In the early morning hours of August 8, 2017, a summer night in Baltimore turned tragic for 15-year-old Tyrese Davis. The young man, a male, was walking home with his brother in the 1600 block of West Franklin Street in the city's Harlem Park neighborhood. Their path was abruptly blocked by a car that pulled up behind them. A man emerged from the passenger side, brandishing a handgun and demanding their belongings.
Faced with sudden danger, the two brothers split up and ran in opposite
directions. A single gunshot echoed through the street. When his brother circled back to find him, he discovered Tyrese lying in an alley with a gunshot wound to his head. Emergency services were called, and the teenager was rushed to a local hospital, but his injuries proved fatal.
The investigation into the senseless killing led police to a suspect, Craig Williams, who was 24 years old at the time. He was arrested on August 19, 2017, and a handgun was found in his possession. Ballistics testing later confirmed that the gun recovered from Williams was the same weapon used to kill Tyrese Davis. Investigators also linked Williams to another murder and a carjacking that occurred around the same time.
Craig Williams was brought to trial, where a jury convicted him of first-degree felony murder, attempted armed robbery, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence. At his trial, it was argued that Williams was an active and willing participant in the string of violent crimes. For the murder of Tyrese Davis, Williams was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
