Press, court documents reveal that Payne, 31, went with his girlfriend to assist a female acquaintance Tatiana Mesa who they knew who was in an allegedly abusive relationship with the suspect, Lawrence Dority. After Payne and his girlfriend arrived at Mesa and Dority’s home, Dority shot and killed Payne, who was reportedly unarmed.
Dority, 29, was arrested at the scene of the shooting, and has been charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, according to the Free-Press. On Tuesday morning (May 10), Dority entered a not guilty plea and waived his arraignment.
Payne played for the Spartans from 2010-14. He was reportedly shot at 1:33 a.m. Monday morning and was pronounced dead almost an hour later after he was transported to AdventHealth Hospital East in Orlando.
In the affidavit filing, Payne’s girlfriend, whose name was redacted in the report, told detectives she and Payne asked to come to the residence where Dority and Mesa lived. The affidavit says they were there to assist Mesa.
Payne’s girlfriend “described Mesa and Dority to have a relationship where they argue often” and that she “has previously responded to be a ‘mediator’ to prevent any physical violence.”
Payne was a star collegiate basketball player and a first-round NBA draft pick. His five-year NBA career included stints with the Atlanta Hawks, which drafted him at No. 15 overall in 2014, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic.
Draymond Green, the Golden State Warriors player who was Payne’s Michigan State teammate, tweeted broken heart emojis Monday morning following news of his death.
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