DRESHAWNA DAVIS - 8 yo (2006) - Jacksonville FL

Poster's Note: Original Story from 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The
grandfather of the 8-year-old girl who lost her life in Wednesday's
drive-by shooting shared his pain and feelings of grief with Channel 4.Willie
Davis Sr. continues to be overcome with grief at the loss of his
granddaughter Dreshawna Davis.

His son, Willie Davis Jr., one of four
persons of interest named by police in the case, has been in custody
since 11:30 a.m. Friday.The elder Davis said he wants answers and justice."My
grandbaby who's 5, he said she got shot and she died on him. My other
grandbaby said she was asleep on her. She's 3," Davis Sr. said.Davis Sr. clutched a picture of Dreshawna and the cousins she sheltered from the gunfire that took her life."She saved these two right here. She took the bullet in the back and she put her body over them," Davis Sr. said.However, the pain goes further for Davis Sr. Police named his son as a person of interest in the shooting.Davis
Sr. said his son was in the home at the time of the shooting. He said
Davis Jr. has been mourning his niece and that he wants justice, too."I want them to be served. I want them to serve time. I want them to know the loss I am going through," Davis Sr. said.The signs of violence, police and yellow tape, remain in the neighborhood where Dreshawna was gunned down.Abandoned
toys scattered in a yard a few doors down from the Davis home are
another sign that things are not right in the Jacksonville
neighborhood. The woman living in a nearby home said she sent her young
children to relatives because she was too afraid to have them stay.The
pool across the street from where the incident took place remained
empty as the children who would play there on a hot summer afternoon
are kept inside."Death is right around the corner. It's not even
safe to stay inside your own home, you know? It's a terrible thing that
happened," said neighbor Anthony Collins.Davis Sr. said his
granddaughter was staying at his ex-wife's home for the summer, but
that when the first day of school came, which this year was the day
before what would've been her ninth birthday, she would have been back
at his house, ready for learning, dancing and life."Dreshawna was my heart and I just pray that she's in the hands of God right now," Davis Sr. said.He
said he wants the gunmen to face the maximum punishment; not only to
avenge his granddaughter's death, but also as an example to those who
he said terrorize the innocent.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Two of the three brothers found guilty of
murdering 8-year-old DreShawna Davis in 2006 will learn their sentence
today.
Terrell and Tajune Dubose were found guilty of first degree murder
in January, and sentencing is today to learn whether they will receive
life in prison or the death penalty, which was sought by the
prosecution.
Their older brother Rasheem was also found guilty of first degree murder.
His sentencing is scheduled for next week.

With one brother already sentenced
to life in prison and another still facing a possible death penalty,
Terrell Dubose was formally sentenced Monday.All three were
convicted of first-degree murder and firing into an occupied dwelling
in the 2006 shooting death of 8-year-old girl Dreshawna Davis.On Friday, a jury recommended life sentences for Tajuan and Terrell Dubose.Judge
Page Haddock immediately sentenced Tajuan, 21, to life in prison
without possibility of parole and did the same on Monday for Terrell,
23.
The third brother convicted of killing Dreshawna, Rasheem Dubose, 25,
is to face the jury that convicted him for a sentencing hearing
beginning Tuesday.In announcing the Terrell's sentence on
Monday, Haddock said the brothers should not be housed together until
they transferred to a state prison and recommended to the Department of
Corrections that to do the same."Ya'll have caused such horrible
rackets back there all day long every time you've been in court
together .... Banging on the bars and yelling and terrible language,"
Haddock told Terrell Dubose. "It's my impression of the three of you
that when you are together, it's a discipline problem. I wouldn't wish
that on any employees of any correctional institution in the state of
Florida."
Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for all three brothers, but
defense attorneys for the younger brothers successfully argued that the
boys had a troubled upbringing and were following the lead of their
older brother when they got guns and went to the Davis home.Dreshawna
was killed when 29 shots were fired into her grandmother's home in July
2006 in what prosecutors called a retaliatory strike targeting
Dreshawna's uncle.

At first glance, it may look like different defendants--one with a
mane of dreadlocks and another with a clean cut hairstyle. However it's
the same person, Rasheem Dubose.


Dubose and his brothers Terrell and Tajuane were convicted in the 2006 murder of 8-year-old Dreshawna Davis.
Police said Davis was shot as she huddled over her younger family
members, and the Dubose brothers fired about 30 shots into the home.
Police said the brothers were targetting another person they believed
was in the home.
Terrell and Tajuane were spared the death penalty, and were sentenced to life in prison.
Testimony is underway in the sentencing of Rasheem
Dubose. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, as they did for his
brothers.
Those following the trial may have noticed Terrell and Rasheem
recently shaved their long dreadlocks, and are now sporting short hair.

Rasheem's Attorney Richard Kuritz tells First Coast News his client
"made the decision on his own." Kuritz added that he had hoped his
client would have cut his hair sooner.
Kuritz would not talk on camera about his client's change in
appearance, but another attorney said the Dubose brothers could be
trying to sway the jury.
"There's always a concern that the way the defendent looks might influence the jury," said John Mills, a Jacksonville attorney.
Mills is not working the Dubose case, but has worked on criminal and appeals cases in our area.
"A lot of defense lawyers will give some strategic advice. Of
course, you don't want to scare the jury, you don't want to look like a
bad person. You want to look like a law abiding citizen," said Mills.
While Rasheem and Tajuane have changed their hair, their other brother Terrell has not.
Mills said even if the two brothers changed their appearance for the sake of the jury, the timing does not make sense.

"There may well be another explanation that has nothing to do with
trials, because the jury is the same. It's the same people who have
seen him. So, if you make a dramatic change in appearance and your just
trying to cow-tow to the jury, it's going to be pretty obvious," said
Mills.
Court officials say that defendants have to
cut their long hair before entering the state prison system. However,
that is not something that has to be done immediately during or after a
sentencing phase.
Family and friends said they could offer no explanation for the change in Tajuane and Rasheem's appearances.
Sentencing for Rasheem Dubose resumes Wednesday morning at 9 a.m.