Man charged in boxer's death claims self-defense

VIRGINIA BEACH

A 22-year-old Hampton man accused of killing an up-and-coming boxer at the Oceanfront in July was outnumbered and acting in self-defense when he fired his gun into a crowd, a defense attorney said during a preliminary hearing Thursday in General District Court.

Still, a judge heard enough to send the case against Eric Levon Davis Jr. to a grand jury to decide whether he should be tried for second-degree murder and a firearm charge.

Davis is accused in the shooting death of Cordaro Daniel Simpkins, 22, during an altercation.

Davis had perhaps acted recklessly, public defender Taite Westendorf said, but he never intended to harm anyone.

Westendorf argued prosecutors had not established the probable cause to support the charges. There was no evidence Davis acted with malice, the attorney said.

"He brought a deadly weapon to a fight," prosecutor Paul Powers said.

Virginia Beach Police detective Janine Hall testified that Davis told her someone had punched Davis' brother in the face and had also tried to strike Davis before the shooting.

Davis first fired five shots into the air in an effort to break up the crowd, he told Hall, then fired on the group when he saw someone reach for what he believed was a gun, she testified.

Several people wearing T-shirts bearing the victim's name and photo attended the hearing.