Man pleads guilty to accidentally shooting dad

4/17/2013

COLUMBUS — A central Ohio man could spend decades in prison for firing a shot during a neighborhood dispute that accidentally killed his father.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that 31-year-old Joey Davis pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and other charges just as his trial was about to begin. A count of murder was dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Police say he fired shots in a dispute with a neighbor in Columbus last May 28, and accidentally shot his father, 52-year-old Jeffrey Stewart, in the head. Police initially thought he exchanged gunfire with another man, but investigators determined all the shots came from his weapon.

The other man, Thomas Benford, pleaded guilty in March to tampering with evidence and possessing a gun despite a felony conviction.