A Hardeeville man has pleaded guilty to helping destroy evidence in a 2018 murder case at Fort Stewart Army Reservation in Hinesville, Georgia, according to court documents.
Devin Ryan, 30, of Hardeeville, who helped set fire to a car belonging to the murder victim, pleaded guilty to one count of use of fire in commission of a federal felony on Thursday, according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Georgia.
Ryan helped another man, Stafon Davis, 28, of Savannah, in “getting rid of a car” belonging to a woman living at the Fort Stewart army base, according to Davis’ indictment.
Davis killed the woman, Abree Boykin, on July 9, 2018. He fled in Boykin’s car and drove to a remote road in Hardeeville to meet Ryan, court documents state.
Ryan brought a container filled with gasoline, and the two poured gas in her 2018 Honda Accord and lit it on fire.
Court documents state the Levy Volunteer Fire Department arrived to find the car engulfed in flames, causing it to explode. The following day, a towing company brought the remains of Boykin’s car to a salvage yard.
Boykin lived in post housing at the Army base. Her husband, who was deployed in South Korea, called military police to conduct a welfare check on her. On July 10, 2018, authorities found Boykin’s body, prompting the FBI and the Army Criminal Investigation Command to investigate, documents say.
Davis and Ryan knew each other when they served prison time together, according to a news release.
“A man with no involvement other than previous time behind bars with an admitted killer needlessly complicated a murder investigation by destroying a significant piece of evidence,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. “Rather than stay a free man and hang up the phone when called, Devin Ryan helped cover up a murder — and that choice has earned him more hard time behind bars.”
On Sept. 13, Davis pleaded guilty to premeditated murder in Boykin’s killing and to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Ryan’s conviction carries a mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison, followed by a period of supervised release, the news release said.
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