Federal Judge Finds Davon Lymon Guilty of Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm on Oct. 21, 2015

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning Chief U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo returned a guilty verdict against Davon Lymon, 35, of Albuquerque, N.M., on a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition charge based on evidence presented during a two-day bench trial on Oct. 24 and 25, 2016.  More specifically, the Chief Judge found Lymon guilty on Count 4 of a four-count indictment, which charged Lymon with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 21, 2015, the day on which Lymon allegedly shot Officer Daniel Webster of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).  Officer Webster died on Oct. 29, 2015, as a result of injuries he sustained during the shooting.

In announcing the guilty verdict against Lymon, U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez said, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting Davon Lymon because as a community, we cannot and will not tolerate violence against law enforcement officers.  Those who seek to harm the courageous men and women who put their lives on the line to safeguard us and protect our communities are, by definition, the ‘worst of the worst’ offenders.  The entire law enforcement community – federal, state, county, local and tribal – is committed to working collaboratively to thoroughly and completely investigate and prosecute individuals like Lymon to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Officer Daniel Webster embodies every sense of the word ‘hero.’  He served his nation as a soldier, his community as a dedicated officer, and his family as a loving husband and devoted father,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  “I hope that today’s guilty verdict provides a measure of comfort to his family and resonates as a beacon to the community he served.”

“On behalf of the Albuquerque Police Department and together with the greater Albuquerque Community, we thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the prosecutors for their exceptional work in this case,” said APD Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr.  “Officer Dan Webster was our hero, a true public servant with compassion for our community.  Today’s verdict is significant as it takes us one step closer to justice for Officer Webster, Michelle and the family.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting Lymon, a prior felon with convictions for voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm, fraud, and forgery, in two federal cases. 

In this case (the firearms case),  Lymon was charged in a four-count indictment with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm in Bernalillo County.  Counts 1 and 2 charge Lymon with unlawfully possessing a firearm on May 27, 2015, and Count 3 charges Lymon with unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm in late May 2015.  Count 4 – the charge on which Lymon was found guilty today – charged Lymon with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 21, 2015.

Lymon entered a not guilty plea to the charges in the firearms case, and the Court severed Counts 1, 2 and 3 from Count 4 for the purposes of trial.  A trial date on Counts 1 through 3 has yet to be scheduled.  The public is reminded that charges in indictments are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.  The statutory maximum penalty for a conviction on each of the four counts in the firearms case is ten years in federal prison.

In the other federal case (the heroin trafficking case), Lymon was charged with distributing heroin on Sept. 11, 2015 and Oct. 2, 2015, and unlawfully possessing a firearm on Oct. 2, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  Lymon pled guilty to the three charges in the heroin trafficking case on May 9, 2016.  The guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.  At his sentencing hearing, which has not been scheduled, Lymon faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the two heroin trafficking charges and ten years on the firearms charge.

The Albuquerque office of ATF and APD investigated the firearms case, with assistance from the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the New Mexico State Police, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Rio Rancho Police Department and the New Mexico Transportation Police Division.  The heroin trafficking case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of ATF and DEA. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob A. Wishard and Kimberly A. Brawley are prosecuting the two federal cases against Lymon as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, N.M., under this initiative.