CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Mecklenburg County jury convicted a man of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison for the shooting death of a 22-year-old in 2019.
Javier Perez-Concepcion was found guilty of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon for the death of 22-year-old Donqwavias Davis.
The trial began on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, and concluded on Thursday, Feb. 13, with a guilty verdict, conviction, and sentencing.
Judge Archie sentenced Perez-Concepcion to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder charge and 12 to 24 months in prison for the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge. That sentence will run consecutive to the life sentence.
According to authorities, the deadly counter occurred on May 1, 2019, when Davis and Perez-Concepcion came upon each other in the pool area of the University Village apartments.
Police said the two argued at the pool briefly and Perez-Concepcion left the area and came back about 17 minutes later with a .45 caliber handgun and an acquaintance who had a 9 mm gun.
The two were accused of corning Davis on the patio of the pool.
Authorities said Perez-Concepcion’s acquaintance had placed his gun on a nearby pool table and he and Davis got into a brief physical fight.
Police said Davis then grabbed the gun off the table, ejected the magazine, tossed it away, cleared a round from the chamber, and dropped the gun, in an effort to de-escalate the situation. Perez-Concepcion then fired four shots, three of which struck Davis.
Perez-Concepcion drove away from the scene following the shooting and Davis was rushed to the hospital where he died from his injuries, authorities said.
CMPD detectives were able to find four .45 caliber discharged cartridge casings at the crime scene. During their investigation, Perez-Concepcion was identified as the suspect and he was taken into custody several days later on May 4, 2019, at his northeast Charlotte home.
The .45 caliber handgun was found inside the home by CMPD detectives. Laboratory tests showed that the gun matched the discharged cartridge casings from the crime scene.
