THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110680
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Preston Otis Davis III, a 23-year-old Suffolk man, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for stabbing a Smithfield man to death at a local meat-packing plant in July.
And while the jury took less than an hour to reject Davis' claim of self-defense and convict him of second-degree murder, it deliberated twice before the judge could accept the sentencing recommendation.
According to testimony in the two-day trial, on July 6, Davis plunged a boning knife into Eric T. Giles' chest at Gwaltney of Smithfield's packing plant in Smithfield.
The stabbing was not disputed. But Davis' defense was, and when the jury of eight women and four men returned to the courtroom, it was clear they did not believe the killing was self-defense.
After the guilty verdict was read, Davis' family members wept quietly in the courtroom.
The sentencing process, however, was more complicated late Thursday afternoon.
Thirty minutes after Judge Rodham T. Delk told the jury to sentence Davis to no fewer than five years and no more than 40 on the second-degree murder conviction, the jury returned with a 10-year sentence.
But when Davis' defense attorney, John D. Eure Jr., polled the jury for the sentencing verdict, juror Ellen Savage broke into tears and said she did not agree with the 10-year sentence.
Judge Delk sent the jury back for a second try to reach a unanimous decision.
``That's the first time in the 27 years I've been practicing law that I've ever seen a break in the jury,'' Eure said. ``But that's why you always poll the jury. It has to be a unanimous decision.''
Commonwealth's Attorney W. Parker Councill said he also had not seen a jury break in his 19 years of practicing law.
About 30 minutes later, the jury returned - with Savage still apparently upset - and again recommended a 10-year sentence for Davis. Savage could not be reached for comment after the trial.
Judge Delk withheld formal sentencing until he can review a presentencing report. Davis is to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 21.
According to testimony during the trial, which began Wednesday, LaTonya Montgomery, identified as Giles' girlfriend, said Davis had damaged her car in the early morning the day of the murder, when Davis and her brother, Robert Montgomery, got into a fight in Newport News.
LaTonya Montgomery said she was picking Giles up from work at the packing plant after his shift about 3:30 p.m. July 6 when Giles decided to return to the plant, where Davis was starting his shift, to confront him about the damage to the car.
William Watkins, 28, of Suffolk, testified that he was standing nearby when he saw Giles approach Davis and threaten to kill him.
Giles ``kept pushing him in the chest and saying he was going to kill him,'' Watkins testified. Davis ``said he didn't want to fight him, and he kept walking away. He walked away three times.''
Watkins said Giles then put his hand under his shirt and behind his belt and said, ``Where's my piece?''
``To my knowledge, that's a gun,'' Watkins testified. Davis' reaction at that point, Watkins said, ``was to defend himself.''
Watkins said he then saw Davis appear to punch Giles in the chest, but ``then I saw his blade come out of the man's chest.'' Watkins testified that Davis, dressed and ready for work, had a boning knife strapped to his side.
Smithfield Police Lt. Phil Hardison testified that no weapon was found on Giles after the stabbing.
Watkins testified he saw another man roll Giles, still alive, onto his side. `` `Take off the piece, because it's hurting me,' '' Watkins quoted Giles as saying to that man - and, Watkins said, the man ``pulled out something and walked off. It looked like a gun. It had a black handle.''
Giles died at the plant some time later. The knife blade had pierced his heart and damaged a lung.
Asked whether anyone else removed anything from Giles, Watkins said other people were present. But during the trial, no one confirmed Watkins' recollection.
And so the jury rejected the self-defense argument.
The trial got off to an awkward start Wednesday, when a key defense witness did not show up in court and Isle of Wight sheriff's deputies had to find him.
There were also reports of witnesses squabbling during breaks and in witness rooms during the proceedings.
Judge Delk told the witnesses at one point: ``If you got to woof at each other, you can do it down there in the lockup.''
And addressing others in the courtroom, he said: ``If you're not a witness, and you have any trouble abiding by the rules, I would suggest that you go home.''
At the trial's close Thursday, Davis apologized to Giles' family.
KEYWORDS: STABBING ASSAULT INJURIES TRIAL
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