A 23-year-old Harvey man was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for the killing of a Slidell man in 2024, according to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office.
Dekias Stevenson was found guilty last week of second-degree murder in the death of Andrew Davis IV, 21, who was shot and died in Harvey on August 17, 2024.
Prosecutors claimed Stevenson took Davis to an apartment building in the 1000 block of Manhattan Boulevard to buy marijuana. The confrontation occurred after Stevenson and Lavanta Carto, 28, entered Davis’ vehicle.
According to sources, the first of nine shots fired inside the automobile wounded Davis in the face, and he died. Davis’ girlfriend was also in the car when the shots were fired, but she was able to exit and flee to safety as the shooting began.
Davis’ family addressed the long-term consequences of his death at his sentencing hearing on Thursday.
“The man I loved was murdered, and I witnessed it with my own eyes,” Davis’ girlfriend said in a statement. “Every day, I carry the weight of what happened.”
During the hearing, Davis’ mother addressed Stevenson, claiming he knew her son and described him as a lovely and caring person.
“You knew my child,” Davis’ mother explained. “You knew how affectionate and kind he was. If you wanted to rob him, you should have just done it. “You did not have to kill him.”
Before Stevenson’s sentencing, Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach refused the defense’s previous attempts to overturn the verdict or order a new trial.
Stevenson was sentenced to an additional 40 years for attempting to conceal evidence by swapping the pistol used in the shooting for $500 worth of marijuana, according to prosecutors.
The judge ruled that the sentences be served concurrently.
Kovach described the homicide as cold-blooded, noting that Stevenson displayed no remorse at the sentencing hearing.
In Louisiana, second-degree murder is punishable by life in prison, with no possibility of parole, probation, or a suspended sentence.
Stevenson is the fourth person convicted of Davis’ death. Lavanta Carto was condemned to life in prison; Joshua Tumbar, 30, was sentenced to seven years; and Janisha Hymes, 24, was sentenced to two and a half years.
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