(6-3-23) In February 2003, Jason W. Davison (46) of Portland pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2002 beating death of his then-girlfriend’s 4-year-old son Chance Wade .

Wade died at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Physicians said the boy’s head injuries were similar to those suffered by victims who had fallen from buildings or been in high-speed crashes without wearing safety belts.

Davison was sentenced to 20 years in prison for that crime and was released from prison in 2021.

Thanks to his prior conviction Davison is being charged as a habitual offender in four recent cases.

OBITUARY

Chance Shane Wade, age 4, a resident of New Corydon in Jay County, died Friday, Feb. 22, at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.

He was born at Portland March 3, 1997, the son of Eddie Shane Wade, who survives and resides at Alexandria, and Mary Alice Wade, who survives and resides at New
Corydon.

Surviving also are two brothers, Devon A. Wade of Anderson and Ethan E. Fisher of New Corydon; three sisters, Kendra Fry and Sierra A. Wade, both of Muncie, and MaKayla D. Cash of New Corydon; the maternal grandmother, Iris M. Cash of rural Portland; the paternal grandparents, W. Dean and Marilyn A. Wade of Alexandria; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Indiana — Habitual offenders

Sec. 8. (a) The state may seek to have a person sentenced as a habitual offender for a felony by alleging, on one (1) or more pages separate from the rest of the charging instrument, that the person has accumulated the required number of prior unrelated felony convictions in accordance with this section.

(b) A person convicted of murder or of a Level 1 through Level 4 felony is a habitual offender if the state proves beyond a reasonable doubt that:

(1) the person has been convicted of two (2) prior unrelated felonies; and

(2) at least one (1) of the prior unrelated felonies is not a Level 6 felony or a Class D felony.

  • charged with burglary, a Level 5 felony carrying up to six years in prison.
  • two counts of intimidation, both level 5 felonies, and battery resulting in bodily injury.
  • possession of meth, a Level 6 felony with a maximum 30-month sentence, and misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.
  • theft, also as a misdemeanor.

Davison is facing current charges in the Jay Circuit Court.

Thanks to his prior conviction Davison is being charged as a habitual offender in four recent cases

In the burglary case, Davison is accused of stealing tools and other items last week from a home near Jay County roads 200-N and 200-W. He tried to persuade investigators he traded a guitar for those items outside a Ridgeville convenience store.

In the intimidation case, he is accused of striking another man in the head with a flashlight, and pointing a handgun both at that man and his mother.

The habitual offender charge could lead to additional prison time should he be convicted of the above charges.