MIAMI (WSVN) - A man has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a 21-year-old man while he dined at an Ocean Drive restaurant back in 2021.
Tamarius Davis stood before a judge in a Miami courtroom on Wednesday to provide his plea.
“Are you prepared to go forward today, sir, and plead guilty?” said Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida Judge Laura Stuzin.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Davis.
The fate of 27-year-old Davis now hangs in the hands of a judge.
According to Miami Beach Police, victim Dustin Wakefield, who was visiting from Colorado, was eating with his family at La Cerveceria, along the 1400 block of Ocean Drive, in August 2021, when an armed Davis approached him. Detectives said Davis initially pointed his firearm at the victim’s 1-year-old son, but Wakefield pleaded with him.
Wakefield said, “Don’t shoot my son. He’s just a baby.” Davis then turned and shot the child’s father, according to police.
Following the tragic shooting, Sabrina Berlin, the victim’s cousin, spoke about her loved one over the phone with 7News.
“It’s really hard to know the best of us is gone, and he did do it trying to protect his son,” she said. “His dad was a hero and saved him.”
Redacted police body camera video captured the gut-wrenching moments after the shots were fired. Wakefield’s wife was seen kneeling on the ground and screaming.
“Take me with my husband, please!” Wakefield’s wife yelled to the shooter.
Seconds later, Davis surrendered to responding officers in a nearby alley.
“Roll over. Turn around, man,” said the officer.
At one point in body camera footage, Davis is heard admitting to the crime.
“I did it. I did it,” he said.
Davis, originally from Georgia, was cuffed and seen later on video at the Miami Beach Police Headquarters.
“I had a good life, man, and I just [expletive] it up,” he told officers.
On Wednesday, years after the crime, Davis admitted to the crime and now could face anywhere between 25 years and life in prison.
“Count one: murder, second-degree with a weapon. This is a life felony. Count two: attempted second-degree murder deadly weapon firearm. It’s a felony in the first-degree. And count three: child abuse,” said Stuzin.
A pre-sentencing hearing is set for June 12.
His sentencing date has yet to be set.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.