DeKalb County District Attorney
10/02/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/02/2024 14:39
MCDONOUGH MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR MURDER OF 18 YEAR OLD DURING ARMED ROBBERY
October 2, 2024
State v. Lavaniel Davis
Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a McDonough man for the murder of a teenager during an armed robbery.
On Tuesday, Lavaniel Davis, 23, was sentenced to Life in Prison plus 20 years to serve consecutively, as well as 5 years on probation by Judge Winston P. Bethel, who presided over the trial sitting for the DeKalb County Superior Court.
On August 23, jurors found Defendant Davis guilty of three counts of Felony Murder, as well as charges of Aggravated Assault, Armed Robbery, Criminal Solicitation, and Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony, stemming from the murder of Trevon Richardson, 18.
According to the investigation, on the evening of May 28, 2018, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD) responded to a call of a person lying in the parking lot of an apartment complex located on Peppertree Circle in unincorporated Decatur. Upon arrival, officers found the man deceased with a gunshot wound to his chest. The victim had no identification.
Police received a missing person report for a man who matched the description of the victim, and the family identified the victim as Trevon Richardson. Officers determined that Richardson was last seen alive at an apartment complex about a mile away from where his body was found. A friend saw Richardson in the back seat of a black Dodge Dart selling marijuana to two people in the front seat of the vehicle. The friend was able to get a good look at the driver only.
When the friend realized Richardson and the car were gone, he attempted to contact the occupants of the Dodge Dart, as well as a mutual friend who set up the deal. The friend alerted Richardson's family, who filed the missing person report.
Police connected the Dodge Dart to Co-defendant Detavion McDay. Richardson's friend positively identified McDay as the person in the driver's seat during the deal. Police also identified the vehicle and McDay in surveillance videos from both apartment complexes, one of which shows McDay driving away from Richardson's body.
Police executed search warrants on Defendant McDay's home and the Dodge Dart. The vehicle appeared to have been cleaned, but officers found a bullet hole defect in the back seat. In the home they found a spent .40 caliber shell casing in the washing machine.
McDay was taken into custody. During an interview, Defendant McDay told police that his friend "Darius" set up the deal through a mutual acquaintance and that "Darius" planned to rob the victim. McDay also indicated that "Darius" shot Richardson.
The District Attorney's Office, through the course of its investigation, identified "Darius" as Defendant Lavaniel Davis. Defendant Davis was taken into custody on December 17, 2021.
Co-defendant McDay entered a negotiated plea to Voluntary Manslaughter, Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony on March 6, 2020. He was sentenced to 40 years to serve 25 years in custody, with the balance on probation.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney for the Trial Division Rod Wilkerson, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Darlene Childers, District Attorney Investigator Christopher Richards, and Victim Advocate Sandra Trejos-Roman. DKPD Det. W.J. Mueller led the initial investigation.
State v. Lavaniel Davis
Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces a conviction by jury trial in the case against a McDonough man for the murder of a teenager during an armed robbery.
On Tuesday, Lavaniel Davis, 23, was sentenced to Life in Prison plus 20 years to serve consecutively, as well as 5 years on probation by Judge Winston P. Bethel, who presided over the trial sitting for the DeKalb County Superior Court.
On August 23, jurors found Defendant Davis guilty of three counts of Felony Murder, as well as charges of Aggravated Assault, Armed Robbery, Criminal Solicitation, and Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony, stemming from the murder of Trevon Richardson, 18.
According to the investigation, on the evening of May 28, 2018, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD) responded to a call of a person lying in the parking lot of an apartment complex located on Peppertree Circle in unincorporated Decatur. Upon arrival, officers found the man deceased with a gunshot wound to his chest. The victim had no identification.
Police received a missing person report for a man who matched the description of the victim, and the family identified the victim as Trevon Richardson. Officers determined that Richardson was last seen alive at an apartment complex about a mile away from where his body was found. A friend saw Richardson in the back seat of a black Dodge Dart selling marijuana to two people in the front seat of the vehicle. The friend was able to get a good look at the driver only.
When the friend realized Richardson and the car were gone, he attempted to contact the occupants of the Dodge Dart, as well as a mutual friend who set up the deal. The friend alerted Richardson's family, who filed the missing person report.
Police connected the Dodge Dart to Co-defendant Detavion McDay. Richardson's friend positively identified McDay as the person in the driver's seat during the deal. Police also identified the vehicle and McDay in surveillance videos from both apartment complexes, one of which shows McDay driving away from Richardson's body.
Police executed search warrants on Defendant McDay's home and the Dodge Dart. The vehicle appeared to have been cleaned, but officers found a bullet hole defect in the back seat. In the home they found a spent .40 caliber shell casing in the washing machine.
McDay was taken into custody. During an interview, Defendant McDay told police that his friend "Darius" set up the deal through a mutual acquaintance and that "Darius" planned to rob the victim. McDay also indicated that "Darius" shot Richardson.
The District Attorney's Office, through the course of its investigation, identified "Darius" as Defendant Lavaniel Davis. Defendant Davis was taken into custody on December 17, 2021.
Co-defendant McDay entered a negotiated plea to Voluntary Manslaughter, Criminal Attempt to Commit a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony on March 6, 2020. He was sentenced to 40 years to serve 25 years in custody, with the balance on probation.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney for the Trial Division Rod Wilkerson, with assistance from Senior Assistant District Attorney Darlene Childers, District Attorney Investigator Christopher Richards, and Victim Advocate Sandra Trejos-Roman. DKPD Det. W.J. Mueller led the initial investigation.