A man who admitted fatally shooting a bystander who tried to intervene in a robbery in Delaware County and paralyzing a man in another robbery will spend at least 46 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.
Zackeyis Davis, 23, pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated murder and attempted murder in Delaware County. Judge David Gormley ordered Davis to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for at least 46 years.
Davis is one of three people charged in the Aug. 24 shooting of Alejandro Fajardo-Torres in the Auto Zone at 8338 Sancus Blvd. near Polaris Fashion Place.
Fajardo-Torres, 43, a customer at the store who had a concealed carry permit, tried to intervene when the store was robbed. Police said a clerk was pistol-whipped. Fajardo-Torres was shot and died at the scene.
Delaware County Prosecutor Melissa Schiffel said in a news release that Fajardo-Torres, who is survived by a young son, died a “hero.”
“His selfless actions protected a high school student and prevented further harm from happening to him,” Schiffel said. “This is senseless violence and Davis’ actions demonstrate a complete disregard for human life.”
As part of his plea on Friday, Davis also entered a guilty plea to attempted murder for a September 16 robbery of Mr. Bling King, a jewelry store at 2555 Morse Road. The victim at that store was paralyzed after being shot.
The other two suspects in Fajardo-Torres’ death, 27-year-old Anthony Blakely and 28-year-old Darius Wynn, have been charged in Delaware County and are awaiting trial. Blakely was scheduled to change his plea on May 31, but he changed his mind during the hearing, so the case was reset for an August trial.
bbruner@gannett.com
This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Man convicted of shooting bystanders who tried to stop an Auto Zone robbery
