Man shot in back after argument at nightclub
By BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com

It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for a Wharton man who was shot in the back as he sat in a pickup truck on West Pecan Street this past weekend.

Police say the shooter was likely aiming at the man's friend, who was behind the wheel.

"The shot was directed toward the driver," said Detective Ben Evans of the Wharton Police Department.

Police said a single bullet struck Jeffrey Lynn Davis, 36, in the back of his right shoulder early Sunday morning. Davis, a passenger in the truck, was taken by personal vehicle to Gulf Coast Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

Davis was driven to the hospital by Richard Allen, 29. Police said Allen was behind the wheel of the pickup in which Davis was shot.

Shortly before the shooting, Allen had gotten into a fight early Sunday morning with a man at the Apple Bottom Club (formerly the Cozy Corner) on Ford Street, police said. The two knew each other and had a history of problems, according to the report.

The fight was broken up and Allen and Davis left the club in Allen's pickup. The pair drove down Bailey Street and then headed southbound on West Pecan Street. Another vehicle drove up. Police said it was occupied by the man Allen had been fighting with.

As the vehicles stopped and the men began talking, a single shot was fired. The shot was fired from outside the vehicles, police said, by a third party.

"I think it was in retaliation or in conjunction with the altercation at the club," Evans said.

Anyone with information on the incident can contact Evans at 532- 3131.