Former Michigan State basketball star and first-round NBA pick Adreian Payne was fatally shot while trying to protect the suspect’s girlfriend, according to police.
Payne, who died Monday at 31, went to the home of suspect Lawrence Dority, 29, at the request of Dority’s girlfriend, Tatiana Mesa, according to court documents obtained by the Daily News on Wednesday.
Dority pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder with a firearm Tuesday.
Payne’s girlfriend, identified only as Tara, said that Mesa had previously asked her to help during arguments with Dority, serving as a “‘mediator’ to prevent any physical violence,” according to the documents.
Witnesses told police that Dority approached Payne outside his car early Monday morning after getting dropped off by his father and the pair argued. Dority claimed that Payne, more than a foot taller and almost 100 pounds heavier than the younger man, threatened to “smoke you bra.” That’s when Dority said he went inside the house and got the gun.
Other witnesses, however, said that Payne was never threatening toward Dority.
Dority allegedly took a shooting stance, with both arms leaning forward, near a tree, and fired once, hitting Payne.
In audio and video recordings obtained by police, Payne’s girlfriend can be heard telling Dority “do not pull your gun out” and “we were asked to come here” before he fired, according to police.
When he heard the gunshot, Dority’s father rushed out of his car and took his son inside.
“This man tried coming to my house, he cut around my block, and he tried shooting me”, Dority said in the 911 call. “He act like he got a gun, and I shot him … he reached for his gun, I ran inside my house, and I shot him.”
No firearm was found at the scene other than Dority’s 9mm.
Despite the size difference, arresting officers said Payne “did not pose an immediate threat to Dority” and noted that the athlete was unarmed, citing witness testimony.
“Dority described Payne as getting in his face and was intimidating due to his size,” the affidavit reads. “Dority stated he was protecting his family and protecting his home. Dority stated his actions were justified.”
In Florida, the Stand Your Ground law allows a resident who is “not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”
Payne played all four seasons at MSU before being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2014 NBA Draft, then bounced around the NBA to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic until he was released in 2018 after an ESPN report revealed that he had been accused of raping a female student at Michigan State in 2010.
“I’m in shock at the tragic news of Adreian Payne’s death,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said in a statement Monday.
“Our prayers are with his family, teammates and loved ones. Adreian was loved by his teammates and coaches, who respected his development as a player and a person. He came to Michigan State with a ton of raw talent and put in the work to reach his goal of becoming an NBA player.”
Draymond Greene, who played with Payne for three years at MSU, announced Monday that he and his wife would be donating $100,000 to a fund in Payne’s name.
“If that’s naming something on the campus after him, if that is some scholarships for some kids for Dayton, whatever that is, I call on my Spartan family to band together and do something in Adreian’s name,” Greene said.
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