A man who fled a Mississippi courtroom as the jury deliberated over sex crimes charged against him has been sentenced to life in prison.
Back in May, Jimmy Joe Davis went through a trial in Harrison County after being charged with sexual battery and touching a child for lustful purposes. As the jury returned to the courtroom with a guilty verdict, the 55-year-old defendant from Kentucky was nowhere to be found.
Davis – who was out on bond at the time – left the courtroom during deliberations, got in his vehicle, and fled the jurisdiction. After multiple attempts were made to reach him, the judge proceeded with accepting the jury’s verdict and issued a warrant for Davis’ arrest.
A nationwide manhunt for Davis lasted for over a month as U.S. Marshals finally found him hiding out in a wooded area behind a dollar store in Saline County, Illinois. Davis initially fought extradition but eventually was returned to Mississippi, where his crimes took place.
Earlier this month, Davis was sentenced to the maximum sentence of life on the sexual battery charge and the maximum sentence of 15 years on the charge of touching a child for lustful purposes. He was also ordered to pay the cost of extradition and other mandatory assessments. Davis will serve without the possibility of parole.
According to court records, the jury heard testimony that Davis sexually abused a juvenile at a home off Vidalia Road in Pass Christian. The child originally disclosed the abuse to a CPS worker by telling her that she had “a secret with Jimmy about something that kids were not supposed to do.” More details were later discovered by the CPS worker and a forensic interviewer at the Child Advocacy Center in Gulfport.
“The defendant robbed a young child of her innocence to satisfy his own depraved and immoral sexual desires,” District Attorney W. Crosby Parker said. “The jury’s verdict and the life sentence imposed by the court will ensure that no other child will fall victim to this predator. I want to also highlight the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force for their relentless pursuit of this defendant to ensure he was punished for the crimes he committed.”
Assistant District Attorneys Ian Baker and Haley Broom prosecuted the case.
