mugger dies after early-morning scuffle with ex-wrestler
Newark mugger dies after early-morning scuffle with ex-wrestler: report
Ex-con attacked students after trying to steal cell phone
Sunday, February 5, 2012, 3:38 PM
Gian Davis, 30, died early Saturday after getting in a fight with two men he tried to mug, Newark police said.
A Newark thief was killed early Saturday after he got into a scuffle with a former high school wrestler while trying to rob the man, according to reports.
Cops say Gian Davis, 30, approached two local college kids at around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday and asked them for change, NBC New York reported.
When the men said no, Davis then asked if he could use one of their cell phones to call a cab.
When one of the men replied that he'd call a cab for him, Davis asked to shake the man's hand but then tried to snatch the man's phone, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.
Davis grabbed the man and began hitting him in the head, prompting his pal - who had wrestled in high school - to put Davis in a headlock.
Police sources told NBC the man's grip was so strong that Davis choked to death.
The two men stayed on the scene, and when police arrived, Davis was unconscious. He was pronounce dead less than an hour later at University Hospital.
The ex-wrestler and his friend have not been charged, and Essex County prosecutor assistant prosecutor Tom Fennelly told NBC they were cooperating with police.
Davis' rap sheet included arrests for assault and theft, and he was last released from prison on July 22.
