Valdosta man convicted of murder

Jul. 20—VALDOSTA — A Valdosta man faces life in prison after a jury convicted him of murder.

The case against Ivan Xavier Davis, 25, went to the jury Tuesday. He had been indicted in 2021 for the 2020 slaying of Tommy Simmons.

The jury convicted Davis for felony murder, possession of a firearm during a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Chief Assistant Southern District Attorney Tracy Chapman said in a statement.

Davis was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge and a combined 15 years for the other charges, Chapman said.

At 10:37 p.m., June 14, 2020, police responded to a 911 call about a shooting in the 500 block of Hudson Street. Officers found a man with gunshot wounds, police said in earlier reports.

Officers provided first aid until EMTs arrived; he was taken to South Georgia Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators with the Special Operations Division of the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant on Sept. 10, 2020, along the 4800 block of Bemiss Road, resulting in the arrest of Davis, a sheriff's office statement said.

Another Valdosta man surrendered himself in July 2021 on an active arrest warrant in the same case, earlier reports show. The warrant was for a charge of party to the crime of felony murder, according to reports. That case is still open, Chapman said.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.