Detective: Slain Lexington college student was not the intended target in shooting

A University of Louisville student and former Tates Creek High School basketball player was caught in a gang-related shooting outside a Lexington hotel and wasn’t the intended target, a detective testified Monday.

Multiple new details of Mykel Waide’s killing were revealed at a preliminary hearing for Tayte Patton and Antonio Turner in Fayette District Court. The two have been charged with murder and wanton endangerment in Waide’s death, and judge Vanessa Dickson ultimately determined there was enough probable cause to send the cases to a grand jury.

According to court records, Waide, 18, was one of at least three shot at the Residence Inn on Newtown Court in August 2020. Waide was the only one to die. Waide was back home to say goodbye to his friends after moving most of his belongings to U of L, his grandmother Andre Maxberry previously said.

Detective Steven Cobb testified Monday that the shooting was the result of an altercation between rival gangs. He said there were multiple shooters, allegedly including Patton and Turner, on scene.

Cobb testified that Waide was not the intended target. Investigators believe they know who the intended target was but have not been able to find the target, Cobb said.

According to Cobb’s testimony and court records, Patton and Turner allegedly were in a black car and can be seen shooting out of the back window of the black sedan in surveillance footage from the Residence Inn. The victims were wounded. After a pause, some at the hotel fired back at the sedan as it was pulling away, Cobb testified.

Police have also linked Patton and Turner to the area at the time of the shooting with phone and social media records.

The most significant evidence police have against Patton and Turner is an eyewitness account, Cobb testified. The witness is a member of the rival gang and did not make contact with detectives until about seven months after the shooting. Maxberry, the grandmother, had pushed publicly for eyewitnesses in violent crimes to talk. “Quit covering up for them, stop it ... It’s not called snitching, it’s called saving a life,” she said.

Patton’s attorney asked Cobb to reveal the identity of the witness, but Dickson allowed Cobb to keep the witness’s name confidential due to safety concerns. Dickson said the identity of the witness could be revealed in a later hearing, but it wasn’t relevant for the probable cause hearing if it could put the witness in danger.

Cobb said police do not have evidence directly linking Patton and Turner to the gunfire that hit Waide. However, a ballistics report, which typically analyzes bullets and guns, is currently being processed with Kentucky State Police. That report could further connect Patton and Turner to the crime, Cobb testified.

Multiple shell casings and bullets that struck the hotel were found at the scene. No one inside the building was harmed.

Cobb said there were four to five different guns involved in the shooting and one was recovered. Police also obtained a Glock 17 at Turner’s residence during his arrest.

In a separate case, Turner is one of 14 men between the ages of 17 and 31 charged with engaging in a criminal syndicate, namely, the East Side Gang, and a subgroup, the 530 gang, according to court records. Those charged are accused of facilitating or directing the gang activity or committing or conspiring to commit acts of violence, theft or drug trafficking in support of the gang, according to the indictment.

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