- Sep 13, 2002
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I can't be alone in thinking this is hilariously hacky and schlocky, right?
I mean, this was a dumb gangbanger beef, not a Shakespearean tragedy 😂
Bullets do not discriminate. They care not for names.
In Davenport, those bullets have killed teenagers. Testimony given Tuesday in the trial of John Eddie Hanes III — one of three arrested for the 2021 fatal shooting of 14-year-old Jamon Winfrey — proves it.
Friends and family say Winfrey died alone, on the side of an abandoned house on Farnam Street, simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Multiple people connected to Hanes' case claim Winfrey's killing was triggered by the 2018 murder of another teenager.
The bullets fired in the late afternoon of Feb. 24, 2021, carried a tragic legacy. It's a legacy that destroyed the lives of four men who weren't even 20 years old.
Bullets, it seems, have the power to travel through time.
Winfrey was shot down Feb. 24, 2021, in the area of 13th and Farnam streets. Hanes, Javon Combs and Chrystian Z. Smith — all in their late teens at the time — were arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder and intimidation with a weapon.
Hanes is the only defendant to go to trial.
Smith, 19, pleaded guilty in February to a single count of attempted murder. His plea was part of an agreement with the Scott County Attorney’s Office, and District Court Judge Henry Latham sentenced him to up to 25 years in prison.
Just before the start of Hanes' trial, Combs turned state's witness with a plea deal that will put him in prison for a minimum of 20 years on three felony counts of intimidation with a deadly weapon and one felony count of willful injury. He testified Tuesday.
Combs knew Hanes from as far back as grade school, and he said it was not unusual for the pair to cruise around Davenport with Smith and other friends.
In response to questions by Scott County Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth O'Donnell, Combs testified that on the afternoon of Feb. 24, 2021, he joined Hanes, Smith and two other people in a car. He had a handgun loaded with .40-caliber bullets, and Hanes had a Glock handgun.
The next day, neighbors spotted the 14-year-old's body in a yard.
During Combs' first court appearance in May 2022, police accused him, Smith and Hanes of being members of the Mad Max Gang, or MMG, and said Winfrey was a member of the Savage Life gang.
At the time of the shooting, the gangs had “shoot-on-sight” orders for each others’ members, according Davenport police Detective Jordan Sander, who testified during a preliminary hearing in Combs' case.
Sander had worked as a member of the Davenport Police Department's major crimes unit for six years at the time of the March 2022 hearing. The unit investigates crimes, such as homicide and burglary, but "gang-related shootings take up a fairly decent amount" of the unit's time, Sander testified.
Sylvia Abbey is Winfrey's aunt. She knew him his entire life and said he never was a member of Savage Life.
"Jamon was under his momma's wing," she said. "He was a momma's boy, still. He had cousins, friends, who were Savage Life.
"But Jamon was not in that gang. His favorite thing to do was be at home playing video games. That's what he loved, being up all night playing those video games."
Tanyah Shelton is 16 and was Winfrey's girlfriend at the time of his murder. She agreed with Abbey.
"He was a momma's boy, and he loved the girls," Shelton said. "He was a bad boy, that way. He was all about girls.
"He had a lot of energy. He liked to play. And like I said, as he got older, he wanted to be around the girls. He loved that attention. He was not in a gang."
During Tuesday's testimony, Combs testified that the Mad Max Gang was formed in the wake of the murder of a teenager called "Jovi".
Jovontia Jones, 16, Davenport, was killed on May 19, 2018, in the 1200 or 1300 block of Harrison Street, outside the Hilltop Liquor Store. Police described the incident as a "drive-by shooting" and said Jones was "targeted."
What the police did not say publicly was that Jones was a member of Savage Life.
Following the murder, then-Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch led what would become a yearlong effort to curb what was called "youth violence and crime."
Klipsch led months of meetings with hundreds of community leaders to get to the root of what he called "a criminal subculture with no regard for human life."
While city leaders were meeting, young men and women formed the Mad Max Gang.
"MMG was basically a revenge gang; that's true," Abbey said. "Jovi was Savage Life. So were some of MMG.
"You have to understand that we are not talking about gangs like the Gangster Disciples. These are neighborhood gangs. They are not out there selling big amounts of drugs or guns. MMG was all about getting revenge for Jovi."
Winfrey would have been 11 years old when Jones was killed.
While "riding around," Combs said, they were near the intersection of LeClaire and 13th streets when they spotted a car and a van on Farnam and, "... someone in the car said, 'There go the opp.' "
Combs said the "the opp" referred to the Savage Life street gang. Combs said he and Hanes and Smith were part of a group known as MMG — the initials for Mad Max Gang. He testified that Savage Life was "the opp," meaning the opposition, the enemy.
In a matter of moments, Smith wheeled the vehicle out of the intersection, and Combs emptied his handgun at the car. Smith stopped in the entrance to the alley between LeClaire and Farnam streets. It was then, Combs testified, that Hanes began firing the Glock.
He saw someone run from the car, but he was out of bullets. He did not say he saw Hanes shoot Winfrey. Moments later, Combs was hit by gunfire from the van. He went home after, he testified, then to the hospital.
"Javon grew up loved," his mother said. "He was a good boy. He loves his family. That's why he is testifying. I pray that he will be able to come home to us some day."
Miranda Combs said she also prayed for Hanes and Smith.
"So young. This violence is destroying lives. It's killing children and destroying young lives before they ever really get started. John (Hanes) could go away for life."
Waters said she and her mother thought of Winfrey often.
"The trauma never goes away for anyone," she said. "We want his family to know how sorry we are. I think about how young he was. I think of all the things he'll never get to experience. He'll never finish school, never be able to raise a family.
"This violence, it kills kids and then it destroys the families. It just goes on. Those bullets don't have names on them, not really. Those bullets don't care who you are, so when you shoot them you never know whose life you're gonna destroy."
I mean, this was a dumb gangbanger beef, not a Shakespearean tragedy 😂
Scott County testimony: Davenport gang was formed to avenge a murder
- Tom Loewy
- May 17, 2023
Bullets do not discriminate. They care not for names.
In Davenport, those bullets have killed teenagers. Testimony given Tuesday in the trial of John Eddie Hanes III — one of three arrested for the 2021 fatal shooting of 14-year-old Jamon Winfrey — proves it.
Friends and family say Winfrey died alone, on the side of an abandoned house on Farnam Street, simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Multiple people connected to Hanes' case claim Winfrey's killing was triggered by the 2018 murder of another teenager.
The bullets fired in the late afternoon of Feb. 24, 2021, carried a tragic legacy. It's a legacy that destroyed the lives of four men who weren't even 20 years old.
Bullets, it seems, have the power to travel through time.
Winfrey was shot down Feb. 24, 2021, in the area of 13th and Farnam streets. Hanes, Javon Combs and Chrystian Z. Smith — all in their late teens at the time — were arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder and intimidation with a weapon.
Hanes is the only defendant to go to trial.
Smith, 19, pleaded guilty in February to a single count of attempted murder. His plea was part of an agreement with the Scott County Attorney’s Office, and District Court Judge Henry Latham sentenced him to up to 25 years in prison.
Just before the start of Hanes' trial, Combs turned state's witness with a plea deal that will put him in prison for a minimum of 20 years on three felony counts of intimidation with a deadly weapon and one felony count of willful injury. He testified Tuesday.
Combs knew Hanes from as far back as grade school, and he said it was not unusual for the pair to cruise around Davenport with Smith and other friends.
In response to questions by Scott County Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth O'Donnell, Combs testified that on the afternoon of Feb. 24, 2021, he joined Hanes, Smith and two other people in a car. He had a handgun loaded with .40-caliber bullets, and Hanes had a Glock handgun.
'Under his momma's wing'
At some point in the hail of gunfire, Winfrey was hit. He tried fleeing, but he managed to get just four houses down Farnam before collapsing on the side of an abandoned house.The next day, neighbors spotted the 14-year-old's body in a yard.
During Combs' first court appearance in May 2022, police accused him, Smith and Hanes of being members of the Mad Max Gang, or MMG, and said Winfrey was a member of the Savage Life gang.
At the time of the shooting, the gangs had “shoot-on-sight” orders for each others’ members, according Davenport police Detective Jordan Sander, who testified during a preliminary hearing in Combs' case.
Sander had worked as a member of the Davenport Police Department's major crimes unit for six years at the time of the March 2022 hearing. The unit investigates crimes, such as homicide and burglary, but "gang-related shootings take up a fairly decent amount" of the unit's time, Sander testified.
Sylvia Abbey is Winfrey's aunt. She knew him his entire life and said he never was a member of Savage Life.
"Jamon was under his momma's wing," she said. "He was a momma's boy, still. He had cousins, friends, who were Savage Life.
"But Jamon was not in that gang. His favorite thing to do was be at home playing video games. That's what he loved, being up all night playing those video games."
Tanyah Shelton is 16 and was Winfrey's girlfriend at the time of his murder. She agreed with Abbey.
"He was a momma's boy, and he loved the girls," Shelton said. "He was a bad boy, that way. He was all about girls.
"He had a lot of energy. He liked to play. And like I said, as he got older, he wanted to be around the girls. He loved that attention. He was not in a gang."
'A revenge gang'
During Tuesday's testimony, Combs testified that the Mad Max Gang was formed in the wake of the murder of a teenager called "Jovi".
Jovontia Jones, 16, Davenport, was killed on May 19, 2018, in the 1200 or 1300 block of Harrison Street, outside the Hilltop Liquor Store. Police described the incident as a "drive-by shooting" and said Jones was "targeted."
What the police did not say publicly was that Jones was a member of Savage Life.
Following the murder, then-Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch led what would become a yearlong effort to curb what was called "youth violence and crime."
Klipsch led months of meetings with hundreds of community leaders to get to the root of what he called "a criminal subculture with no regard for human life."
While city leaders were meeting, young men and women formed the Mad Max Gang.
"MMG was basically a revenge gang; that's true," Abbey said. "Jovi was Savage Life. So were some of MMG.
"You have to understand that we are not talking about gangs like the Gangster Disciples. These are neighborhood gangs. They are not out there selling big amounts of drugs or guns. MMG was all about getting revenge for Jovi."
Winfrey would have been 11 years old when Jones was killed.
While "riding around," Combs said, they were near the intersection of LeClaire and 13th streets when they spotted a car and a van on Farnam and, "... someone in the car said, 'There go the opp.' "
Combs said the "the opp" referred to the Savage Life street gang. Combs said he and Hanes and Smith were part of a group known as MMG — the initials for Mad Max Gang. He testified that Savage Life was "the opp," meaning the opposition, the enemy.
In a matter of moments, Smith wheeled the vehicle out of the intersection, and Combs emptied his handgun at the car. Smith stopped in the entrance to the alley between LeClaire and Farnam streets. It was then, Combs testified, that Hanes began firing the Glock.
He saw someone run from the car, but he was out of bullets. He did not say he saw Hanes shoot Winfrey. Moments later, Combs was hit by gunfire from the van. He went home after, he testified, then to the hospital.
'Bullets don't have names on them'
Combs' mother, Miranda Combs, and his sister, Shebra Waters, heard his testimony Tuesday."Javon grew up loved," his mother said. "He was a good boy. He loves his family. That's why he is testifying. I pray that he will be able to come home to us some day."
Miranda Combs said she also prayed for Hanes and Smith.
"So young. This violence is destroying lives. It's killing children and destroying young lives before they ever really get started. John (Hanes) could go away for life."
Waters said she and her mother thought of Winfrey often.
"The trauma never goes away for anyone," she said. "We want his family to know how sorry we are. I think about how young he was. I think of all the things he'll never get to experience. He'll never finish school, never be able to raise a family.
"This violence, it kills kids and then it destroys the families. It just goes on. Those bullets don't have names on them, not really. Those bullets don't care who you are, so when you shoot them you never know whose life you're gonna destroy."
