DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — One of the teens accused of killing a lift driver in Dayton last year appeared in court Tuesday where he entered a plea of not guilty.

Tylan Peaks, 16, was waived to adult court last week. He faces several charges, including:

  • 4 counts of murder
  • 6 counts of aggravated robbery
  • 2 counts of felonious assault
  • 4 counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle
  • 1 count of tampering with evidence

Peaks is one of four teens accused of killing Brandon Cooper in January 2022. Prosecutors say the teens were responsible for several robberies involving Lyft drivers.

On the morning of Jan. 26, a Lyft driver reported to Dayton Police that she had been robbed at gunpoint and her car was taken.

The victim reported that four males had entered her car on the way to Cambridge Avenue. When they were on St. Agnes Street, the males asked her to stop the vehicle. Two of the males pulled out firearms and forced her out of the vehicle before fleeing in the victim’s car. Dayton Police located the vehicle inside a garage on Anna Street.

While the officers were taking the report from the robbery victim, gunfire was detected in the area of West Grand Avenue at Ferguson Avenue. At the same time, Dayton officers were dispatched on a report of a car crash to the same location.

When the officers arrived, they located the crashed vehicle with a deceased male inside, later identified as Cooper, 35, of Beavercreek. The victim had been fatally shot in the back.

The shooting victim’s cellphone showed that he was also a Lyft driver, and was also on the way to Cambridge Avenue, a short distance away from where he was shot.

Investigators surrounded the house on Anna Street and three people exited the home. The SWAT Team was deployed to get the other occupants to exit the residence.

Four juveniles were identified in connection to the robbery and the fatal shooting.

Another suspect, Da’Trayvon Mitchell, 15, was waived to adult court in December 2022. The two other suspects remained in the juvenile court system.

Peaks is being held on $1 million bond. He is due back in court Oct. 18. Prosecutors expect the other two suspects to remain in juvenile court.