A man accused of walking up to two men fighting on a Portsmouth street two years ago and fatally shooting one of them in the head was found not guilty of all charges Wednesday.
It took a jury in Portsmouth Circuit Court just 20 minutes to acquit Marceon Davis of the first-degree murder and weapon counts he faced, according to his attorney, Nathan Chapman. Davis, 24, was released from the city jail shortly afterward, where he’d been held without bond since his September 2022 arrest. A spokeswoman for the Portsmouth commonwealth’s attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The shooting happened the afternoon of Sept. 3, 2022, in a residential area at the corner of South and Green streets, near the city’s Olde Towne.
Officers found 21-year-old Jaquan White with a single gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Also shot was Jamal Williams, then 18, who had multiple wounds.
Witnesses told police that White and another man, Johnathan Jamar Thomas, had agreed to meet at the spot to fight. The men also had agreed to put their guns aside.
Shortly before the fight began, Thomas walked out of sight for a while, then returned, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case. After White began to overpower Thomas, the two men fell to the ground, the affidavit said.
It was at about that time that a gray Kia sedan emerged from the area where Thomas had gone before the fight began, the affidavit said. A man exited the vehicle, calmly walked toward White and Thomas with his gun drawn, and shot White, the document said.
The man then continued to shoot at the witnesses as they fled, with Williams being struck four times. Williams fired back, striking the Kia as it fled. Doorbell camera video obtained by police showed the Kia arriving and circling the area, the affidavit said.
Police located the Kia and learned the owner had loaned it to her boyfriend, Marceon Davis, the day of the shooting. They also learned that Davis was friends with Thomas.
A witness to the shooting later identified Davis as the gunman, the affidavit said, and Davis turned himself in a couple of weeks later.
Only one prosecution witness, a woman who was Thomas’ girlfriend, identified Davis as the gunman, Chapman said. But on cross-examination, the woman admitted she’d been unable to identify him with certainty when shown a photo lineup shortly after the shooting.
The prosecution had attempted to call Williams — the man injured in the shooting — as a witness, Chapman said. But Circuit Judge Kenneth Melvin granted a defense motion to prevent him from testifying due to a deal Williams had with prosecutors concerning charges he faced in this case and in another shooting that happened two months later.
Jane Harper, [email protected]
