Co-defendants Sentenced to 12 and 19 Years Following Jury Convictions, Guilty Pleas in Murder Outside Victim’s Home in 2023

NORFOLK, Va. — Leon Malek Williams, 24, was sentenced in July to serve 19 years in prison following his guilty plea to shooting and killing 28-year-old Jalaun Latavis Colbert outside of Mr. Colbert’s home in 2023. Mr. Williams’ co-defendant, 23-year-old Bryston Alexander Davis, was convicted by a jury of conspiring to kill Mr. Colbert and shooting at Mr. Colbert’s house and was sentenced in June to serve 12 years.

Around 10 p.m. on July 3, 2023, Mr. Williams, Mr. Davis, and another unidentified individual drove to Mr. Colbert’s home on Hollister Avenue and shot Mr. Colbert multiple times, also hitting his house, while he was standing outside smoking a cigarette. Mr. Colbert was fatally injured and died at a hospital six days later. Mr. Colbert’s mother and their dog were inside the house during the shooting and were not injured.

During their investigation, Norfolk Police recovered footage from a 7-Eleven in Virginia Beach — where Mr. Davis, Mr. Williams, and the victim were seen before the shooting — and from a doorbell camera on Hollister Avenue that captured the events surrounding the shooting. A couple of hours before the shooting, Mr. Williams’ girlfriend contacted Mr. Colbert’s girlfriend and told her to bring Mr. Colbert with her to meet at the 7-Eleven. When Mr. Colbert and his girlfriend arrived there, Mr. Williams and Mr. Davis got out of Mr. Williams’ girlfriend’s car, walked up to Mr. Colbert’s car, and got into a heated argument with Mr. Colbert, during which they both brandished guns at Mr. Colbert and his girlfriend. Mr. Colbert drove off with his girlfriend, the two eventually parted ways, and Mr. Colbert went home to Hollister Avenue.

Mr. Williams, Mr. Davis, and the other unidentified individual later drove to Hollister Avenue using Mr. Williams’ girlfriend’s car, they walked up to Mr. Colbert’s house while leaving the car running, they shot Mr. Colbert multiple times, and they fled in the car. No eyewitnesses were willing to cooperate with the prosecution to allow for the admission of either the 7-Eleven video or the doorbell camera footage.

Police secured felony arrest warrants against Mr. Williams and Mr. Davis for second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of murder, and both men were arrested within two weeks of the crime. The Commonwealth later secured direct indictments from a grand jury against both men for additional charges of first-degree murder, conspiring to commit first-degree murder, and shooting into an occupied dwelling.

On April 17, 2025, Mr. Williams agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder as well as using a firearm in the commission of murder and face an active prison sentence of up to 19 years, which was between the midpoint and the high-end of Mr. Williams’ state sentencing guidelines. In exchange for Mr. Williams’ guilty pleas, the Commonwealth agreed to his other charges being dismissed. Judge Tasha D. Scott accepted Mr. Williams’ plea agreement and set his sentencing hearing on July 11.

Mr. Davis pleaded not guilty to his charges and opted to be tried by a jury beginning on April 21, 2025. At the close of the evidence, presiding Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise reduced the first-degree murder charge to second-degree murder following a motion by Mr. Davis’ defense counsel. After about five hours of deliberation on April 23, the jury found Mr. Davis guilty of conspiring to commit murder, using a firearm in the commission of murder, and shooting into an occupied dwelling; the jury acquitted him of second-degree murder. On June 27, Judge LeCruise sentenced Mr. Davis to serve 12 years in prison and suspended another eight years on the conditions that Mr. Davis complete six years of uniform good behavior and supervised probation following his release.

At Mr. Williams’ sentencing hearing on July 11, the Commonwealth argued that Mr. Williams should serve the maximum sentence of 19 years allowable under his plea agreement, while his defense counsel argued for a sentence of 12 years identical to that of his co-defendant. After hearing the arguments, Judge Scott sentenced Mr. Williams to serve 19 years in prison and suspended another 14 years on the conditions that Mr. Williams complete five years of supervised probation and be of uniform good behavior for 20 years following his release. Both co-defendants are ordered to have no contact with Mr. Colbert’s family.

“Evidentiary problems, including both a lack of witnesses and the reluctance of witnesses to come to court, made these cases particularly difficult for us to try, but we toughed our way through to hold Mr. Williams and Mr. Davis responsible for murdering Mr. Colbert,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Each of these men will now serve time in prison for taking an innocent life. My condolences go to Mr. Colbert’s family, and I pledge to continue pushing forward with tough cases to secure accountability for victims and to protect our community. That is what prosecutors should do.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Anthony J. Comento and Jessica L. Terkovich prosecuted Mr. Davis’ and Mr. Williams’ cases, and Norfolk Police Detective Darrick Davis led the investigation.

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April 23, 2025

Jury Convicts Man of Conspiring to Commit 2^nd Degree Murder Following Co-defendant’s Guilty Plea to Murder From 2023 Shooting

NORFOLK, Va. — A jury convicted Bryston Alexander Davis, 23, on Wednesday of conspiring to commit second-degree murder, using a firearm in the commission of murder, and shooting into an occupied residence following the murder of 28-year-old Jalaun Latavis Colbert at Mr. Colbert’s home in 2023. Mr. Davis’ co-defendant, 24-year-old Leon Malek Williams, pleaded guilty last Thursday to the second-degree murder of Mr. Colbert and using a firearm in the commission of his murder.

Around 10 p.m. on July 3, 2023, Mr. Williams, Mr. Davis, and another unidentified individual drove to Mr. Colbert’s home on Hollister Avenue and shot Mr. Colbert multiple times, also hitting his house, while he was standing outside smoking a cigarette. Mr. Colbert was fatally injured and died at a hospital six days later. Mr. Colbert’s mother and their dog were inside the house during the shooting and were not injured.

During their investigation, Norfolk Police recovered footage from a 7-Eleven in Virginia Beach — where Mr. Davis, Mr. Williams, and the victim were seen before the shooting — and from a doorbell camera on Hollister Avenue that captured the events surrounding the shooting. A couple of hours before the shooting, Mr. Williams’ girlfriend contacted Mr. Colbert’s girlfriend and told her to bring Mr. Colbert with her to meet at the 7-Eleven. When Mr. Colbert and his girlfriend arrived there, Mr. Williams and Mr. Davis got out of Mr. Williams’ girlfriend’s car, walked up to Mr. Colbert’s car, and got into a heated argument with Mr. Colbert, during which they both brandished guns at Mr. Colbert and his girlfriend. Mr. Colbert drove off with his girlfriend, the two eventually parted ways, and Mr. Colbert went home to Hollister Avenue. Mr. Williams, Mr. Davis, and the other unidentified individual later drove to Hollister Avenue using Mr. Williams’ girlfriend’s car, they walked up to Mr. Colbert’s house while leaving the car running, they shot Mr. Colbert multiple times, and they fled in the car.

Police secured felony arrest warrants against Mr. Williams and Mr. Davis for second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of murder, and both men were arrested within two weeks of the crime. The Commonwealth later secured direct indictments from a grand jury against both men for additional charges of first-degree murder, conspiring to commit first-degree murder, and shooting into an occupied dwelling.

On Thursday, April 17, Mr. Williams agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder as well as using a firearm in the commission of murder and face an active prison sentence of up to 19 years, which would be between the midpoint and the high-end of Mr. Williams’ state sentencing guidelines. In exchange for Mr. Williams’ guilty pleas, the Commonwealth agreed to his other charges being dismissed. Judge Tasha D. Scott accepted Mr. Williams’ plea agreement and set his sentencing hearing on July 11.

On Monday, Mr. Davis pleaded not guilty to his charges and opted to be tried by a jury. At the close of the evidence, presiding Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise reduced the first-degree murder charge to second-degree murder following a motion by Mr. Davis’ defense counsel. After about five hours of deliberation on Wednesday, the jury found Mr. Davis not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty of conspiring to commit murder, using a firearm in the commission of murder, and shooting into an occupied dwelling. Judge LeCruise set Mr. Davis’ sentencing hearing on June 27.

“Once again, doorbell camera footage, witness cooperation, and good police work have led to convictions for two people who committed a violent crime,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Williams chose a fair compromise and agreed to plead guilty. Mr. Davis, against whom the evidence was not as strong, chose to go to trial, as is his right. We appreciate the thoughtfulness of the jury in their work. Here in Norfolk, we will continue to try tough cases to afford victims and the accused their day in court, and we will continue to focus our office’s resources on holding accountable the people who commit violent crimes.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Anthony J. Comento and Jessica L. Terkovich are prosecuting Mr. Davis’ and Mr. Williams’ cases, and Norfolk Police Detective Darrick Davis led the investigation.

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