Closing arguments wrapped up Wednesday in the sentencing hearing for Tamarius Blair Davis, 27, who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing 21-year-old Dustin Wakefield in Miami Beach in 2021. Davis has admitted he took mushrooms, grabbed a gun and fired at random people in South Beach.
Prosecutor Casey Hughes said Davis keeps blaming the drugs. Wakefield’s mother, Lora, told the court the drug only exposed what was already in Davis’s heart. The Wakefield family is asking the judge to sentence Davis to life in prison.
Defense attorney Juan Mourin argued that Davis suffered a psychotic episode that left him believing he was inside a video game, the same thing Davis told police he had been doing before he took the mushrooms.
On Tuesday, Davis apologized to the Wakefield family from the witness stand. “I know that I will carry this psychological agony, pain and regret, and shame with me for the rest of my life,” he said. His mother, Deangela Davis, described him as a kind and respectful young man whose behavior while under the influence was out of character.
Davis faces a minimum of 25 years in prison. The judge is scheduled to impose the sentence Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
