Syracuse, NY – Syracuse police have arrested a 32-year-old man in the shooting death of a teenager Thursday. Tommy K. Davis, 32, is in custody at the Justice Center Jail on a second-degree murder charge. Davis also is charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Davis's arraignment was postponed this morning when a Syracuse City Court judge challenged the...
Syracuse, NY – Syracuse police have arrested a 32-year-old man in the shooting death of a teenager Thursday.
Tommy K. Davis, 32, is in custody at the Justice Center Jail on a second-degree murder charge. Davis also is charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Davis's arraignment was postponed this morning when a Syracuse City Court judge challenged the sufficiency of the paperwork filed by prosecutors.
Court papers filed in the case give Davis' address as 147 Reed Ave.
The papers allege Davis intentionally caused the death of Kiwan Rush, 17, about 12:18 a.m. Thursday at the 100 block of Eastman Avenue by firing a shot that hit Rush in the back. The bullet pierced Rush's aorta, causing his death, the papers indicate.
The papers also allege that Davis possessed a weapon and fired it. The projectile that killed Rush was recovered from his body and turned in as evidence, the papers say.
The charges were based on information from a witness, the papers say. That person was not identified in the documents.
Police found Rush unconscious and not breathing following the shooting. He was taken to Upstate University Hospital with a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at 1:03 a.m., Chief Frank Fowler said at a news conference 10 hours after Rush’s death.
Police officials announced late Thursday that they had made an arrest but did not identify the suspect. They have scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m.
Davis was sentenced in 2002 to serve up to five years in prison for criminal possession of a weapon and attempted criminal possession of a weapon, state Department of Criminal Justice Services records show. He returned to prison on a parole violation on Oct. 8., 2009, and was released again on July 1, those records show.
Judge Langston McKinney balked at going forward with Davis's arraignment based on the paperwork filed by the prosecution.
The judge questioned the sufficiency of the document, noting it provided no proof of any intent by Davis to cause a death.
Assistant District Attorney Jeff Schiano then handed the judge a new felony complaint.
But McKinney said that wasn't sufficient. The judge noted the new document indicates the murder charge is based on statements from two witnesses who said they saw Davis fire a gun into a crowd.
McKinney told the prosecutor that still didn't include any proof of intent to commit murder.
The judge suggested the prosecution redo the paperwork to charge Davis with murder under the theory that he acted recklessly with depraved indifference to human life instead of acting intentionally.
McKinney then postponed Davis's arraignment until later this morning.
We’ll post more information as it becomes available.
Jim O'Hara and John Mariani contributed to this report.