John Willoughby: Greene Publishing, Inc.
It's been more than a year-and-a-half after the murder of Travis Lavonte Solomon, and the jury to determine Nicholas Rashawn Davis', 28, of Greenville, guilt or innocence, was not able to come to a decision. After one mistrial and a mishap with the jury pool, Davis is still without a verdict, guilty or not-guilty.
The road has a been a long and winding one since the death of Solomon, who was 21 at the time, was discovered in the area of 185 Apopka Trl., in Madison, on March 18, 2016. Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) Sheriff Ben Stewart confirmed that MCSO was working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to uncover more information about the murder.
On April 20, 2016, investigators obtained a “first degree murder while armed” warrant and a “possession of firearm by convicted felon” warrant for Davis. Investigators attempted to coordinate with Davis, his family and his attorney to meet with them and turn himself in, but Davis refused to cooperate and remained at-large. On Saturday, April 21, 2016, at approximately 5 p.m., investigators received information that Davis was possibly in the area of 185 Apopka Trl. Investigators went to the area and were given consent to search the residences for Davis, but he was not located.
At approximately 9:20 p.m. that night, investigators received confirmed information that Davis was at the residence of Michael Terrance Pride, in the area of 185 Apopka Trl. The Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team (SERT) quickly developed a plan to take Davis into custody.
SERT arrived in the area at 10 p.m. and surrounded the residence. SERT utilized their Public Address speaker to call out the occupants of the residence and eventually were met at the front door by Pride. SERT members immediately started taking Pride into custody while further observing Davis standing inside the residence. While SERT members were dealing with Pride, other SERT members quickly pursued Davis inside the residence and took him into custody without incident. Davis was charged with First Degree Murder While Armed and Possession of a Firearm by a convicted felon.
Since Davis' arrest, two more charges have been added to his record: Introduction of contraband into a detention facility, added on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017; and Tampering with a witness, added on Friday, July 28, 2017.
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, jury selection was held, and the trial for Davis was set to begin following the selection process. A number of citizens were selected to go through the process of gathering a jury for a trial. Judge Andrew Decker was close to seating a jury when he learned there were not enough citizens in attendance to complete a jury, which consists of twelve jurors and two alternates. The lack of sufficient attendees was due to a message some had received on the previous evening. A majority of the citizens who called the number given to them, received a message saying they weren't needed, but that message was for a trial date from earlier in October. The message did not state that all jurors were excused from the Nov. 1 selection date.
Most recently, Davis was transported to the Madison County Courthouse for the trial that began on Tuesday, Jan. 23. The trial ended in a hung jury on Friday, Jan. 26, when the jury could not reach a verdict. Judge Decker declared a mistrial for the second time.
So, what's next? On Wednesday, Feb. 7, Billy Washington, Madison County Clerk of Court, stated that an ongoing proceeding is currently pending. “What the State Attorney could do is come back with lesser or the same charges,” said Washington. “I'm sure we'll reset, but it's up to the State Attorney.”