By Jessica Moore

Staff Writer

A Lewisburg man was found guilty of burglary and theft at the end of a one-day trial last week.

Jeremy Davis, 32, of South Ellington Parkway, was a participant in the Jan. 15 burglary of the home of Marty and Brenda Dean in Lewisburg.

The first to testify for the prosecution was one of the victims of the burglary, Marty Dean.

During his testimony he spoke of where he was during the time of the incident. His daughter had just passed away the day before after a 4 and one-half year battle with cancer. He, his wife, and their family were gone most of the day and into the evening at his daughter's wake at Farmington Baptist Church. After the wake, he stopped and got something to eat and arrived home around 10 p.m. According to Dean, the first to discover the break-in was his niece, who was here from Georgia to attend the funeral. After noticing her shoes strewn about the room, she noticed the Deans' gun cabinet was open.

"When she said the gun cabinet was open I knew something was wrong," said Dean.

Assistant District Attorney Bud Bottoms asked Dean what guns were removed from his home. Dean went on to list the specific guns, pocket knives, and ammunition that were taken from his gun cabinet.

"Do you keep your gun cabinet locked?" asked Bottoms.

"Yes, always," said Dean.

Dean proceeded with his testimony. He mentioned his wife's discovery of her empty jewelry box and described the jewelry box as approximately 48 inches tall, 30 inches wide, and 20 inches deep. Dean was then asked to list the items taken from his home, which included electronics, as well as the contents of the gun cabinet and jewelry box. A few items were found outside around the property as if they had been dropped.

The only stolen items to be recovered were a few pieces of jewelry, three pocket knives, a laptop computer, and an iPad. According to Dean, he and his wife estimated a total of over $25,000 worth of items were stolen from their home. When asked how they came to that estimate, Dean explained that he and his wife checked receipts, credit card records, and received estimates from jewelers.

Brenda Dean was the second witness. Bottoms asked her to describe some of the more valuable pieces of jewelry that were taken, and she mentioned a three-carat diamond ring, two two-carat diamond rings, one one-carat diamond ring, and one pair of diamond earrings. Bottoms then handed Brenda Dean a list and she identified it as the list of her missing jewelry and verified the estimated total value at just over $20,000.

The next to testify was a friend of the Deans' children. He stated as soon as he found out the wake was taking place he and a friend went to the church. He saw the family, paid his respects, stayed for much of the evening, and left with one of the Deans' sons.

A few days later the friend said he was contacted by Davis, the defendant, who was seeking help with an iPad. When Davis arrived at his home he asked him to restore the iPad to its factory setting, in other words, "wipe it clean." In return for his services, Davis offered him a laptop. When he turned on the iPad he noticed photos of the Dean family everywhere on the device. He began to ask questions and Davis described how he acquired the iPad and laptop.

A woman "set something up, where it would be an easy score," Davis told the friend. The other man "knew where the stuff was and Jeremy was the lookout." Then Davis said he "went in and took the iPad and the laptop."

While Davis was gone to retrieve the laptop, the friend began working on the iPad. He backed up the files to his computer and turned on the security feature that allows tracking of missing devices. He gave Davis the iPad, took the laptop, then called the Deans' son, Mitchell. He didn't tell him everything at first, he asked him to come over. The friend went on to describe what happened once Mitchell Dean arrived. He gave him the laptop, then told him what he knew, but didn't reveal Davis's name. He said he assured Mitchell Dean that he would get the iPad back and explained that he turned on the security feature.

Bottoms then asked the witness if any guns were mentioned and if so what kind they were. He said Davis mentioned guns, specifically an SKS, jewelry, the iPad, and the laptop.

The cross-examination was carried out by Davis's attorney, Mike Collins of the Public Defender's Office. Collins asked the witness if he had given the detective the information he knew right away.

"I did not give an actual written statement, but I did talk to Detective "Pugs" person to person," the man stated.

Collins also asked about his arrival time at the wake, and clarified that he was proficient with computers. Collins implied the friend was an accomplice blaming Davis for the crime.

Detective James "Pugs" Johnson was the next witness. He described his conversation with Mitchell Dean's friend at the police station, which took place around Jan. 20. A few days later a search warrant was prepared and the detective went to the apartment where Davis was living. There he found an iPad with the serial number matching the one the Deans were missing and Davis had a pocket knife that was later identified as one of Marty Dean's.

No one testified on behalf of the defendant, but the judge explained to the jury the number of prosecution witnesses compared to the number of defense witnesses has nothing to do with proving innocence or guilt.

When talking to the jury during his closing statement Collins said, "Everyone feels sorry for the Deans, but we have to have a fair day in court for Mr. Davis."

Bottoms praised the friend, "He did the right thing. He may not have wanted to get involved with law enforcement at first, but he went to them anyway."

After several hours of deliberation, the jury came back with their unanimous verdict around 10:30 p.m.

They found Davis guilty of burglary of a building that is also a habitation and guilty of theft over $1,000 but less than $10,000. These are lesser offenses than the ones in the original indictment, which were one count aggravated burglary and two counts of theft (one over $10,000 and one over $1,000).

A sentencing hearing for Davis will be held Oct. 11.