VALDOSTA —
Justice was relatively swift Wednesday in prosecuting a pair of men accused in the May 2011 home invasion of an Ousley Road residence, according to the Southern District Attorney’s Office.
A Lowndes County jury convicted both James Edwards, 48, and Clinton Davis, 32, of burglary, armed robbery and kidnapping Wednesday when their three-day trial concluded in Lowndes County Superior Court, said Assistant Southern District Attorney Brad Shealy who prosecuted the case. Davis was also convicted on a count of aggravated assault and five counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, Shealy said.
At approximately 1 p.m., May 17, 2011, Davis carried a 45-caliber handgun during the invasion and Edwards brandished a small knife, said Shealy. Davis pistol-whipped a male occupant several times during the incident, according to Shealy, inflicting a head laceration that required more than a dozen staples.
The offenders bound their victims and locked them in a child’s room to buy time for an escape, Shealy said, but the two were in handcuffs roughly a half hour after the incident began.
Lowndes County sheriff’s deputies located Davis and Edwards near Quitman approximately 10 minutes after receiving the a “BOLO (Be On The Lookout)” from dispatch and composing suspect profiles.
Deputies searched the getaway car which belonged to Edwards, and found a knife, a gun, a purse, a wallet and a safe among other stolen goods on the vehicle’s back seat, Shealy said. During the trial, the prosecution tied DNA on the recovered gun to that of the male victim, Shealy said.
“It’s no small deal to break into someone’s house, bind them and deprive them of their goods,” said Shealy. “The jurors realized how serious home invasions are and the verdict was returned quickly.”
Davis and Edwards are scheduled to receive their sentences on March 15, Shealy said. A pre-sentence investigation will likely be held to review Edwards’ prior conviction before his punishment is determined, said Shealy.
Edwards was represented by Valerie Bryant and Davis by Terry Schwock. Southern Circuit Judge Jim Hardy heard the trial.
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A Lowndes County jury convicted both James Edwards, 48, and Clinton Davis, 32, of burglary, armed robbery and kidnapping. Metro Creative Graphics
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Jury convicts men in Lowndes home invasion
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