In the early morning hours of February 4, 2016, 50-year-old Denny Lee Davis was working as a clerk at the Stop N' Go, a 24-hour liquor store on Warnock Street in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a job he had held for about a year, and he was a familiar face to the customers, known for his dedicated work ethic. Tragically, his shift on this Thursday would be his last.
Around 2 a.m., a 32-year-old man named James Spaulding entered the store.
An argument broke out between Spaulding and the employees. The confrontation escalated with horrific speed when Spaulding produced a handgun and fired, fatally striking Denny Davis. Spaulding also allegedly fired at another person in the store, but missed. His violent spree did not end there. After leaving the store, he walked a short distance and fired his gun into a nearby home where residents were asleep.
Spaulding then fled the scene in a pickup truck, sparking a police pursuit that ended on the Watterson Expressway near the interchange with I-65. After wrecking his vehicle, he attempted to run but was quickly apprehended by officers. During the arrest, he reportedly bit one of the officers and caused damage to a police cruiser.
Following his arrest, James Spaulding was charged with a litany of offenses, including murder, attempted murder, wanton endangerment, fleeing and evading police, third-degree assault, and first-degree criminal mischief. In April 2018, a jury found James Spaulding guilty of the murder of Denny Davis. The jury recommended a sentence of 33 years in prison for the senseless act of violence that took the life of a hardworking man.
