Demorris Ocswavia Andrews was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Friday after a jury found him guilty of murder, armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
Circuit Court Judge Frank Addy Jr. sentenced Andrews to 35 years on the murder charge and 30 years on the armed robbery charge, with the charges to run concurrently. Addy sentenced Andrews to five years on the weapons charge, which will run consecutively, giving Andrews, 27, a total of 40 total years to serve.
It took the jury nearly seven hours between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning — four hours and 40 minutes on Thursday and just over two hours Friday morning — to reach a verdict. The trial started Monday.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Solicitor Josh Thomas and Deputy Solicitor Yates Brown. Andrews was represented by Carson Henderson.
Andrews, who did not testify, was on trial for the Oct. 25, 2016, shooting death of Barry Warren at 8 Gilliam Court.
As soon as the verdict was announced, Henderson made a motion for a new trial, stating that the evidence presented by the state did not support the verdict. Addy denied the motion.
“This is another senseless killing in Greenwood,” Thomas told the court during sentencing. “I hope this sends a message to our community that we are going to prosecute these cases no matter what kind of record the victim has or what part of town they live in.”
Wanda Dunlap, Barry Warren’s sister, spoke prior to sentencing and said she had to look at the whole situation from both sides.
“We can never bring our brother back. He was the life of the party. Even though he did what he did to make ends meet, he didn’t deserve to die,” she said. “And the family truly misses him very much. Like I said, he was the life of our party.
“And I am sorry this happened to Mr. Andrews because he grew up with my daughter and my son, they went to school together. My daughter, just hours prior to this happening, was just with Mr. Andrews,” she said. “I have children, I have grandchildren and I know it’s going to take a toll on your family.”
Andrews, who had been in jail since his arrest on Nov. 3, 2016, spoke prior to sentencing and maintained his innocence.
“I did not do this. Someone else did this,” he said. “I didn’t do this. I didn’t have nothing to do with it.”
“Candidly sir, your protestations of innocence are falling on deaf ears,” Addy said before announcing the sentence. “I have very little sympathy for you. I am, however, in light of your youth, trying to be as generous as I can with you.”
Henderson said he didn’t think the verdicts were supported by the evidence but respected the jury’s findings.
“I’m never shocked by what a jury does,” he said. “I’m a huge believer in the jury system. That’s why I’ve been sitting here for five days. But you never know what 12 people are going to do.
“I just don’t believe the verdict was supported by the evidence,” he added.
Eighth Circuit Solicitor David M. Stumbo credited the work of his staff, along with Sgt. Blake Moore, Sgt. Matt Blackwell, and Sgt. Wesley McClinton, and former detective Joe Collins of the Greenwood Police Department, for their work on the case.
The state’s case was that on Oct. 25, 2016, Andrews went to Warren’s home to rob him of drugs and money and shot Warren two times, killing him. Multiple witnesses placed Andrews at the scene and one witness, a former cellmate of Andrews, testified that Andrews confessed when the two were incarcerated together at the Greenwood County Detention Center.
“Our community has suffered enough at the hands of violent killers like Demorris Andrews who have no respect for the sanctity of human life,” Stumbo said following the sentencing. “It’s time to end the silence from those who have witnessed these crimes and take the streets of our community back from dangerous, evil people like Andrews.”
