Man jailed in fatal May shooting, robbery of Fayetteville teen


A man out on bail in multiple June robberies was arrested Thursday on warrants in the May killing of a teenager in Cumberland County, court records show.

Christian Jared Ashworth, 23, is charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy in the death of Dakota Lee Johnson, 17, of Sterling Street in Fayetteville.

An arrest warrant in the case states Ashworth conspired with two others in the killing and stole a handgun and cell phone from the victim.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said Dakota was shot late on the night of May 18 in the 2300 block of Indian Creek Drive. He drove a vehicle about a mile before crashing into a parked car outside a convenience store on Sapona Road, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Dakota Johnson, 17, was fatally shot in the 2300 block of Indian Creek Drive on Thursday, May 18, 2023, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said.

Johnson was pronounced dead at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center early the following morning, Cumberland County death records show.

In July, two months after the killing, Ashworth was arrested in the robbery of two Waffle Houses and a Circle K in the county and city, records show. The robberies occurred June 23 and June 28.

Related Name of teen killed in late-night Cumberland County shooting released

The magistrate noted in the bail paperwork that he set a secured bail for Ashworth because he was allegedly, “an extreme danger to the public.”

Ashworth was released from custody in November after a judge reduced his bail from $450,000 to $75,000 and put as a condition of release that he be on GPS monitoring, according to court records.

Ashworth was being held in the Cumberland County jail Friday without bail.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Christian Ashworth is charged with murder in the May killing of a teen

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