Left inset: Dustin Wakefield (GoFundMe). Right inset: Tamarius Davis (Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation). Background: The Miami, Fla., sidewalk cafe where Tamarius Davis shot and killed Dustin Wakefield as the father shielded his young son (WPLG/YouTube).
A Florida judge has sentenced a man to decades behind bars for killing a father who intervened after a gun was pointed at his 1-year-old son. Witnesses said the gunman approached a sidewalk cafe, aimed at the child and declared, “It’s time to die,” before the boy’s father moved between them.
Tamarius Davis, now 27, received a 50-year prison sentence followed by 25 years of probation Thursday for the 2021 killing of Dustin Wakefield, a 21-year-old tourist from Colorado, in Miami.
Wakefield’s relatives told the Miami Herald that he immediately placed himself between Davis and his infant son before the shooter opened fire. The deadly confrontation took place in August 2021.
“This guy came in with a gun waving it, saying it’s time to die,” Wakefield’s uncle, Mike Wakefield, told the newspaper. When Davis pointed the weapon at the child, Wakefield reportedly pleaded, “He’s only a boy.”
Davis was 22 when the shooting occurred. He pleaded guilty in May to second-degree murder. According to Wakefield’s uncle, Davis continued firing after Wakefield had fallen to the ground, striking him multiple times.
An arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime stated that Wakefield suffered at least one gunshot wound to the head. Several witnesses watched the attack and identified Davis as the shooter.
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Wakefield’s mother, Lora Wakefield, said her son knowingly put himself in danger to protect both his child and others nearby. “I know that he decidedly chose to lay his life down and protect people even in that place of being shot, because more people could have died that day,” she told local NBC affiliate KUSA after Davis entered his guilty plea. “He was not only a hero of my grandbaby but a hero of many around him.”
Court records alleged that Davis had been using mushrooms and felt “empowered” when he approached the family. Wakefield was dining with relatives at a sidewalk cafe in the 1400 block of Ocean Drive.
Davis later told investigators that he had selected the Wakefield family at random.
Lora Wakefield said she had forgiven Davis but still believed he should face severe consequences. “You just can’t take a life,” she said. “You took my son’s life, you gave him no mercy, so I believe he needs to do life in prison.”
The judge said she sought a punishment that reflected the seriousness of the killing while leaving at least “some hope,” however limited, according to local Fox and ABC affiliate WSVN. Prosecutors had requested a life sentence, while Davis’ attorneys argued for a term of 25 years or less, the station reported.
“Each and every one of you said that anything less than a life sentence was not justice and yet you all understand that nothing will bring your son back,” Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Laura Stuzin told the family.
Defense attorney Juan Mourin told WSVN that the case had no outcome capable of bringing comfort to everyone involved. “This is a case that was not going to have a happy ending for anybody no matter what,” he said.