TACOMA, WA – Today a jury found Anthony Tyrone Clark, 22, guilty as charged, convicting him of Murder in the First Degree, Robbery in the First Degree, Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the Second Degree. In 2011, the defendant robbed and murdered 16-year-old Devondre Dapree Davis.
"Deputy Prosecutors Fred Wist and Jason Ruyf did an outstanding job prosecuting this brutal murder," said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.
On September 7, 2011, Davis arrived at the defendant's residence with a gun and cocaine. Clark let him into the apartment, then stole the cocaine and shot him in the back of the head. Shortly after, the defendant left his residence and approached his neighbors to assist him in selling the cocaine. They declined. The defendant then asked the neighbors to help him dispose of a body. They assumed it was a joke, until the defendant opened the trash can in the alley and showed the neighbor the body. The neighbor contacted Tacoma Police.
A Tacoma Police Department officer responded to the scene and found the victim's body resting upside down in the trash can. Detectives searched the defendant's apartment and found blood stains on the floor, a .22 caliber shell casings, a .22 caliber handgun and a vial of cocaine inside the toilet tank. The defendant testified at trial and asserted the shooting was an accident. Presented with all the evidence, the jury concluded otherwise, finding that the defendant intentionally shot the victim as part of a robbery.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, May 17, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom 315. He faces a standard range sentence between 35 and 43 years in prison.
For more information, please contact Kelly Kelstrup at (253) 798-7792, [email protected].