Danville man sentenced to life for fatal beating

The Danville man convicted of beating a homeless man to death in October will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

During a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Danville Circuit Judge David Melesco upheld a jury’s recommendation that 27-year-old Demetrius Tyrell Jennings serve life in prison for the Oct. 10 beating death of Reginald Lee Fitzgerald, who was 49 at the time of his death.

Virginia does not allow parole.

A jury convicted Jennings of first-degree murder in May and recommended life imprisonment.

Jennings’ public defender, Joseph Schenk, requested that Melesco downgrade the conviction to second-degree murder, saying there was insufficient evidence that Jennings intended to kill Fitzgerald. Schenk said Fitzgerald was still alive when Jennings left him and when he was treated at the hospital emergency room.

Jennings made no attempt to hide what he did, which would have indicated premeditation, Schenk said.

In addition, Jennings’ mother, sister and aunt testified he suffered physical and psychological abuse as a child at the hands of his father.

“What he went through as a child is only a tip of the iceberg,” Schenk said.

Jennings endured “atrocities” by his father and was not brought up in a “constructive environment,” Schenk said. 

In addition, a large portion of Jennings’ criminal record was acquired while he was a juvenile, Schenk said.

Commonwealth’s Attorney William Fuller III reminded everyone of the intermittent beating Fitzgerald suffered over the evening of Oct. 10, during which Jennings had plenty of time to decide to kill, he said.

Also, other family members went through abuse from Jennings’ father, and “they’re not before the court.”

Jennings’ record includes 31 charges for breaking and entering, assault, stealing a firearm and other offenses, Fuller said.

Fitzgerald, a homeless ex-Marine with drinking problems, was beaten repeatedly over the course of an evening because he owed Jennings $20. During the May trial, witnesses testified Jennings talked of his plans to beat Fitzgerald days before the incident. The first beating occurred at about 6 p.m., leaving Fitzgerald leaning over a deck rail at an abandoned church behind the $1.99 Cleaners at Ridge and Poplar streets. Jennings beat him a second time later that evening, knocking him down, stomping him and beating with objects including a stick and a banister rail, Fuller said.

Fuller said Fitzgerald had 47 wounds, including broken ribs, a damaged spleen and liver, and his brain was pushed back onto his stem, causing breathing problems.

In his verdict, Melesco cited the “total brutality and inhumanity” in the case and said the evidence against Jennings was “overwhelming.”

Melesco chastised Jennings for beating to death “an old drunk” who owed him money. Melesco clarified that he wasn’t insulting Fitzgerald.

“I wasn’t denigrating Mr. Fitzgerald,” Melesco said. “I was just describing his condition that day.”

Schenk said he would appeal Melesco’s decision.

Staff writer Denice Thibodeau contributed to this story. 

Contact John R. Crane at or 434-791-7987.