Police say they now know who killed a man and dumped the body near Benicia’s Lake Herman

BENICIA — Police here have arrested a suspect in the killing of a man whose body was dumped and set on fire near Lake Herman last month.

The arrest of 39-year-old Marquis Davis, announced Thursday by a Solano County Sheriff’s news release, occurred just one day after the burned body of Damarrea Neal, 29, was discovered by fire crews near the Lake Herman Recreation Area in unincorporated Benicia. Davis was arrested in Emeryville driving the victim’s car, which contained firearms and other evidence linking Davis to the killing, authorities said.

Davis has barely been out of prison for a year. He pleaded no contest to attempted murder in 2006, tried to back out of his plea, but was sentenced to 25 years in 2007. More recently, his sentence was reduced by a youthful offender statute, paving the way for his release, according to court records.

On Thursday, prosecutors charged Davis with murder and an enhancement for personal use of a firearm, court records show.

Police have determined that Neal was shot and killed in the 1900 block of Griffin Drive in Vallejo, the sheriff’s news release says. On March 3, authorities picked up Davis at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and transferred him to a Solano County Jail, court records show.

The suspected motive remains a mystery, but police say that back in 2004, Davis lured a man to a home in Vallejo under the guise of wanting to purchase cocaine. When the victim arrived at the home, Davis emerged from a bathroom and shot him six times. The man, who identified Davis by his nickname, “Pluck,” told police he was perplexed by the shooting and believed he and Davis were on good terms at the time.

The sheriff’s news release erroneously states Davis has a murder conviction. Court records show he pleaded no contest to attempted murder and that the victim survived despite a “lacerated liver, damage to his brachial artery, arm, and hip, and removal of one of his kidneys.” As he slipped in and out of consciousness, he repeatedly uttered the word “Pluck,” according to court records.

The sheriff’s news release offers condolences to Neal’s family and asks any witnesses or tipsters to call them at 707-784-7050 or to use the anonymous tip line at 707-784-1963.