Life Without Parole For Newberry Man Found Guilty Of Murder
A Newberry County man will now spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of a deadly 2025 shooting.
The 8th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said a jury found David Ray Clark guilty of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in the death of Dexter Gary, 53. He will not be eligible for parole.
Prosecutors said Clark shot Gary with a single gunshot to the face after an argument “that stemmed from jealousy over the mother of Clark’s 3-year-old son.” Officials said the child saw the shooting.
After killing Gary, Clark ordered the woman to take his phone and keys before the two left the area in Gary’s vehicle with the child. Clark later gave the murder weapon to his brother in Chapin.
The woman later called 911 after Clark had fallen asleep in the car.
After being arrested in Chapin, prosecutors said Clark “gave investigators several conflicting accounts of the shooting” before eventually admitting to the murder.
The solicitor’s office added those statements to investigators were presented as evidence during the trial alongside testimony from witnesses, DNA evidence as well as Gary’s autopsy.
Prosecutors also noted that Clark had a previous conviction for the 1989 stabbing death of a 15-year-old victim, which made him eligible for a life sentence without parole.
“David Clark has now senselessly taken two lives, more than three decades apart, and has proven that he has no regard for human life,” 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo said in a statement. “I am thankful for the hard work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners in making sure this violent killer will not leave prison until the day he leaves this earth.”
A Newberry County man will now spend the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of a deadly 2025 shooting.
The 8th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said a jury found David Ray Clark guilty of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in the death of Dexter Gary, 53. He will not be eligible for parole.
Prosecutors said Clark shot Gary with a single gunshot to the face after an argument “that stemmed from jealousy over the mother of Clark’s 3-year-old son.” Officials said the child saw the shooting.
After killing Gary, Clark ordered the woman to take his phone and keys before the two left the area in Gary’s vehicle with the child. Clark later gave the murder weapon to his brother in Chapin.
The woman later called 911 after Clark had fallen asleep in the car.
After being arrested in Chapin, prosecutors said Clark “gave investigators several conflicting accounts of the shooting” before eventually admitting to the murder.
The solicitor’s office added those statements to investigators were presented as evidence during the trial alongside testimony from witnesses, DNA evidence as well as Gary’s autopsy.
Prosecutors also noted that Clark had a previous conviction for the 1989 stabbing death of a 15-year-old victim, which made him eligible for a life sentence without parole.
“David Clark has now senselessly taken two lives, more than three decades apart, and has proven that he has no regard for human life,” 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo said in a statement. “I am thankful for the hard work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners in making sure this violent killer will not leave prison until the day he leaves this earth.”
