MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — It’s been four agonizing years for the family of a 21-year-old father fatally shot outside of a South Beach restaurant while on vacation from out of state.
By all accounts, Dustin Wakefield, of Castle Rock, Colorado, died a hero, shielding his 1-year-old son, Eli, from the gunman on Aug. 24, 2021. They were sitting outside of La Cerveceria de Barrio, a Mexican restaurant, at 1412 Ocean Drive.
That suspect, identified by Miami Beach police as Tamarius Blair Davis Jr., 22, of Norcross, Georgia, was a total stranger and, to this day, Wakefield’s widow says there is still no justice.
“I was crawling to Dustin’s body and he was just laying there in the pool of his own blood,” Karina Wakefield said.
For Karina Wakefield, it seemed like yesterday as she spoke to Local 10 News from her home in Colorado.
“He pointed it at my 1-year-old son then and said, ‘It’s time to die,” she said. “And that’s when I yelled and I was like, ‘Dustin, like, do something.’”
He passed Eli to another family member before authorities said Davis, believed to be in a magic mushroom-induced psychosis, opened fire, shooting Dustin Wakefield multiple times.
Four years later, Davis, now 26, has still not faced trial. The Wakefields will not accept any plea deals.
“I don’t want my son in the same Earth as him,” Karina Wakefield said. “You know, like, in 20 years, Eli’s gonna be 26. Like, Do you really think that’s fair? It should be a life for a life.”
They want justice. Officials with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office told Local 10 News that, while frustrating, a four-year wait for a trial is not unusual.
They said they understand and they feel the family’s pain and frustration.
“The justice system has kind of failed us and it’s honestly just an open wound that keeps on opening and opening and opening,” Karina Wakefield said.
Eli now clings to a doll every day with his father’s photo on it, as his family clings to hope for justice.
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