Cape man sentenced to 50 years in prison in shooting case

A Cape Girardeau man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Monday for first-degree assault and armed criminal action stemming from a 2014 shooting.

Judge Benjamin Lewis sentenced Tommy Joe Davis III, 33, to 30 years in prison on the assault conviction and 20 years on the armed criminal action conviction. The sentences will run consecutively, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh said in a news release.

A jury convicted Davis on Nov. 8 of shooting Christopher Watson in the stomach at Watson’s home on Olive Street in Cape Girardeau.

Davis informed the court after a pretrial conference he would not attend the trial, according to court records. The trial proceeded without the defendant present.

The jury took 16 minutes to convict Davis after the prosecution presented its case, court records show.

According to a probable-cause statement, one witness said Davis, Watson and Davis’ girlfriend may have been involved in a love triangle, which led to animosity.

Davis told police he wanted to retrieve property from the house where Watson lived and where his girlfriend had briefly resided, according to the statement.

Davis said he would “do whatever it takes” to retrieve his property, according to the statement.

Earlier this year, Davis dumped his lawyer, telling Judge Michael Gardner during a pretrial hearing, “I do not want this dude to represent me.” He later declined the services of a public defender.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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