Jun 11, 2025 By Mike Jones 3 min read

All charges have been dropped against a key witness in the deadly 2022 shooting of a Washington woman after the teen cooperated with prosecutors and helped to secure convictions against the two co-defendants who fired the gunshots.

Tyriq Xavier Moss, who is now 18, appeared before Judge Valarie Costanzo at the Washington County Courthouse as the case against him was withdrawn in a proceeding that lasted less than 10 minutes Tuesday afternoon.

Moss was originally charged with homicide, attempted homicide and numerous other counts shortly after the May 11, 2022, drive-by shooting that killed 58-year-old Kristin Barfield as she sat outside her home at 219 Ridge Ave. in Washington. While city police initially thought he was the shooter, other evidence and witness interviews pointed to another teen who fired the fatal shots.

Moss, who was 15 at the time and seated in the backseat of the car used in the drive-by shooting, testified against co-defendant Brandon Ronald Allen during the trial in January in which he said he watched Allen fire one round from a handgun while driving the vehicle. Allen, 33, of Washington, was convicted during that jury trial of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and other charges, and is scheduled to be sentenced by Costanzo at 10 a.m. Friday.

Juan Worthey III, who was the other juvenile sitting in the backseat with Moss during the shooting, was later identified as the person who fired the shots that killed Barfield. Moss was also prepared to testify against Worthey, who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder just before his trial was set to begin May 12. Worthey, who was 16 at the time of the shooting but is now 20, was facing charges as an adult and will be sentenced by Constanzo at 10 a.m. July 29.

Washington County Deputy District Attorney John Friedmann said they agreed to drop the homicide case against Moss since he cooperated with the prosecution and was not involved in the shooting.

“Given the resolution of those cases … we’re agreeing to Mr. Moss’ request for the charges to be withdrawn,” Friedmann said.

Costanzo agreed to have the charges nolle prossed, ending the criminal case against Moss. Moss, who was jailed for a little more than a month following his arrest a week after the shooting, has been free on unsecured bond since June 2022 after investigators determined he was not the shooter.

After the hearing, defense attorney Frank Walker II said Moss is set to graduate high school next year after losing a school year due to the charges being filed against him, and he hopes to eventually obtain a commercial driver’s license.

“It’s rough. It’s really tough for a young kid, just walking down the street with his friend (Worthey) and then jumping into (Allen’s) car and then getting dragged through a murder case,” Walker said.

Moss and Worthey were friends at the time of the shooting, and they were walking down the street when Allen picked them up to give them a ride around town before the shooting happened moments later. Other witnesses testified that Worthey lunged over Moss and fired the fatal shots through an open window in the backseat next to where Moss was sitting.

Walker gave “kudos” to the prosecution for dropping the criminal case and admitting that Moss did nothing to initiate the shooting and did not participate in it.

“He was in a tough position,” Walker said about Moss agreeing to testify against his co-defendants. “But he made the right decision.”