The Hawk Eye Diavontae Davis, accused of first-degree murder in the Sept. 8, 2019, shooting death of Reynaldo "Rey" Villarreal, took the stand in his own defense Tuesday, telling jurors he carried a gun with him because of his fear of what Burlington had become. "I saw the fluctuation of violence," Davis said from the witness stand in the third-floor courtroom of the Des Moines County Courthouse. Davis had been a friend of DeMarcus Chew, who was killed Sept. 10, 2017, by a group of men who had intended to collect hit money in exchange for the murder. The father of Davis's sister's child also had been killed in an argument not long prior. Davis did not identify who that was or where his death occurred.