Davis convicted of felony murder after shooting

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Houston County jury convicted 22-year-old Gregory Tyshon Davis on Wednesday for the crimes of Felony Murder and Aggravated Assault, following a trial lasting a day and a half. Superior Court Judge Edward D. Lukemire sentenced Davis to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In a release published by the Houston County District Attorney’s Office, DA William Kendall spoke on the effect he hopes this conviction will hold, and thanked those who made it possible.

“The District Attorney’s Office is committed to the mission of reducing senseless gun violence in Houston County,” Kendall said. “Our community deserves to live in peace and comfort, where citizens can safely work, live and play.

“I’d personally like to thank Investigator Chad Pierce of the Warner Robins Police Department, the other officers from the Warner Robins Police Department who assisted on this case, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The DA’s Office will continue to be a voice for victims and a living deterrent to those who wish to do others harm.”

These charges come after an incident that occurred in February of 2021, when the Warner Robins Police Department began investigating the shooting death of Deandre Nyke Pitts. The release states, “evidence and testimony presented at trial established on the evening of February 21, 2021, Davis and Pitts were at a residence located at 1305 Hartley Avenue.”

Over the course of the night, an argument broke out between the two. After the two were separated, the release said Pitts took a seat on a couch in the living room. Davis, however, went into another room, grabbed a firearm and shot Pitt six times.

DA Kendall spoke with the Houston Home Journal on Thursday and described some of the evidence presented at trial.

“The defense basically laid out a theory [stating] yes, Gregory Davis shot Mr. Pitt, but they were claiming, essentially, self-defense, that it was a struggle over the firearm,” Kendall said. “The state presented its case to say, essentially, there was no struggle over the firearm.”

According to Kendall, Pitts was shot in the hand — a wound that often indicates fear, or self-defense. Pitts was also shot in the back. These shots came after Pitts went into another room to retrieve the weapon.

In addition to the physical evidence presented at trial, Kendall also noted that a testimony from an individual who was present at the time of murder, may have helped the jury come to a conclusion.

“We carry a pretty high burden under the law — it’s actually the highest burden there is: beyond a reasonable doubt,” Kendall said. “All we do is go in there and present the facts and evidence. However, the jury perceives that is whatever result they come up with.

“Warner Robins did the investigation, they did the crime scene. Most of this took place in a single room in a house, where there was a verbal altercation and then a guy goes and retrieves a firearm and shoots. The forensic evidence is really what drove everything, what was the basis for originally taking warrants and seeking out to prosecute.”

This case was investigated by Det. Chad Pierce with WRPD, and was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ryan English and Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Greg Winters.

In the published release, English commented on the incident.

“The nature of this crime is almost incomprehensible. The level of brutality shown by Gregory Davis shooting Deandre Pitts multiple times is unlike anything else I’ve seen in my years as a prosecutor. Today’s sentence sends a message that the people of Houston County will not tolerate senseless gun violence. We will not allow our community to become a warzone. We are thankful that Judge Lukemire’s sentence will remove a violent, dangerous offender from this community.”

In his interview with The Journal, Kendall closed by thanking all those that brought this trial to a close, and spoke on the nature of justice in murder trials like this one.

“As a prosecutor, I want to say, ‘yeah, or course it’s served, we got a conviction,’” Kendall said. “But the reality is that we did what prosecutors are supposed to do. We presented the evidence, the jury decided and the judge imposed a sentence. But the reality of it is, we can’t bring Mr. Pitts back, no matter what we do, we can’t bring him back.

“It always seems good to get a conviction, because we hope it provides a little bit of closure to the family and friends of the victim, but it’s just not enough. We’re never going to bring him back, we can’t undo what’s been done. That’s a very tragic part of the circumstances.”

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