June 6 – Attorneys for Tony Charles Davenport convinced a jury earlier this year that a March 2022 home invasion that left one dead and two others injured was not an intentional shooting.
Instead, the defense team of Crossville attorneys Jeff Vires and Joe Wyatt described it as a combination of anger gone wrong and ultimately self-defense.
Jacob Conrad Lewis, 24, was fatally shot, and Florence Easterly, 52, and Corey James Hillsman, 57, were seriously injured. All were from Grouse Ct. in Fairfield Glade.
At a sentencing hearing in late May, Assistant District Attorneys Philip Hatch and Allison Null presented six enhancement factors supporting consecutive convictions, and Judge Gary McKenzie agreed.
He sentenced Davenport to 17 years in prison for the reckless homicide conviction and eight years for the second-degree attempted murder charge, to be served consecutively for a 25-year sentence to serve as a Range II offender with 35%.
A six-year prison sentence was imposed for the attempted voluntary murder conviction, but that sentence must be served concurrently with the two.
Davenport, 59, of King Arthur Ct. in Wilshire Heights, on the edge of Fairfield Glade, still faces gun possession charges on a felonious assault charge. That charge was separated from the charge for which Davenport stood trial based on a motion filed by Vires.
No date has been announced when the charges will be returned to the docket of the Criminal Court.
During the sentencing hearing, Hatch called to the witness stand Tennessee Department of Corrections Pardon and probation officer Charles Stiriz, who prepared the pre-sentencing report, and TBI Special Agent Shawn Scott, the prosecution’s lead witness.
In Stiriz’s interview with Davenport, the defendant’s version of the shooting included the following: “Some people had stolen and destroyed his property and looked at his wife. He went to confront the people and brought a gun. He (Davenport) stated that he initially pointed the gun at one of the men present, but handed over the gun to show that he wanted to resolve matters peacefully.
“The defendant stated that the next thing he remembers is seeing a white light and then waking up on the ground. He stated that he then left.
“He came back a second time with another weapon to confront the people and get his first weapon back. He stated that a struggle ensued over the weapon he was holding and he started firing the weapon at them to let go and he ended up shooting some of them.”
During the trial, Davenport testified that he had no evidence that the home’s occupants were the ones who stole from him, snooped on his wife and sold drugs in the community.
In the criminal report filed by Stiriz, a criminal history dating back to May 2015 included misdemeanor charges of possession of a Schedule VI drug in Missouri and an aggravated assault conviction in Cumberland County. Other felony convictions were noted.
The risk and needs assessment recommended a state-mandated Strong-R report on mental health treatment and alcohol and drug assessment and follow-up.
In a victim impact statement, Florence Easterly wrote that Davenport shot and killed her son, wounded Hillsman and shot her in the leg, abdomen and chest. She said she was on a ventilator for three days at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
Easterly wrote in her statement and reiterated in court that Davenport assumed “whatever figure we had … may God have mercy on your soul.”
Danny C. Lewis also provided the court with an impact statement. He identified himself as Jacob’s adopted father. During his comments to the court, Lewis said he raised Jacob in his home, taught him a work ethic and cared for his mother.
He noted that Davenport should not have owned a gun and concluded that he hoped God would give the court good judgment at sentencing.
No defense witnesses were called and Davenport rose to make a speech.
“I apologize to this family,” he said. “I wasn’t planning on shooting anyone this day.”
Hatch asked the court to sentence Davenport to a prison term of up to 36 years at 35%, relying on aggravating factors such as criminal history and conduct, multiple victims, severity of injuries and property damage, use of a firearm and Davenport’s lack of hesitation in committing the crime and the death resulting from his actions.
Wyatt countered that mitigating factors included that Davenport’s actions were the result of provocation and the unusual circumstances of the lack of a plan.
Wyatt argued that the evidence did not show that Davenport was a dangerous offender and that he appeared to be more dangerous to himself than the general public due to alcohol and drug abuse.
He demanded a prison sentence of twelve years.
“We do not live in a society where people take the law into their own hands,” McKenzie noted in announcing his sentencing decision. “Now it becomes an issue for the parole board.”
A decision on the motion for a new trial will be announced at a hearing on September 3.
Michael Moser can be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com
