A funeral home owner has been sentenced to prison for murdering a pallbearer at the burial of a 10-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet in Washington, DC.
Wilson Wesley Chavis, 50, the owner of Compassion and Serenity Funeral Home, was convicted in February of killing Ronald Steven Banks, a 30-year-old pallbearer and family friend of Arianna Miracle Davis, at the young girl’s burial service on June 6, 2023. WTOP reports that on Friday, a judge sentenced Chavis to 35 years in prison.
“This sentence sends a clear and unequivocal message that we will not tolerate this type of violence in our community. “Our hearts are with the families who have suffered as a result of this tragic incident, and we remain committed to holding those who commit such violent acts fully accountable,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson said in a statement to local media.
The bloodshed occurred as the burial service for Arianna was about to begin. According to police, the defendant confronted two people from a second funeral service company with which Chavis had a long-standing business dispute. Several funeral attendees became upset with Chavis and confronted him about his behavior.
Chavis then pulled out a gun and fired two shots, hitting Banks and grazing Arianna’s cousin.
Antionette Belk, Arianna’s mother, described the horror to WRC, a local NBC affiliate.
“I am extremely traumatized that this occurred at my daughter’s burial site. I did not even get to lay her down, let alone put her in the ground, because another incident occurred,” she explained. “This is extremely traumatic for me, my children, and my entire family. “It is trauma after trauma.”
The distraught mother of four, a teacher, claimed that the defendant yelled, “I own this body!” and spit on a pastor at the scene.
Chavis attempted to flee in his vehicle following the shooting, but was apprehended by an officer from the Morningside Police Department, according to Prince George’s County Police. Chavis later stated that he acted in self-defense.
Banks died at the hospital. He had been carrying Arianna’s casket. According to the FBI, she was tragically shot by a stray bullet while in the back seat of her family’s car on her way home from a Mother’s Day event in Washington, D.C. Three men are charged in Arianna’s murder.
According to local Fox affiliate WTTG, Chavis received a temporary peace order from the president of the rival funeral home after allegedly making threats.
Chavis could face up to 65 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 11, according to online records.
