East Side Blood Gang Member Sentenced to Forty Years
A gang member with six prior felony convictions, including a conviction for shooting at a police officer, was sentenced to forty years in prison without the possibility of parole after prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Felony Drug Unit obtained a felony cocaine conviction against him. Following a two-day trial in January, James Greenlee Davis, Jr., 41, was convicted of Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Cocaine in a Drug Free Zone and Criminal Trespass. Prosecutors also proved he is a member of the East Side Bloods criminal street gang.
At trial, Assistant District Attorneys Hector Sanchez and Sean McDermott explained to the jury that on July 29, 2013, Knoxville Police Department Sergeant James Lockmiller and Officer Eric P’Simer were conducting a foot patrol in the Walter P. Taylor Homes. Around 2:30 in the morning, they observed Davis in parking lot”L” engaged in what they believed to be a hand-to-hand transaction. As they approached Davis, he tried to evade officers but slipped in the grass. When Davis was taken into custody, officers recovered a bag containing 5.1 grams of cocaine. Sergeant Tom Walker of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office Gang Intelligence Unit testified as an expert in gang identification and identified Davis as a member of the East Side Bloods. Davis was first confirmed as a gang member in 1994.
Davis was on parole at the time for an Aggravated Gambling Promotion conviction. His previous convictions include an Aggravated Assault case from 1993 where Davis shot at Knoxville Police Department Officer Lynn Everett when Ofc. Everett responded to a 911 call at Walter P. Taylor Homes. As Ofc. Everett pulled into parking lot”L” at the housing complex, he was ambushed by Davis and his brother who shot at Ofc. Everett approximately sixteen times. Ofc. Everett was not injured during the attack. When Davis shot at Ofc. Everett, he was on bond for another Aggravated Assault, where he shot another man over a gambling debt, leaving the victim paralyzed. Additionally, Davis has been convicted on three prior occasions for dealing cocaine.
“A prosecutor’s number one job is to protect the community,” said DA Charme Allen.”This defendant has been a gang member committing violent crimes and drug crimes in our community for over twenty years. While he has been in and out of prison for most of his adult life, the conviction in this case will make sure that he can no longer endanger this city.”
If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.