State v. Davis
| Decision Date | 05 October 2022 |
| Docket Number | 21-1100 |
| Parties | STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DIAVANTAE STEPPHON DAVIS, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Wyatt Peterson, Judge.
Diavantae Davis appeals his convictions for murder in the first degree intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent to injure or provoke, and going armed with intent. AFFIRMED.
S.P DeVolder of The DeVolder Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Norwalk, and William L. Kutmus and Trever Hook of Kutmus, Pennington &Hook, P.C., West Des Moines, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Timothy M. Hau, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Heard by Bower, C.J., Tabor, J., and Gamble, S.J. [*] GAMBLE, Senior Judge.
Diavantae Davis appeals his convictions for murder in the first degree intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent to injure or provoke, and going armed with intent. He argues the district court erred in instructing the jury on his duties with respect to his justification defense and the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for murder in the first degree. We reject his arguments and affirm.
On the evening of September 7, 2019 and into the early morning hours of September 8, a group of housemates hosted a party at their residence in Burlington, Iowa. Alexandria, one of the party's hosts and a resident of the home, estimated about forty-five people were at the party, including Reynaldo Villarreal. Most of the partygoers were in the yard of the home. At a certain point, Christian appeared at the party. Christian was involved in an issue during a previous party at the home earlier that summer. Alexandria met Christian outside. She told him he was not welcome at the party and he needed to leave the premises. Christian then left the party while expressing his disagreement.
Christian soon returned to the party accompanied by Timothy. Alexandria met the pair outside to tell them to leave the party. She thought Timothy was being aggressive in refusing to leave. So she asked Villarreal for assistance in convincing the pair to leave. Villarreal also told the pair that Christian was not allowed at the party and they needed to leave. Christian and Timothy insisted on staying and argued with Villarreal. A crowd of partygoers began to form around them on the landing in front of the house as the argument became more heated.
Davis and two of his friends arrived at the party during this argument. Davis's group joined the crowd, standing behind Christian and Timothy. Davis inserted himself into the already heated situation, siding with Christian and Timothy. Christian and Timothy both testified Villarreal showed them he had a handgun in his belt early in the argument and he later held the handgun at his side without pointing it at anyone. Arturo, another partygoer, testified Villarreal pulled out a handgun during the argument, loaded a round in the chamber, and pointed it straight down at his side. Other partygoers testified they never saw Villarreal with a firearm-or even knew he had one-during the party. Alexandria testified Davis was the only one to mention having a firearm during the argument. Arturo testified Davis made threats during the argument about his group being "killers." Another witness similarly testified Davis said "they ain't no real killers; I'm a real killer." Eventually, everyone in Christian's group-including Davis-started to leave. Davis slipped down a hill in the yard next to the front steps. As Villarreal stood on the landing and continued to tell them to leave, Davis fired his handgun six times. Villarreal fell forward down the hill.
Burlington police responded to the home around 1:40 a.m. on September 8. Officers found a group of people in front of the home gathered around Villarreal. Villarreal was on the ground and unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound. He was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead at approximately 2:13 a.m. Officers eventually found a handgun with a round in the chamber in the grass next to the spot where they found Villarreal's body. After checking serial numbers, officers determined the handgun belonged to Luis, one of the residents of the home where the party occurred. Luis testified he did not know how Villarreal obtained his handgun that night. An autopsy later confirmed Villarreal sustained a gunshot wound to his chest. Detectives spent a substantial amount of time over the next couple of days searching the wooded area near the crime scene using a metal detector in an attempt to find the firearm used in the homicide. The weapon used to shoot Villarreal was never recovered.
After speaking to witnesses and reviewing video from the home's security system, officers identified Davis as the shooter. On September 9, Davis voluntarily went to the Burlington police department for an interview. During the interview, Davis acknowledged walking up to the party. But he claimed he left the party when he saw a group of people arguing, including one person waving a handgun. He claimed he was down the street and walking away from the home when he heard gunshots. He also denied owning or possessing a firearm. At the conclusion of the interview, officers arrested Davis for Villarreal's killing.
Davis proceeded to a jury trial on June 15 to 25, 2021. The State's evidence included testimony from several witnesses at the party and members of law enforcement. Davis testified in his defense. During trial, Davis admitted owning the handgun he used to shoot Villarreal and claimed he was justified in doing so. According to Davis's testimony, he and his friends tried going to the party but Villarreal and others at the party stopped them in the front yard. Villarreal's group told Davis's group they were not welcome. Villarreal specifically said "you n-----s[1]need to leave" while holding a handgun at his side. After some arguing, Davis and his group started to leave. Davis slipped and fell. As he got up, Davis heard Villarreal cock his handgun. Davis reached in his pocket and grabbed his gun. When Davis turned to look at him, Villarreal said "you guys need to leave or I'm going to use it." Davis was backing up to the street. Villarreal moved his weapon back and forth like he was turning off the safety. Villarreal then pointed his gun in the direction of Davis and his group. Fearing Villarreal was about to fire upon his group, Davis fired multiple rounds, hitting Villarreal.
The jury rejected Davis's justification claim and found him guilty of murder in the first degree, intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent to injure or provoke, going armed with intent, and possession of a firearm by a felon. The district court sentenced him to life in prison for murder, ten years in prison for intimidation, five years in prison for going armed, and five years in prison for possession of a firearm, with the latter three sentences running consecutively to each other and concurrently with the life-in-prison sentence. Davis appeals his convictions for murder, intimidation, and going armed.[2]
We review State v. Mathis, 971 N.W.2d 514, 519 (Iowa 2022) (citations omitted). "We review the trial court's instructions 'to determine whether they correctly state the law and are supported by substantial evidence.'" State v. Walker, 600 N.W.2d 606, 608 (Iowa 1999) (quoting State v. Thompson, 570 N.W.2d 765, 767 (Iowa 1997)).
We review claims a verdict is not supported by substantial evidence for correction of errors at law. Mathis, 971 N.W.2d at 516. "Substantial evidence is evidence sufficient to convince a rational trier of fact the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. at 516-17. "In determining whether the jury's verdict is supported by substantial evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, including all 'legitimate inferences and presumptions that may fairly and reasonably be deduced from the record evidence.'" Id. at 517 (quoting State v. Tipton, 897 N.W.2d 653, 692 (Iowa 2017)).
Id. § 704.1(1). The marshaling instructions for murder, intimidation, and going armed all required the State to prove by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Davis acted without justification in order to find him guilty of each respective charge.
"As with any affirmative defense, the district court must instruct the jury on justification if substantial evidence supports the theory." State v. Kuhse, 937 N.W.2d 622, 628 (Iowa 2020). "The defendant bears the initial burden of producing sufficient evidence to support the instruction." Id. "Once that threshold is met, the burden shifts to the State to prove lack of...
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