Charles E. Lawson III and Jabrie Dominguez died in a gun battle in front of multiple witnesses. A seemingly easy case became complicated when witnesses all said they saw nothing and the two men seen on security video shooting guns claimed self defense.
The prosecutor assigned to the case wrote it would be impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that either man was guilty of murder. The 2019 murder charges against Antoine Redfield and Charvez Lawson were dropped. Now Redfield is charged with murder in a little girl’s fatal shooting, and Lawson is facing charges in another shooting.
The Augusta Press filed a request under the Open Records Act and paid the requested fee of $47 to the district attorney’s office to get a copy of the investigative file on the double homicide.
Once the murder and other charges were dropped on Nov. 16, Redfield was released from jail where he had been held without bond since the double homicide nearly two years ago. Lawson was free on bond for the murder charges, although the status of his freedom in November is complicated.
What is clear is that Charles E. Lawson III, 28, and Dominguez, 23, died after both were shot outside an Augusta nightclub in the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 2019.
The news of the dismissal passed by news reporters in Augusta until last month when Redfield was charged with murder in the Jan. 8 drive-by shooting at Dogwood Terrace that left 8-year-old Arbrie Anthony dead.
Not only is Redfield facing a new murder charge following his release from jail after the double homicide case was dropped, but Charvez Lawson is now named in a new 17-count indictment for allegedly shooting up two homes and three vehicles and endangering the lives of four people on Sept. 1 while he was free on bond.
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Back in December 2019, when Lawson’s brother and Redfield’s friend, were fatally shot in the parking lot of the Private I Sports Entertainment Complex, no one had much to say to sheriff’s investigators, according to the investigative report.
As a bouncer at the Private I told detectives after the 2:12 a.m. 911 call about shots fired, he heard the shots from inside the building and waited until the shooting stopped before going outside to investigate. He found a scene of panic with people screaming and running and vehicles fleeing the area, he told officers.
Redfield was one of those fleeing. He got into Dominguez’ Chrysler and drove away. Redfield later told sheriff’s investigators he just wanted to get home to tell his mother of his friend’s death.
Redfield denied taking any weapons from the scene, which was disputed by a witness, but no weapons were found on him or in the Chrysler after he was stopped outside his home that morning.
Charvez Lawson also left the scene and took his dying brother to the hospital.
On Jan. 3, 2020, investigators found Charvez Lawson and arrested him. A search of his person and the home where he was found failed to reveal any firearms.
The Lawson brothers, according to sheriff’s reports, were associated with the Bolt Alley Boyz gang. Charvez Lawson’s pending indictment includes an illegal gang activity charge that accuses him of being an active member of the Bolt Alley gang.
Bolt Drive is where Dogwood Terrace is located.
After his arrest, Lawson exercised his right to remain silent, but at his bond hearing in 2020, his attorney said Lawson fired in self-defense and in defense of his brother.
Redfield, arrested shortly after the double homicide, talked to sheriff’s investigators but denied shooting any weapon, even after he was confronted with the club security video that showed him firing a handgun.
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Eventually, Redfield told investigators that he and Dominguez got to the Private I around 2 a.m. after they left the nearby 3DL club, as many others did that night. Redfield said they both got out of Dominguez’ vehicle, but his friend stopped to talk on his phone, and Redfield spotted a woman he knew as Raven in the parking lot. He went to talk to her.
Redfield told investigators the next thing he knew, he was hearing sounds of a scuffle. He turned to see Dominguez and Charles Lawson fighting. Redfield said he went to Dominguez’ defense and was trying to push Lawson away from his friend when he heard someone yell, “Get off my brother.” That’s when the shooting started. He said he picked up Dominguez’s gun and returned fire.
The video from the club’s security cameras showed two men wrestling in the parking lot before the shooting started, but it wasn’t clear how the shooting began or who fired first, according to the investigative report.
Even though several people arrived at the Private I at the same time as Dominguez, Redfield and the Lawson brothers, each claimed they didn’t see the actual shooting. They heard gunfire and took cover, they told detectives.
Sheriff’s officers collected 17 shell casings left behind by at least two shooters, and possibly four. Although there were casings from two different caliber weapons, the casings were four different brand names. Near where the body of Jabrie Dominguez lay after the shooting stopped, officers found a dozen .40-caliber shell casings. In the area where Larson was shot, they found five 9 mm shell casings.
Detectives had no weapons used in the shooting. They had no eyewitnesses.
Redfield and Charvez Lawson are both back in jail now, each charged with violent felonies.
Since 2022 began, Augusta has had six homicides, including the fatal shooting of Arbrie Anthony. The little girl shot outside her Dogwood Terrace home to pet a horse brought to the public housing complex for children to experience something new in their lives.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
