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Tamarius Blair Davis stands as he is sentenced by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Laura Stuzin on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of WSVN<\/p>\n
A man who gunned down a Colorado tourist inside a South Beach restaurant in front of his wife and baby will spend decades in a Florida prison, a judge said Thursday.<\/p>\n
After hearing three days of testimony and argument, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Laura Stuzin sentenced Tamarius Blair Davis, 27, to 50 years in prison followed by 20 years of probation. In May, Davis, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, attempted murder and child-abuse charges stemming from the Aug. 24, 2021, killing of 21-year-old Dustin Wakefield.<\/p>\n
Dustin Wakefield, 21, from Colorado, was shot and killed in Miami Beach on Aug. 24, 2021. – Michael Wakefield <\/p>\n
As Judge Stuzin reflected on the sentence, she said she often wondered what Wakefield would want. She also said she considered Davis\u2019 age and how he pleaded guilty, sparing Wakefield\u2019s family from a lengthy trial.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour son, husband, father and brother was in the prime of his life and was, by all accounts, an exemplary human being,\u201d the judge told the victim\u2019s family. \u201cNothing, including a life sentence, will bring your son back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turning to Davis, the judge said: \u201cThis was not a mistake… This was preventable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis must serve at least 25 years of his 50-year sentence. The judge also sentenced him to 30 years and to five years for his two additional charges, although those sentences will run concurrently. Davis did not react when the judge announced the sentences.<\/p>\n
Davis\u2019 change of plea was not the result of a deal with prosecutors, meaning his sentence was left solely to the judge. He was facing anywhere from more than two decades up to life in prison.<\/p>\n
Wakefield\u2019 loved ones rushed out of the courtroom and embraced in the hallway. Some spoke to members of Davis\u2019 family after the proceeding and hugged them. Both families declined to speak to reporters, although Wakefield\u2019s mother, Lora Wakefield, said, \u201cKeep calm and Dustin on\u201d as she walked away.<\/p>\n
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Tamarius Davis Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation <\/p>\n
Davis, who has been behind bars since his arrest, will get credit for the five years he has served in jail.<\/p>\n
When he was arrested, Davis told police he was high on mushrooms when he killed Wakefield in the outdoor patio area of a restaurant on Ocean Drive in South Beach. Davis also said he \u201crandomly chose\u201d to shoot Wakefield after attacking another man on the street minutes earlier.<\/p>\n
Davis, who worked as a UPS driver, was also visiting South Florida; he lived in Norcross, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta.<\/p>\n
Outside the courtroom, Davis\u2019 attorney, Juan Mourin, said Wakefield\u2019s murder was tragic and said the case was emotional for everyone involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a case that wasn\u2019t going to have a happy ending,\u201d Mourin said.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Family mourns \u2018hero\u2019 father shot in front of wife, baby, as killer awaits sentence<\/a><\/p>\n On Monday, several of Wakefield\u2019s loved ones, who wore black T-shirts that had Wakefield\u2019s name inside a guitar, said they remembered him as a hard-working, devoted husband and father. Wakefield, they said, was a devout Christian and a talented musician who played a variety of instruments, including the guitar, piano, drums and trombone.<\/p>\n He died a hero, shielding his infant son from Davis\u2019 gun, the family said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a moment where my husband was facing unimaginable danger, he was protecting our son,\u201d Wakefield\u2019s widow, Karian Olguin, said.<\/p>\n While addressing the court, Wakefield\u2019s parents said they forgive Davis, but wanted him held accountable.<\/p>\n \u2018He\u2019s not a monster\u2019<\/p>\n Davis, dressed in orange jail attire, took the witness stand on Tuesday. He admitted that the murder was \u201cunspeakably awful.\u201d He apologized to his own family and told the victim\u2019s loved ones that there are \u201cno words I can express to the Wakefield family to express how sorry I am.\u201d<\/p>\n Davis said his actions the day of Wakefield\u2019s murder do not represent the person he is. He said he can\u2019t fully remember how that day unfolded, citing his life-altering decision to take psychedelic drugs.<\/p>\n \u201cI was raised better than that,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThere are no words that will come out of my mouth that describe the pain and remorse I carry\u2026 every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Several of Davis\u2019 family members emphasized how the two families at the center of the court case have something in common \u2014 a strong faith in God. They asked the judge to mete a sentence that does justice but also leaves Davis with hope.<\/p>\n Tommy Davis, Davis\u2019 father, said his son, who goes by his middle name Blair, is a respectful, calm, hard-working man who always joined their family at church. Growing up, he played baseball and football and never had disciplinary issues at school.<\/p>\n He said he didn\u2019t recognize his son as the man who took Wakefield\u2019s life that day.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m shocked. I\u2019m just totally dumbfounded,\u201d Tommy Davis said. \u201cI would like to personally apologize to the Wakefield family. The person you saw is not the Blair that we know.\u201d<\/p>\n Deangelia Davis, Davis\u2019 mother, broke down on the stand, saying she couldn\u2019t fathom that Davis shot and killed someone. She said she wanted the opportunity to sit down with the Wakefield family, and Davis does, too.<\/p>\n \u201cHe did a monstrous thing,\u201d Deangelia Davis said. \u201cHe\u2019s not a monster.\u201d<\/p>\n Talia Brianna Davis wiped tears as she said her brother committing a murder was \u201cunimaginable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is not my brother. That is not the version of my brother that I grew up with, that I know,\u201d Talia Davis said. \u201cI don\u2019t even recognize the sound of his voice\u201d in videos recorded of Davis moments before the shooting.<\/p>\n She said she wished her family and the Wakefields could have crossed paths differently so they could \u201cexperience the version of my brother that I know.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so sorry that my brother, that family has played a role in this,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that nothing that I say could ever make up for what you guys are going through, for what my brother put you through.\u201d<\/p>\n Young father gunned down<\/p>\n Wakefield\u2019s widow recounted how she, Wakefield and their son, Elijah, one year old at the time, flew to Miami for their first family trip in 2021, not knowing that their lives were about to change forever.<\/p>\n Eli, who is now 7, has been asking more frequently about how his father died, Olguin testified. Once, when they were watching the movie \u201cThe Lion King,\u201d Eli asked Olguin, and she replied that Wakefield was \u201ca hero.\u201d Olguin said she\u2019s heartbroken for Eli because she grew up without a father and knows what that absence is like.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I became a mother there was one thing I wanted more than anything: I wanted my son to grow up with a daddy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Wakefield\u2019s father, Matthew Wakefield, said Davis decided that day to kill, but Wakefield decided to surrender his life so others could live. Matthew Wakefield said his son would\u2019ve helped Davis, bought him food and prayed with him, if Davis had asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you asked for was his life. So you got exactly what you asked for \u2014 my son\u2019s life,\u201d Matthew Wakefield said.<\/p>\n This story was originally published October 29, 2026 at 12:23 PM.<\/p>\n Karina Olguin, the widow of Dustin Wakefield, who was gunned down during a trip to Miami Beach, appears in court on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. Courtesy of Local 10 <\/p>\n
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A priest stands behind a makeshift memorial during a vigil to honor the life of tourist Dustin Wakefield, at Lummus Park near Ocean Drive and 14th Street in Miami Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. Wakefield, 21, a tourist from Castle Rock, Colorado, was dining on Ocean Drive when he was shot multiple times. Daniel A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
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