A teenager, who was previously given a brief stint in juvenile detention for his role in the fatal stabbing of a Barnard College freshman, finds himself in deeper legal trouble. Zyairr Davis is now incarcerated at Rikers Island, facing serious charges after allegedly firing a gun into a crowd and assaulting a counselor while in custody.
Back in 2019, when Davis was only 13, he, along with Rashuan Weaver and Luciano Lewis, both 14 at the time, committed a heinous crime in Morningside Park, New York City. The trio attacked Tessa Majors, an 18-year-old student, as she valiantly resisted their attempt to steal her phone on the evening of December 11.
During the investigation, Davis confessed to his involvement by admitting he handed the knife to Weaver, which was used to fatally stab Majors in the heart. Despite the severity of the crime, Davis received an 18-month sentence in juvenile detention in June 2020, a consequence of the Raise the Age law that aims to prevent minors from entering the adult prison system.
After serving his sentence, Davis’s legal troubles continued. He was arrested for attempted murder following an incident in Harlem in April 2023, where he and two accomplices allegedly fired shots at a crowd. Initially placed in Horizon Juvenile Detention Center, Davis was later transferred to Rikers Island after biting an Administration for Children’s Services counselor, leading to further assault and harassment charges.
These developments in Davis’s case highlight ongoing concerns about youth crime and the challenges of rehabilitation. For more detailed coverage, refer to the New York Post.
Davis and two others had allegedly fired shots at a crowd in Harlem in April of 2023, according to the New York Post.
Reportedly, Davis, who was 16 at the time, fired shots in retaliation for the death of his friend Jaylen Duncan, who was killed an hour earlier by Messiah Nantwi, a member of the local gang, according to a Manhattan criminal complaint cited by the source.
Davis was at the scene of Duncan’s murder and then headed toward the Lincoln Houses, a public housing complex, with the other two accomplices to grab a gun.
They returned to the area, which was only two blocks away from the original murder scene, and fired at a crowd standing on the corner, according to police.
Tessa Majors, 18, was stabbed to death after she tried to stop three boys from stealing her phone in Morningside Park in New York City at about 7pm on December 11, 2019
![Rashuan Weaver [pictured] one of the three stabbed the freshman girl and was sentenced to 14 years to life](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/10/27/00/103332251-15228475-image-a-3_1761523775079.jpg)
Rashuan Weaver [pictured] one of the three stabbed the freshman girl and was sentenced to 14 years to life
Davis was detained in the South Bronx and was arrested again while in detention center for an altercation with other detainees on September 17, 2023, in which, during the fight, he attacked a youth counselor, according to a Bronx Criminal Court complaint found by the outlet.
A video allegedly showed Davis biting the member with the Administration for Children’s Services on his right arm.
The ACS moved him to Rikers Island, according to the repeat offender’s lawyer, Neville Mitchell.
The island prison is a facility for only those charged as adults.
His co-accused in Majors’ death, Lewis and Weaver, were both charged as adults. The two were both given possible life sentences, with Weaver facing a minimum of 14 years and Lewis facing at least nine years.
Lewis had Majors in a headlock as Weaver knifed the girl multiple times. Majors struggled up the outdoor steps to a nearby street where she was spotted by a campus security guard who called 911.
Luciano Lewis had Majors in a headlock as Weaver knifed the girl. He was sentenced to serve nine years to life
Majors struggled up the outdoor steps to a nearby street where she was spotted by a campus security guard who called 911. She died from her injuries in hospital
Zyairr Davis, the third accomplice, got 18 months for the stabbing and was later sent to Rikers after a shooting and biting a staffer while in custody
She died from her injuries in hospital.
Mitchell, who is also an Independent Democratic write-in candidate for mayor, told The Post about her client: ‘I don’t know that he got the help needed when he was there for 18 months.
‘I’m not sure to what extent they can change what’s happened to this young man in the first 13 years of life. And then he comes out, and he goes right back into the community around the same sort of influences.’
On the other hand, retired NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Youth Services Kevin O’Connor said to the publication that the Raise the Age law was at fault.
The retired Assistant Commissioner added that the government is supposed to step in and provide justice despite a criminal’s upbringing.
