Man sentenced to 45 years after Richland jury finds him guilty of murder

A 22-year-old man with a history of being charged with gun crimes was sentenced to 45 years in prison after a Richland County jury found him guilty in a 2012 murder, according to 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson’s office.

Cheo Green killed Michael Laverne Davis during an argument in Columbia, jurors decided. Green shot Davis twice and left him in the road bleeding in the 3800 block of North Main Street in October, 2012. Davis died at Palmetto Health Richland a short time after being shot.

According to Johnson’s office, Davis had been trying to buy illegal drugs when he met Green. After they began arguing, Green killed him and took his car.

Green was charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection with a robbery in September 2012. Green had also been charged with attempted murder in connection with a February 2012 shooting at Club Rockaway. The status of those charges could not be immediately determined.

Judge DeAndrea Benjamin presided over the trial in the death of Davis, which lasted four days. Besides murder, Green was also found guilty of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and carjacking with injury, the prosecutor’s office said.

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 8:20 PM.