Arrest made in double murder at gang-infested apartments. Police say they’ve cracked down

Fresno police made an arrest in the murder of two young parents at a gang-infested apartment complex in April, Chief Jerry Dyer announced Tuesday afternoon at a news conference at police headquarters.

Police say Donovan Kelley, 20, was one of the men who pulled the trigger on April 28 at the Parks at Fig Garden, killing 19-year-old Kiara Austin and her boyfriend Brian Maxey, 20, as they sat in a car with three others.

Kelley was booked into the Fresno County Jail on Sunday and charged with two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count of intimidating a witness.

He is believed to be a member of the Northside Pleasant gang.

Kelley has a violent criminal history as a juvenile, including robberies, Dyer said. The chief said investigators believe Kelley may be involved in other shootings, and Dyer said he hopes the public will come forward with information.

Dyer also is asking the public for help identify another man police believe shot at the couple’s car with an assault rifle.

Four tips to Crime Stoppers helped detectives make the arrest on Sunday.

Officers also canvassed the apartment complex and conducted about 40 probation and parole searches after the shooting. In the process, residents told police that the Northside Pleasant gang was “controlling the complex,” and it was common for gang members to approach people in the complex and challenge them.

Police worked with the property manager to evict gang members and those involved in criminal activity. The gang is not as brazen as it once was at the complex, Dyer said.

Dyer said Austin, Maxey and the three others (including a teen and two of Maxey’s siblings) who were in the car at the time of the shooting were not involved in gangs. “They were there for no other purpose than to visit with friends,” he said.

All five were sitting in the car when they were approached by as many as eight Northside Pleasant gang members including Kelley, Dyer said. After an exchange of words, Kelley allegedly fired the gun at the car as it sped away.

After the vehicle crashed through a wall and into a canal, the gang members followed after and continued to shoot, Dyer said.

When police arrived two and a half minutes after the first call came in, 17-year-old Nandi Williams was giving CPR to Austin on top of the car, which was floating in the canal about 150 yards from where it went in.

Nandi was in the car but not shot.

Both Austin and Maxey were pulled from the car by firefighters and pronounced dead.

Maxey’s brother Queshawn Maxey, 20, was hit in the left arm, and his sister Mary Maxey, 18, was not injured. They were found at a nearby McDonald’s.

Austin leaves behind twin toddler boys and also a baby daughter she shared with Maxey, police say.