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Photos from stolen iPhone lead to arrest after woman is beaten, robbed

Posted at 3:48 PM, May 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-05 19:31:18-04

A man is facing felony charges in connection with the beating of a woman after selfies on a stolen iPhone led to his arrest.

Marvonte T. Davis, 21, is charged with second-degree robbery and receiving stolen property for the June 2016 incident.

Court documents say the assault happened just after 3 a.m. near the Westport Ale House.

The victim told police she and a male co-worker were walking to her car when three men started cat-calling her.

The victim said she told the men to shut up, and that’s when they attacked her. The victim told police Davis pulled her hair and hit her several times. She was also pushed to the ground and kicked.

At the same time, two of the other suspects were fighting with the victim’s co-worker. One of the suspects reportedly jumped on top of the victim’s vehicle and smashed in the windshield.

"They tried taking her purse. They started hitting on her a little bit. And that's when I had to jump in and take on about three guys at once, which wasn't a fun situation,” said Ryan Haynes, the Westport Ale House bartender who was also assaulted while trying to protect his female co-worker that night.

As the victim was on the ground, the suspects took off with her purse with about $800 in cash and her iPhone inside.

The victim was taken to an area hospital with several cuts on her body, missing hair and a mild concussion, officials said. Her co-worker was also treated for cuts and concussion-like symptoms.

The case was quiet for about two months until the victim noticed photos showing up from her stolen iPhone on her iCloud account. The photos showed Davis taking selfies in a bathroom mirror, according to court documents.

The victim said Davis still had her flowered case on her iPhone, which could be seen in the photos.

Selifes of Marvonte Davis from the victim's iCloud account

Selfies that were uploaded to the victim's iCloud account.

Haynes was relieved yet surprised that it was the alleged robber’s selfies that led to justice.

"I was just amazed. I mean that's the best way to put it. Amazed somebody would be that dumb,” he said. "They say if you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. I think that probably describes this best for him."

41 Action News was able to reach the female victim regarding the assault and resulting arrest.

“To be quite honest none of this is thrilling. The whole situation was very sad to me and showed a very cruel side of humanity. But I am glad that this arrest might prevent someone else from being hurt,” she said. “When I saw the pictures I was in total shock. I keep thinking this can't be real, this is too easy.”

Police were also able to see text messages Davis was sending from the phone on the victim’s iCloud account. Those messages led investigators to a teenage girl, whose father had purchased the phone from Davis on Facebook.

Davis was taken into custody on May 3.

In an interview with police, he said he had witnessed the victim being assaulted but did nothing and didn’t call 911. He told police he helped the victim gather the contents of the victim’s purse after the suspects had left. He noticed she had left the phone on the ground when she was gone, so he decided to keep it.

Police say Davis continued to change his story as the interview continued. He did admit to using the phone to take pictures and to selling the phone on Facebook.

Davis remains in the Jackson County Jail on a $100,000 bond.