MIAMI (WSVN) - A grieving mother made her final plea for justice merely hours before her son’s murderer would receive his prison sentence as the defense and prosecutors delivered their closing arguments.
On the third day of the sentencing hearing for 27-year-old Tamarius Davis, the mother of Dustin Wakefield hoped for accountability.
“It keeps happening if we don’t hold people accountable for the evil that’s in their heart and what they’re doing,” said Lora. “It needs to stop. It needs to stop. Our children are being killed now.”
The hearing of 27-year-old Tamarius Davis began on Monday, after Davis pled guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder charges for fatally shooting 21-year-old Dustin Wakefield in front of his wife and 1-year-old on Miami Beach in 2021.
Wakefield was visiting from Colorado, eating with his family at La Cerveceria, along the 1400 block of Ocean Drive, when Davis approached him and pointed a firearm at Wakefield’s baby.
Wakefield pled for this son’s life, and was then shot by Davis.
“He chose to continue to shoot that child’s father. Not once, not twice, not three times, not four, but five,” said prosecutor Casey Hughes.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys made their closing statements on Wednesday with the state pushing for life behind bars.
“The Wakefields have been forced to accept a life sentence,” said Hughes. “They will mourn the loss of Dustin for the rest of their lives. Tamarius Blair Davis deserves that same life sentence.”
Davis, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and shackled, watched on as his attorneys asked the judge for no more than 25 years in prison.
The defense claimed Davis was unaware of his actions, as he had ingested psychedelic mushrooms prior to the shooting.
“No one is seeking in any way to excuse Blair for what he did,” said defense attorney Juan Mourin.
The defense said Davis is regretful and takes full accountability.
“He’s talking to himself, mumbling to himself, ‘Someone should just kill me, I never thought I could do something like this,'” said Mourin. “That’s what he said when he’s alone in the room, unaware anybody’s listening, because he could not fathom how he was going to live with himself after just learning what he had done. That’s the real Blair, your honor, and he’s the one you’ll be sentencing.”
On Tuesday, Davis took the stand, emotional and apologizing to the family he changed forever.
“I will continue to pray for the Wakefield family in the hopes that everyone hurt by my inexcusable actions can find a way to heal,” said Davis.
While Lora shared that she forgave Davis for the murder on the first day of the hearing, she still believes there should be justice.
“I think the world needs to see that there’s consequences to the choices that you make,” said Lora.
The judge ended the hearing, saying she has a lot to think about before handing down the official sentence on Thursday morning.
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