NEWBERRY, S.C.; August 27, 2021— A Newberry man was found guilty late Thursday afternoon and sentenced to 40 years in prison for murder and other charges in connection to a domestic incident in which he shot a killed a 7-year-old boy, 8th Circuit Solicitor David M. Stumbo announced Friday.
X’Zavier Sharif Davis, 28, of Newberry, was found guilty Thursday by a Newberry County jury of murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in connection to the April 2019 shooting death of 7-year-old Iven Caldwell.
Circuit Judge Benjamin Culbertson sentenced Davis to 35 years in prison on the murder charge, 20 years in prison on the assault charge, and five years in prison on the weapon charge. The sentences on the murder and assault charges will run concurrently. State law requires the sentence on the weapon charge to run consecutively.
It was in the early morning hours of April 20, 2019 when Davis showed up drunk to the home of Indigo Penny, his estranged girlfriend and mother of his son. Davis busted a window on the door and entered the home. Upon entry, Davis began to threaten Penny causing Penny to take her three children and flee the residence through the back door. Davis followed and fired a revolver into the air multiple times. After returning into the residence to retrieve a second weapon, Davis then busted out the front door and fired eight shots from a 9mm handgun into the car occupied by his wife and the three children as she attempted to flee out of the driveway to the home. One of the bullets struck Penny in the leg, while another struck 7-year-old Caldwell in the head, killing the child. The other two children, a 3-year-old girl and 10-month-old boy, were spared being struck by the bullets.
Solicitor Stumbo handled the case for the state with assistance from Assistant Solicitor Taylor Daniel, Assistant Solicitor Margaret Boykin, 8th Circuit Investigator Walter Bentley and Victim Advocate Rhetta Smith.
Solicitor Stumbo praised the work of his staff along with excellent work done Newberry County Sherriff Lee Foster, Lt. Ryan Dickert, and the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office in securing the conviction and lengthy prison sentence.
“We are heartbroken that little Iven will never grow up to be the man that he was meant to be,” Solicitor Stumbo said following the sentencing. “We are glad that the jury found that this was clearly murder under our law because, by his actions, X’Zavier Davis totally disregarded the lives of people who he was supposed to love and protect.”