Man, 22, faces murder charge after July shooting outside West Palm nightclub

WEST PALM BEACH — A 22-year-old man is facing a murder charge in connection to a fatal shooting that occurred in July outside a West Palm Beach nightclub.

Officers arrested Kevin Datus of Greenacres on Wednesday, Aug. 7, on one count of second-degree murder with a firearm. Investigators say he shot and killed 32-year-old Ronald Milton early on the morning of July 21 during a confrontation outside the Cru Lounge, a nightclub on the 500 block of Northwood Road.

Datus told investigators he was acting in the defense of a friend who had gotten into a fight with Milton. Witnesses told police officers that a fight had broken out in the street at about 1:30 that morning when a man later identified as Datus ran up and shot Milton multiple times.

Datus then fled on foot as multiple people began shooting at him, the arrest report said. Police found him about 20 minutes later in a nearby bar and restaurant. Datus told investigators a friend had contacted him early that morning requesting that he respond to the nightclub with a firearm, the arrest report said.

Fatal crash: Mother, daughter die in Boynton Beach wreck; driver of speeding car faces criminal charges

Shooter told West Palm investigators he fired in self-defense in July homicide

Datus told officers he was waiting outside when he observed his friend being followed out of the club by Milton, then get punched and knocked to the ground. He described fearing for his own safety as he observed six or seven males walking behind him and staring at him.

He told investigators that after he saw his friend get attacked, he fired three or four shots at Milton. Datus said he did not see Milton in possession of a weapon and acknowledged that none of the men he saw approaching made threats, the report said.

During a search of the scene, officers recovered a 9 mm handgun and a cellphone that were reportedly dropped by Datus as he hopped a fence while fleeing after the shooting.

Datus traveled to the police department on Aug. 7 to retrieve his cellphone, but was arrested instead.

On Thursday, he appeared for a court hearing at the Palm Beach County Jail. Circuit Judge Donald Hafele assigned Datus a public defender and ordered that he be held without bail. As a policy, the county Public Defender's Office does not comment on open cases.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Man faces murder charge for shooting outside West Palm Beach nightclub