Commonwealth v. Carson Carnell Davis Jr.; Female Fist Fight Leads to Murder, Malicious Wounding; Defendant to Serve 25 Years

Virginia Beach, Va. – Colin D. Stolle, Commonwealth's Attorney for the city of Virginia Beach, announced today that Carson Carnell Davis Jr., 23, formerly of the 2200 block of Vantage Point in Virginia Beach, Virginia, was sentenced on charges of Second Degree Murder, Aggravated Malicious Wounding, and two (2) counts of Use of a Firearm. A jury found him guilty of these charges on March 16, 2022. Circuit Court Judge James C. Lewis, who presided over the trial, sentenced Davis to 88 years in prison with 63 years suspended, leaving 25 years to serve.

The Commonwealth's evidence proved that on May 2, 2019, two groups of people met up to exchange clothes at the Roadway Inn in the City of Virginia Beach. The first group included Carson Carnell Davis Jr., Zaymi Lewis, and a female driver. The second group consisted of two males and two females, including the eventual homicide victim, Terrence Houston, and the aggravated malicious wounding victim. When Lewis and the other female picked up Davis, he brought a gun with him. The two groups arrived at the hotel, exchanged the clothes, and a verbal altercation occurred between the females. Ultimately Lewis got out of the car and a fist fight ensued between Lewis and a female from the other group. Houston and the other male in that vehicle got out of the car to break up the fight.

Davis then exited his car with a gun in his hand. As Houston stepped toward Davis, Davis shot him in the stomach. One of the females in Houston's group approached Davis, who was now back in his vehicle, and asked why Davis shot Houston. Davis then shot that female once in the neck. He then screamed for Lewis and the female driver to get back in the vehicle, stating, "Just run them over." Davis' vehicle then fled the parking lot, and he was dropped off at his apartment. As the female driver attempted to drop Lewis off at her residence, the police were there and took them into custody. Unbeknownst to the driver, Lewis had possession of the gun used in the shootings.

Houston died at the scene, and the female victim was rushed to the hospital. She survived, though she has permanent impairment; she has limited mobility of her left arm and has permanent nerve damage.

The next morning, Davis went to his employer and asked for an advancement on his paycheck. He told his boss that he shot two people and needed to get to California. The police were at his apartment when he arrived back home. On his television screen inside his apartment was the search engine to Virginia Beach's warrants webpage where Davis was looking to see if he had any active warrants. A spare magazine to the gun used to shoot the victims was found in his dresser.

Lewis pled guilty to misdemeanor charges of Accessory after the Fact and Concealed Weapon, and was sentenced to 365 days on each charge, with 300 days on each charge suspended, leaving a total of 130 days to serve.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorneys Nickie L. Herron and Megan M. Lang prosecuted this case. Please contact Macie Allen if additional information is desired.