The Gazebo Gazette
GULFPORT (GG) — On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, Second District Circuit Court Judge Randi P. Mueller has sentenced Jimmy Joe Davis of Munfordville, Kentucky, to Life in prison, on the charges of sexual battery and touching of a child for lustful purposes. A Harrison County jury returned its guilty verdicts against Davis on May 23, 2024. However, while the jury deliberated, Davis, who was on bond at the time, left the courtroom, entered his vehicle, and fled the jurisdiction.
After multiple attempts were made to reach Davis, Judge Mueller proceeded with accepting the jury’s verdicts, and issued a warrant for Davis’ arrest. Over the next several months, a nationwide manhunt ensued for Davis, led by the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force.
In late June, Marshal’s Task Force officers were able to locate and apprehend Davis hiding out in a wooded area behind a dollar store in Saline County, Illinois. Davis initially fought extradition, but was ultimately extradited back to Mississippi on October 10, 2024.
On November 5, 2024, Davis was brought back before Judge Mueller for sentencing. After hearing arguments from counsel for the State and the defense, Judge Mueller sentenced Davis to the maximum sentence of Life on the sexual battery charge, and the maximum sentence of 15 years on the touching of a child for lustful purposes charge, to run concurrently.
Davis was also ordered to pay the cost of extradition and other mandatory assessments. Due to the nature of the crimes of which Davis was convicted, he will be required to serve his sentences, day-for-day, without the possibility of parole or early release. During the trial in May, the jury heard testimony that Davis sexually abused the juvenile victim at a home off of Vidalia Road in rural 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,” said Assistant District Attorney Ian Baker, who prosecuted the case along with ADA Haley Broom. More details of the abuse were later disclosed to the CPS worker and a Forensic Interviewer at the Child Advocacy Center in Gulfport. The jury deliberated several hours before returning their verdicts.
“This defendant robbed a young child of her innocence to satisfy his own depraved and immoral sexual desires. The jury’s verdict and the Life sentenced 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,” said District Attorney W. Crosby Parker.
