Arianna Davis, Wilson Wesley Chavis (Images via FBI; Prince George County Police Department)
The owner of a funeral home has been sentenced to prison for the murder of a pallbearer during a burial in Washington, D.C., for a 10-year-old girl who was fatally shot by a stray bullet.
Wilson Wesley Chavis, aged 50, who owns Compassion and Serenity Funeral Home, was found guilty in February of killing Ronald Steven Banks, a 30-year-old pallbearer and a friend of Arianna Miracle Davis, at her burial on June 6, 2023. On Friday, a judge handed Chavis a 35-year prison sentence, as reported by WTOP.
“This sentencing sends a strong and clear message that such violence will not be accepted in our community. Our sympathies remain with the families affected by this tragic event, and we are dedicated to ensuring that those responsible for such violent acts are held fully accountable,” stated Tara Jackson, State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, in a declaration to local news outlets.
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The bloodshed happened while the burial service for Arianna was about to get underway. The defendant confronted two people affiliated with a second funeral service company with which Chavis had a long-standing business dispute, police said. Several funeral attendees became upset with Chavis and then confronted him over his behavior.
Chavis next pulled out a gun and fired two shots, striking Banks and grazing a cousin of Arianna.
Arianna’s mother, Antionette Belk, described the horror to local NBC affiliate WRC.
“I’m so traumatized that this happened at my daughter’s burial site. I didn’t even get to lay her down, even to put her in the ground, and another incident happened,” she said. “This is so traumatizing to me, my children, my whole family. It’s trauma after trauma.”
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The devastated mother of four, a teacher, reportedly said that the defendant yelled, “I own this body!” and spit on a pastor at the scene.
After the shooting, Chavis tried to flee in his vehicle, but he didn’t get too far because an officer with the Morningside Police Department spotted him and pulled him over, Prince George’s County Police said. Chavis later claimed he acted in self-defense.
Banks died at a hospital. He had been carrying the casket for Arianna. She was tragically shot by a stray bullet returning home from a Mother’s Day event while in the back seat of her family’s car in Washington, D.C., according to the FBI. Three men face charges in Arianna’s murder.
Local Fox affiliate WTTG reported that Chavis had a temporary peace order filed against him then by the president of the rival funeral home — after he allegedly made threats.
Chavis faces up to 65 years in prison when he is set to be sentenced on July 11, online records show.
