United States of America v. Bennie C. Davis

Lexington, Kentucky, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with malicious arson of a building used in interstate commerce.



Faced with federal criminal charges for setting fire to a Qdoba restaurant, Davis pleaded guilty to committing arson, see 18 U.S.C. § 844(i), served his five-year sentence, and started a three-year term of supervised release. Since then, he has repeatedly violated his conditions of release.



At one of Davis's revocation hearings, his ex-girlfriend testified to allegations she made relating to a state assault charge committed by Davis. During her testimony, she said something that caught the prosecutor's and district court's attention: Davis "grabbed . . . [h]is backpack and his firearm .No. 25-5193, United States v. Davis

revealed that the firearm was a "semiautomatic” "[b]lack and gray” "pistol,” Davis's "daily weapon” that he "carrie[d] . . . with him all the time.” Id. at PageID 494–95. Questioning by the district court confirmed that Davis carried the gun "often” throughout the eight months the witness knew him.



As a standard condition of release, Davis was prohibited from possessing a firearm. See U.S. Sent'g Guidelines Manual § 5D1.3(c)(10) (U.S. Sent'g Comm'n 2024). Based on the testimony from his revocation hearing, the government charged Davis with an additional violation: possessing a firearm while on supervised release. The district court, finding sufficient

"circumstantial evidence [that] would indicate” Davis possessed "an operable firearm,” revoked his supervised release once again and imposed a new sentence.

REVOCATION JUDGMENT 2/24/2025: 12 MOS IMP; 18 MOS SPV REL; $250,000 ($2,922.84 PAID) RESTITUTION. REVOCATION JUDGMENT 9/13/2024: TIME SERVED IMPRISONMENT, 31 MOS. AND 29 DAYS SUPERVISED RELEASE, $250,000 ($2289.84 PAID) RESTITUTION; REVOCATION JUDGMENT on 3/29/23: 4 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT; 32 MONTHS SUPERVISED RELEASE; $250,000.00 ($2,114.84 PD)+ AMOUNT TBT RESTITUTION. ORIGINAL JUDGMENT: 60 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT; 3 YEARS SUPERVISED RELEASE; $250,000 RESTITUTION; $100 SPECIAL ASSESSMENT.



Affirmed.