Lymon Prosecuted Under Federal “Worst of the Worst” Anti-Violence Initiative

ALBUQUERQUE – Davon Lymon, 35, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this afternoon to violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm on May 27, 2016.  The charge to which Lymon entered a guilty plea today is Count 2 of a four-count superseding indictment charging Lymon with violating the federal firearms laws.

Chief U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo previously returned a guilty verdict against Lymon on Count 4 of the four-count superseding indictment on Oct. 28, 2016.  Count 4 charged Lymon with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 21, 2015, the day on which he allegedly shot Officer Daniel Webster of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).  Officer Webster died on Oct. 29, 2015, as a result of injuries he allegedly sustained during the shooting, and Lymon has been charged with murdering Officer Webster in a separate state case.  Lymon has yet to answer to the murder charged in state court and is presumed innocent unless found guilty.

Under the terms of the plea agreement pursuant to which Lymon entered today’s guilty plea, the United States will dismiss Counts 1 and 3 of the superseding indictment after Lymon has been sentenced on Counts 2 and 4.  Count 1 charged Lymon with unlawfully possessing a firearm on May 27, 2015 and Count 3 charged him with unlawfully possessing a stolen firearm in May 2015.

The aforementioned four-count superseding indictment was filed in one of the two federal cases against Lymon, a prior felon with convictions for voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm, fraud, and forgery.

In the second federal 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, without the benefit of a plea agreement.

At sentencing, which has not been scheduled, Lymon faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison on each of the three firearms charges on which he has been convicted.  Lymon also faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the two heroin trafficking charges.

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.