The owner of a Prince George’s County, Maryland, funeral company has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally shooting a pallbearer during a child’s burial service in 2023.
On Friday, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson announced Wilson Chavis’ sentencing in the death of 30-year-old Ronald Banks.
Banks was a pallbearer at a funeral service at Washington National Cemetery in Suitland for 10-year-old Ariana Davis, who died after being struck by a stray bullet inside a car on Mother’s Day in 2023.
Chavis, 50, got into a confrontation with two people who worked for another funeral service company over a “long-standing business dispute” he’d apparently had, according to police.
Police said several funeral attendees became upset with Chavis and confronted him over his behavior.
While backing up, Chavis tripped over the concrete vault lid near the grave site and fell to the ground, police said. He pulled out his gun and shot Banks and a woman before fleeing the scene in a vehicle. He was later detained.
Banks died and the woman suffered a graze wound, officials said.
He was convicted of second-degree murder and reckless endangerment charges as well as weapons charges on Feb. 14.
“(This) sentencing sends a clear and unequivocal message that we will not tolerate this kind of violence in our community. Our hearts remain with the families that have suffered because of this tragic incident, and we remain committed to ensuring that those who commit such violent acts are held fully accountable,” Jackson said in a news release.
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