Pawtucket man sentenced to serve 9 years in state prison for illegal gun possession


PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve nine years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to illegally possessing several handguns in 2020.

 

On May 11, 2023, Davon McMahon (age 28) entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of possession of a firearm after a conviction for a crime of violence.

 

At the hearing, Superior Court Justice Kristin E. Rodgers sentenced the defendant to serve nine years at the ACI. The Court also declared the defendant a habitual offender and imposed a consecutive 10-year nonparolable suspended sentence with probation.

 

Prior to his sentencing, the Court found that the defendant violated the terms and conditions of his probation stemming from a 2014 conviction for possession of a pistol without a permit. At that hearing in February 2022, during which the Court heard from six witnesses, the Court also denied the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence of the handguns.

 

Had the case proceeded to a trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that in the morning of October 29, 2020, the defendant was arrested by members of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force while in possession of two 9-millimeter semi-automatic handguns at a residence on Indiana Avenue in Providence.

 

On that day, members of the task force sought to apprehend the defendant, who was wanted by law enforcement on an outstanding arrest warrant. Investigators determined the defendant was within an apartment on Indiana Avenue.

 

During the execution of the warrant, members of the task force arrested the defendant in the first-floor apartment. During a protective sweep of the residence, investigators seized a Diamondback DB9 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun and a Kahr MK9 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun.

 

Investigators submitted DNA obtained from the trigger and grip of both handguns to the Rhode Island Department of Health Forensic Biology Unit for DNA comparison and analysis. The Forensic Biology Unit confirmed that the defendant’s DNA was found on both handguns.

 

Under Rhode Island law, individuals convicted of crimes of violence are prohibited from possessing firearms. The defendant was previously convicted of felony assault in 2015.

 

Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force investigators John Cardone of the Cranston Police Department and Lee Trott of the Portsmouth Police Department, and Special Assistant Attorneys General Edward G. Mullaney and Gregory Moore of the Office of the Attorney General led the investigation and prosecution of the case.

 

 

The House has began a debate session ahead of tonight's vote on the debt ceiling deal. The bill negotiated between the White House and Republicans would suspend the nation's debt ceiling for two years. Voting is scheduled to begin this hour.       Former President Trump's White House aides are being subpoenaed over the firing of a top election security official. Trump fired his cybersecurity chief Christopher Krebs in November 2020 after the presidential election. It came days after Krebs went against Trump's false election fraud claims in a statement describing the election as one of the most secure in American history.       Actor Danny Masterson is guilty of raping two women. On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury also said it was deadlocked on the charge related to a third accuser. The jury deliberated for seven days before deciding the actor raped the two victims at his Hollywood Hills home two decades ago.        The GOP field for the 2024 presidential nomination is about to get another candidate. Axios reports that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will announce his candidacy at a town hall in New Hampshire next week. A once ally of former President Trump, Christie has turned into one of his critics within the Republican party.       Only 18 percent of Americans are satisfied with the state of the nation. That's about half of the historical 35-percent average. A new Gallup poll shows that the number of Americans saying they're satisfied with the trajectory of the country has been below 20-percent since March.       Bruce Springsteen is said to be ok after falling on stage while performing in Amsterdam over the weekend. The singer took a spill while going up a set of stairs, but was quickly helped up by members of his E Street Band. One concertgoer tweeted that the 73-year-old was able to finish the concert.