UPDATE:
A jury found Lavento Shamon Fox, 28, not guilty on all five counts Wednesday.
A 12-person jury including nine women and three men deliberated for around one hour Wednesday morning before returning to the Lowndes County courtroom to deliver the verdict.
The charges Fox faced were two counts of armed robbery, two counts of kidnapping and one cont of burglary all stemming from an Aug. 15, 2010, incident involving an alleged home invasion, armed robbery and kidnapping of Rodrick Davis and Eric Treadwell.
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He stands accused of burglarizing a home, committing armed robbery and locking another man in the trunk of a car.
Lavento Shamon Fox, 28, of 1624 Fourth Ave. S., is facing several criminal charges during the third week of Lowndes County Circuit Court. Fox’s his trial began Monday at the Lowndes County Courthouse.
Rodrick Davis of Columbus said he was locked in the trunk of a vehicle by two men. Davis identified one of the kidnappers as Fox, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of kidnapping and one count of burglary.
Davis took the stand Monday and Tuesday.
He testified he had just gotten home to 1417 13th Ave. N. from a wedding and afterparty early on Aug. 15, 2010 with his friend, Eric Treadwell of Columbus. He entered the house, and two men in black ski masks entered with guns, he said.
According to previous reports, the men demanded the keys to Davis’ 2003 Honda Acura, among other things.
Davis testified he was tied up and a bag was placed over his head before he was forced into the trunk of the Acura. He was able to work his hands free and pop the trunk so he could roll out of the car.
Davis called it “the scariest moment of my life.”
“I knew they had guns and (they) could turn around and aim them. … I ran the bottom of my socks off,” he said Tuesday.
Treadwell testified Monday he was also tied up but was able to get away.
Davis said he recognized Fox’s voice during the incident though he did not see his face. He said he is 100 percent sure it was Fox.
The defense argued Davis only thought he heard Fox’s voice; Davis never saw his face, and there is no eyewitness that places Fox at the scene, defense attorney William Starks noted.
“There’s not one other piece of evidence that backs up your statement that that was Lavento Fox’s voice you heard,” Starks said.
“Anytime you’ve smoked marijuana with someone for years and drank beer with them for years, you definitely know their voice,” Davis responded.
Though Davis acknowledged he has smoked marijuana, he said he had not smoked marijuana before the alleged kidnapping.
“I don’t smoke with people I don’t associate with daily,” Davis said Tuesday.
Retired Columbus Police Department Lt. John Pevey, who testified Tuesday afternoon for the defense, was working at the time of the incident. Pevey said he found Davis around the 700 or 800 block of 16th Street North.
“He told me he actually rolled out of the trunk and onto the pavement,” Pevey said. “He kept saying it was Lavento Fox.”
According to Pevey, Davis told him during his statement that he smoked marijuana earlier that night.
Starks asked Pevey if smoking marijuana could impair someone and cause the person to incorrectly identify someone’s voice.
“You’re getting into a gray area.” Pevey said. “I would say it probably could impair, but I didn’t see anything in this instance.”
The prosecution rested Tuesday morning; the defense rested Tuesday afternoon. Final statements will be heard this morning, and the case will be handed to the jury.
Fox was arrested Nov. 11, 2010, in Memphis in connection with the incident. He has been arrested for burglary of an occupied dwelling, possession of a weapon by a felon and possession of cocaine.
Judge Lee Howard is presiding over the case; Mark Jackson is the prosecutor.
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