A 27-year-old man who fatally shot a father as he tried to protect his one-year-old son has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Tamarius Blair Davis was sentenced on Thursday for the August 24, 2021, murder of 21-year-old Dustin Wakefield, who was eating with his family during a vacation in Miami.

Davis must serve at least 25 years before becoming eligible for parole. He will receive credit for the five years he has already spent in custody, the Miami Herald reported.

Davis pleaded guilty in May to second-degree murder, attempted murder and child abuse charges stemming from the shooting. Witnesses said he approached Wakefield’s family, aimed a pistol at the toddler and declared: “It’s time to die.”

Before Davis could shoot at the child, Wakefield moved in front of his son. He was struck five times, including at least once in the head.

Video recorded moments after the gunfire captured people screaming outside the oceanside La Cerveceria restaurant. One witness said Davis appeared to dance over the dying father’s body.

Davis later told police he had been high on mushrooms and had “randomly chosen” Wakefield as his target after attacking another man on the street just minutes earlier.

His attorney has also said Davis believed he was inside a video game during the attack, CBS Miami reports.

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, however, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Laura Stuzin questioned whether drug use alone explained the killing.

“This was not a mistake or just a bad episode. This was preventable,” Stuzin told Davis.

“There was something lurking in your inner being that was dark, and you knew it. You could have asked for help.”

The judge said the case was among the most difficult she or any other judge would ever face. She had to weigh prosecutors’ request for a life sentence against defense attorneys’ plea for a sentence of no more than 25 years, according to WSVN.

“I have tried my best to impose a sentence which punishes, but also allows for some hope, even though it may be small,” Stuzin said. She noted Davis’ age and guilty plea, which spared Wakefield’s family the ordeal of a lengthy trial.

“Your son, husband, father and brother was in the prime of his life and was, by all accounts, an exemplary human being,” she told Wakefield’s relatives. “Nothing, including a life sentence, will bring your son back.”

Davis showed no visible reaction as Stuzin delivered the sentence. His attorney, Juan Mourin, said it was “a case that was not going to have a happy ending for anybody no matter what.”

“There’s so much tragedy to go around,” Mourin said, adding that “the Davis family wants to reiterate how much their hearts are broken for the Wakefield family.”

Wakefield’s relatives were later seen leaving the courtroom in a rush before embracing one another in the hallway.

Wakefield’s widow, Karina Olguin, previously recalled the horror of her beloved husband’s final moments as she fought back tears. 

She said that her husband begged for his life, telling Davis he had a son, Elijah, who was just a one-year-old. 

‘I remember Dustin saying, like, “Please, I have a son, he’s just a boy.” And that’s when it all happened,’ Olguin said.

‘I was like, “Dustin, the baby.” I yelled. Dustin got up, got Eli and took him to my grandma.’ 

Davis then fired shots at her husband. ‘It was so fast,’ Olguin said.

She remembered her husband ‘as a hero, as a courageous man and as an amazing, loving father’ for shielding their child from harm.

Just moments earlier, Davis was caught on camera firing at another man, who escaped unharmed.

Davis fled the restaurant, police said, and was captured in a nearby alley. 

Cellphone video obtained by the Miami Herald showed Davis lying spread-eagle on his back and smiling as three officers approach with their guns pointed towards him yelling commands, warning him that if he touches his gun he will be shot.

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Davis then rolled onto his side into a fetal position, before again rolling onto his back as officers approached.

Davis screamed ‘I give, I give, I give’ as officers flipped him onto his stomach and handcuffed him. A black handgun lay nearby about 10 feet away.

In court this week, Davis admitted that the murder was ‘unspeakably awful.’

He apologized to his own family at the time and told the victim’s loved ones there are ‘no words I can express to the Wakefield family to express how sorry I am.’

Davis also insisted that his actions on the day of Wakefield’s murder were not representative of the man he is, as he claimed he could not remember how the day unfolded after taking the drugs.

‘I was raised better than that,’ the killer said. ‘There are no words that will come out of my mouth that describe the pain and remorse I carry… every day.’ 

Several of his family members also took the stand and emphasized how their family and the Wakefields have something in common – their strong faith in God.

Tommy Davis, the killer’s father, for example, described his son as a respectful, calm, hardworking man who always joined the family at church.

Growing up, he said, Davis played baseball and football and he never had any disciplinary issues at school.

The elder Davis then went on to say he did not recognize his son as the man who took Wakefield’s life that day.

‘I’m shocked. I’m just totally dumbfounded,’ he said.

‘I would like to personally apologize to the Wakefield family. The person you saw is not the Blair that we know,’ he continued, using his son’s middle name.

Deangelina Davis, the killer’s mother, also broke down on the stand, saying she couldn’t fathom how her son shot and killed someone.

She then went on to say she wanted the opportunity to sit down with the Wakefield family, insisting her son would want that too.

‘He did a monstrous thing,’ she admitted. ‘He’s not a monster.’

Talia Brianna Davis was also seen wiping away tears as she said her brother committing murder was ‘unimaginable.’

‘That is not my brother. That is not the version of my brother that I grew up with, that I know,’ she told the court, saying she wished her family and the Wakefields could have crossed paths differently so they could ‘experience the version of my brother that I know.

‘I’m so sorry that my brother… has played a role in this,’ the sister said, before turning to the Wakefields.

‘I know that nothing I could say could ever make up for what you guys are going through, for what my brother put you through.’ 

But Olguin also took the stand to share how the murder impacted her family.

She told how she, her husband and then one-year-old Elijah flew to Miami from their home in  Castle Rock, Colorado, for their first family vacation.

In the years since that fateful trip, Olguin said, Eli – who is now seven-years-old, has started asking more frequently about how his father died. At one point, she said she told him he was a ‘hero.’

The mother-of-one also said she is now left heartbroken for her young son because she grew up without a father and knows what that absence is like. 

‘When I became a mother, there was one thing I wanted more than anything: I wanted my son to grow up with a daddy,’ she said.

Wakefield’s father, Matthew Wakefield, meanwhile, said Davis decided that day to kill – but his son decided to surrender his life so that his son could live.

The heartbroken father added that his son would have helped Davis, bought him food and prayed with him if Davis had just asked.

‘What you asked for was his life,’ the elder Wakefield told his son’s killer. ‘So you got exactly what you asked for – my son’s life.’ 

A New Jersey mayor berated a resident during a heated council meeting, telling her to “get a job” and mocking her by asking whether she still lived in her parents’ basement.

Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick made the remarks after longtime resident Dana Tormollan confronted him on Oct. 19 over political letters she said had been included with her tax bills.

“I told you to stop sending me this crap,” Tormollan said as she approached the microphone during the public comment portion of the Toms River Township Council meeting.

“I didn’t send you anything,” Rodrick replied. “Did you get a job yet, Dana?”

“Are you still living in the basement at home?” the mayor added mockingly, prompting groans from people in the gallery.

Tormollan attempted to answer, but Rodrick continued questioning her about where she lived, appearing to suppress laughter as he spoke.

“I live in my own house and pay my own bills, so back off, jackass, because you’re collecting benefits on these people’s backs. You’re a piece of crap. Shut up,” the frustrated resident responded.

“Right, right, get a job,” Rodrick continued, even as Tormollan insisted that she already had one.

The confrontation soon spilled across the meeting room, with several attendees shouting at one another.

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The exchange intensified after Council President David Ciccozzi told Rodrick to stop “interrupting the public.”

Tormollan said the letter from Rodrick’s office highlighted accomplishments the mayor claimed to have achieved during his term.

“We had gotten our tax bills and his letter was in there full of things that were not true,” Tormollan told NJ.com after the meeting. “I was going to go in and just say, ‘Stop wasting residents’ money by sending out your political nonsense.’”

During her public comment, Tormollan challenged the accuracy of the figures cited in the letter. Rodrick and an ally pushed back, accusing her of lying.

“It’s right here, you jackass,” Tormollan said, slamming the letter onto the desk in front of the mayor.

Tormollan said her anger was also fueled by Rodrick’s treatment of older women who had spoken earlier in the meeting.

“If he was speaking to my mother that way, I would not sit here… It’s really gross and extremely unprofessional,” Tormollan told the outlet.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted 4-3 to approve a resolution of no confidence in Rodrick, citing his “reprehensible behavior, disruption of official proceedings and decorum violations.”

Rodrick also faced a recall campaign in February, but opponents failed to collect enough signatures to trigger an election.

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Thirty-seven United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) employees are being held by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, the agency’s new executive director told News Media on Wednesday. Some of the workers have been detained for nearly two years.

Luke J. Lindberg spoke as WFP personnel confront escalating dangers in several of the world’s most volatile conflict zones. Hundreds of aid workers have been killed while risking their lives to help others, he said.

“Right now in Yemen, we have 37 colleagues who are currently detained,” Lindberg said.

“These people are there to provide basic humanitarian services. They are not there to influence the political outcome of a conflict. We need to protect them and secure the release of our detained colleagues.”

Lindberg clarified that all 37 detainees are Yemeni nationals employed locally by the WFP. Some have been separated from their families for “nearly two years,” he said.

“It’s a really complex political environment,” Lindberg said, adding that no Americans are currently among those detained.

“They are all locally employed Yemenis,” he said.

Only three days after taking office, Lindberg raised the issue with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, highlighting the urgency of winning the workers’ release.

“Ambassador Waltz is aware, and the State Department team has done a great job of taking this seriously. Getting these people released is a priority for them, just as it is for us.”

“It’s been almost two years,” Lindberg said. “Away from their families. It breaks my heart.”

The detentions are taking place amid Yemen’s devastating civil war between the internationally recognized government and the Iran-backed Houthis. The conflict has crippled the economy and left millions reliant on humanitarian assistance.

More than 18 million people are facing acute food insecurity, including over two million children under the age of five who suffer from acute malnutrition.

“Our team operates in the most impossible and challenging conditions you can imagine around the world,” Lindberg said.

“People like me are not out in the field, handing food to people or cooking meals so they receive the nourishment they need. The wonderful people who choose to do this work are the real heroes.”

Lindberg said the WFP must carefully weigh the need to reach vulnerable communities against its responsibility to protect employees from unacceptable danger.

“There are areas we will enter and areas we cannot. The goal is to end the conflict and ensure humanitarian resources can reach those communities.

“Until that happens, there are places where we will not operate so our staff can remain safe and continue doing their work.”

The dangers extend beyond Yemen, with Lindberg saying conflict drives roughly two-thirds of acute food insecurity worldwide, with an estimated 266 million people facing severe hunger.

“It means the most challenging levels of hunger we can imagine,” Lindberg said.

The crisis has intensified pressure on humanitarian organizations to deliver food in some of the world’s most dangerous and inaccessible regions.

“But the World Food Programme really has a great team operating in over 120 countries around the world, doing this hard work each and every day,” he explained.

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Among the most urgent crises, he said, are those in Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia, where conflict, displacement and climate-related disasters have pushed vulnerable communities toward famine.

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has displaced millions and triggered famine conditions in parts of the country, with Lindberg saying Sudan will be his first field destination as executive director, reflecting the urgency of the crisis.

“Right now, we are approaching famine levels in three countries, predominantly in the Africa region, in Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia,” he said.

“And so those are flash points for me that are incredibly important for us to focus on, find the resources that should be available to help us meet those needs specifically.”

Other humanitarian emergencies include Gaza, where fighting, damaged infrastructure, restricted access and funding shortages have complicated food deliveries, and Haiti, where gang violence has disrupted aid access.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, fighting involving armed groups has displaced millions, while the war in Ukraine has also disrupted agricultural production and global food supply chains.

But Lindberg said one of the most disturbing consequences of these conflicts is the rising death toll among humanitarian workers with hundreds killed worldwide in recent years.

“Unfortunately, in the past couple of years, we’ve lost over 700 humanitarians around the world in their active duty.

“To me, that’s the worst possible outcome. It’s really unacceptable. And so yes, many of our World Food Programme colleagues have unfortunately been caught up in those circumstances as well.

“It’s my commitment to call each one of those family members should that happen, but it’s primarily my goal to not let that happen anymore.”

Lindberg’s appointment comes as the WFP confronts major humanitarian emergencies and funding pressures, while also bringing the agency a direct connection to President Donald Trump.

A South Dakota native, Lindberg previously served as undersecretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, overseeing international agricultural assistance programs, including the McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Food for Progress programs.

Lindberg succeeds Cindy McCain, who stepped down this year, with Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau serving in the interim. Since 1992, six executive directors were American.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Qu Dongyu appointed Lindberg after consulting the WFP Executive Board.

Lindberg said Trump personally called to ask him to serve as the U.S. nominee for the position, a conversation he described as evidence of the president’s commitment to humanitarian efforts.

“When I was nominated to lead the World Food Program by the United States, President Trump personally took the time to call me and offer me this opportunity,” Lindberg said.

“And to me, that shows his heart for this work. He is somebody that believes in peace around the world. And for me to have the opportunity to speak with him about how the World Food Programme can.

“To play an important role alongside the U.S. in addressing these humanitarian needs was a special moment that I’ll never forget.”

That said, Lindberg is adamant that his new job at the World Food Programme comes with a clear mission: “show up no matter what.”

That means focusing on delivering food to those who need it, regardless of the politics involved.

“To safely and effectively deliver food, and to really stay out of the politics of it, our goal is to feed hungry people.”