Updated: Lexington man accused of murder also tied to several robberies in the region
The man arrested in a Lexington homicide that occurred nearly a year ago is also a suspect in a series of robberies in Lexington, Nicholasville and Danville, police said.
David Lee Sayre, 29, was charged with murder and evidence tampering on Wednesday in the death of Earl Pavin, 42. Pavin was found with a gunshot wound near Whitaker Bank Ballpark on July 11, 2019.
Pavin’s body was reported by a passerby, police said at the time, and there hadn’t been any shooting reports called in from that area.
Sayre has also been charged in two robberies that occurred last week. He’s accused of robbing a tobacco shop on June 25 and a gas station on June 26, police said. As of Thursday morning, he was in custody at the Fayette County Detention Center.
The Nicholasville Police Department said in a Facebook post Thursday that officers believe Sayre also robbed a Circle K in Nicholasville. In the post, police said that there had been at least one Danville robbery with a suspect of a similar description. The three departments conducted a joint investigation, the post said.
Glenn Doan, Danville’s assistant police chief, said investigators had evidence that Sayre robbed a local liquor store Saturday night. He said police weren’t in a rush to charge him because he was already in custody, but they will present evidence to a grand jury.
Nicholasville police were in the process Thursday of obtaining a warrant for Sayre’s arrest, its post said.
Sayre was previously charged with robbery, theft, leaving the scene of an accident and being a persistent felony offender in December 2019, court records show. He was released to a substance abuse treatment program on May 12, court records show.
But Sayre never made it to the treatment program, according to a prosecution motion to revoke his bond. While at a stoplight, Sayre fled the transport vehicle taking him to a treatment center in Louisa, the prosecution said.
During the hearing to revoke Sayre’s bond, the court indicated that the Fayette County jail would not take Sayre back in to custody due to COVID-19 concerns. The jail released 48 nonviolent inmates due to fear of COVID-19 spread in late March. His probation was modified and he was ordered to complete a drug treatment program in Nicholasville.
The prosecution said Sayre was discharged from that drug treatment program on June 14 “for using narcotics while at an outing,” according to a June 15 motion to revoke his bond again.
Court records show that authorities tried to serve Sayre with a criminal summons on June 21, but his parents said they hadn’t seen him in awhile.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 7:23 AM.