Suspects in Feb. 2 Murder Had Prior Convictions Linked to Killings at Age 14

Court records show Chance Guthrie served at least 3.5 years for second-degree manslaughter, while D’Montray Rox served at least 2.5 years for complicity to murder.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Authorities have charged five people in connection with a deadly shooting outside Club 7 nightclub in Shively on February 2.

The suspects are 18, 19, 20 and 27 years old. One is a juvenile whose identity has not been released.

Court documents reveal that two of the men previously pleaded guilty to charges tied to murders committed when they were both 14.

Chance Guthrie pleaded guilty in 2023 to second-degree manslaughter in a fatal April 2021 shooting on Trumpet Way in the St. Denis neighborhood. Records state a witness identified Guthrie as the person who shot and killed 14-year-old Darrin Thiel.

A judge sentenced him to six years and six months in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Guthrie turned 18 in March 2025. Judge Annie O’Connell transferred his case to adult prison and ordered him to complete his sentence.

Circuit court spokesperson and former judge McKay Chauvin said Guthrie began serving time at the Adair County Juvenile Detention Facility in September 2021 and served at least three years and six months before fulfilling his sentence sometime between March 2025 and now.

D’Montray Rox pleaded guilty in August 2022 to facilitation to murder in a group killing at a bus stop at Fifth Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard in July 2020.

He received a five-year sentence in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

After turning 18 in January 2024, Judge Jennifer Wilcox ordered him to continue serving his sentence in adult prison. In July, she approved his attorney’s request for shock probation, Chauvin said.

Chauvin added that the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office did not object to the motion, leading to Rox’s release from custody and placement on probation.

The Department of Corrections did not respond Friday to a request to confirm how long Rox served in juvenile detention and adult prison. However, court records indicate he served at least two and a half years in total.