When Tonio Deshun Davis got mad, he was not a man who could be scared off by a gun, the attorney for the Little Rock man on trial in the death of the 22-year-old told a Pulaski County jury on Tuesday.
An angry Davis ignored a volley of warning shots, thus backing Edward Charles Lee, 35, into a position with no way to safely escape in October 2012, defense attorney Lew Marczuk told jurors in his opening statement at Lee’s trial.
Lee fatally shot Davis, a relative by marriage, on the front porch of a Charlene Lane home when the younger man refused to back down, he said.
“This is not a whodunit,” Marczuk said. “Edward Lee told police [he] shot Tonio Davis in self-defense.”
Lee is charged with first-degree murder, but the father of one should be acquitted for being forced to shoot to save himself, Marczuk told the eight women and four men hearing evidence before Judge Leon Johnson. The trial is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. today. Marczuk said his client will testify.
All of the homes on the dead-end street that runs south from Willow Springs Road are owned by members of the Wilson and Turner families, the attorney said.
A bout of “roasting” - coarse and cutting banter intended to be humorous - during a drinking session among family members had made Davis mad, Marczuk said. When Davis began quarrelling with another man, Lee, a concealed-carry permit holder, got his gun and fired off 10 shots to try to end the dispute, Marczuk said.
“He tried to break up an escalating situation,” the attorney said.
But Davis turned on Lee, Marczuk said, stalking toward Lee as the older man backed away, believing Davis was armed. Davis continued to approach aggressively, despite another warning shot, until Lee was backed against the front door of a relative’s home, with no way to escape, the attorney said. Lee closed his eyes and fired three times, fatally wounding Davis, Marczuk said.
“Edward kept retreating, backing up … until he’s boxed in … with his back to the door,” the attorney said. “Tonio is not frightened by guns.”
No one saw Davis with a weapon, deputy prosecutor Kenneth Burleson said, telling jurors Lee “gunned down” the younger man for no good reason.
Davis was talking on the phone with his grandmother when he was killed, Burleson said in his opening statement. Also significant is medical evidence that shows Davis was falling when he received some of his gunshot wounds, the prosecutor said.
Davis had gotten upset over some rough joking by another relative but that episode had passed when he was killed, the prosecutor said.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 02/26/2014