Suspect in Land Park slaying charged with murder in case that could lead to death penalty

The suspect in Friday’s home invasion that left a 61-year-old Land Park woman dead has been charged with murder, assault with intent to commit rape and other charges, and faces a special circumstance filing that could lead to a death penalty prosecution.

Troy Davis, 51, faces six felony counts filed Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court following the slaying of Mary Tibbitts, who went by her middle name, Kate, and had lived in her 11th Avenue home since 2012 along with her two dogs, Molly and Jenny.

Davis was arrested Saturday on a car theft charge originally filed in June, but now faces one count of murder, with a special circumstance alleging he committed the slaying while engaged in a burglary.

He also is charged with felony counts of entering her home for a burglary, assault with intent to commit rape, and two counts charging him with intentionally killing her dogs.

He briefly appeared in Sacramento Superior Court at 3 p.m. Tuesday to hear the charges against him in this case and a prior case, and did not enter a plea. Court Commissioner Ken Brody continued the matter to Oct. 22.

Davis has a lengthy criminal history in Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties, with cases dating back to 2013 in Sacramento that include charges of resisting an officer, battery on an officer, possession of methamphetamine, threatening an officer, misdemeanor sexual battery and assault and battery.

A law enforcement source told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday that Davis, a transient, initially showed up in the Land Park neighborhood and was caught on a Ring doorbell camera masturbating on a neighbor’s porch.

That neighbor posted the video to NextDoor, but it was taken down at the request of the Sacramento Police Department while they looked for the suspect, the source said.

Officers did not find the suspect that night, but Davis apparently returned to the neighborhood randomly Friday and broke into Tibbitts’ home through a window, killing her two dogs, sexually assaulting her and killing her before setting the house on fire, the source said. Davis did not know Tibbitts, according to the source, who was not authorized to speak about the investigation.

Court documents say Davis had a 2017 conviction in Sacramento for assault with a deadly weapon, and that he was charged June 22 in a vehicle theft case and arrested, then released. Court documents do not explain how he won his release, and a source said it occurred without Davis appearing before a judge, despite his criminal history of two felony strikes.

Davis subsequently failed to appear for court and disappeared.

Sacramento County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Rodney Grassmann referred questions about Davis’ release to police.

“This is a Sac PD case – they should be able to speak to this,” Grassmann wrote in an email.

Sacramento police responded: “The police department does not have responsibility on releasing people from the County Jail. We have spoken with Deputy Grassmann who advised that he will be contacting you.”

The June arrest was made by Elk Grove police, a source said, and he was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail, then released.

“He was originally brought in on charges that had a zero bail,” Grassmann wrote in a subsequent email. “The law let him be released on his own recognizance based on the charges he was booked on.

“He didn’t have to appear before a judge to get zero bail. Elk Grove initially arrested him but it was SacPD that arrested him on the stolen vehicle charges warrant on Sept. 4, 2021.

“The process is, subject is arrested, book into the jail, they are photographed and the paper work is processed. If there is zero bail with the associated charges, the person is release via OR within 12 hours of being booked by signing a promise to appear in court.

“Everyone who is arrested on zero bail charges or bonds out before arraignment (24-72 hours) does so before they ever see a judge. It’s just now with zero bail, many, many more people get out before a judge can see them or before other charges are filed that don’t have zero bail.”

Voters rejected an end to cash bail last year, rejecting Proposition 25 by a 10-point margin. But in March, the California Supreme Court ruled that defendants in the state cannot be detained in jail while awaiting trial simply because they cannot afford bail.

The ruling did not outright ban cash bail — the justices said judges must consider factors such as the seriousness of charges and past criminal history and then use those factors to set bail at an amount the defendant can afford.

Sacramento Superior Court officials adopted an emergency bail schedule that took effect May 5 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a schedule that is to remain in effect until 90 days after Gov. Gavin Newsom declares an end to the statewide coronavirus emergency order. That schedule lists vehicle theft - the crime for which Davis was arrested in June and subsequently released - as a zero bail crime.

The case has outraged prosecutors statewide, who blame the Legislature for weakening prosecutors’ ability to keep criminals in prison once they are convicted.

“I am very upset about this,” said El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson, who is president of the California District Attorneys Association. “There’s an obsession on the part of some elected representatives to release violent criminals, expressing sympathy toward prisoners instead of prioritizing public safety.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 3:09 PM.