Davis trial starts Tuesday

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WILMINGTON – The alleged leader of the Marlena Park Gang will stand trial Tuesday.

Phillip T. Davis, 33, of Wilmington, will have his first of more than 20 trials Tuesday. Davis is charged with 529 miscellaneous drug charges including:

• eight counts of trafficking cocaine in the first degree

• one count of trafficking cocaine in the fourth degree

• 461 counts of trafficking cocaine in the fifth degree

• six counts of possession of cocaine in the fifth degree

• two counts of aggravated trafficking of drugs in the second degree

• three counts of aggravated trafficking of drugs in the third degree

• 10 counts of aggravated trafficking of drugs in the fourth degree

• one count of aggravated trafficking of drugs in the fifth degree

• one count of trafficking heroin in the fifth degree

• eight counts of trafficking marijuana in the fourth degree and

• 28 counts of trafficking marijuana in the fifth degree.

At Davis’ pre-trial hearing July 31, Clinton County Court of Common Pleas Judge John W. “Tim” Rudduck said he wanted to split up the charges and have multiple trials for Davis to help both the court and the jurors.

“As a single-judge court, it would completely disrupt the administration of justice because taking three or four months of this courtroom’s time, of my time, for that is doable but basically … everything else would have to come to a standstill,” Rudduck said at the July 31 hearing.

Trying to expect a single jury understand all 529 charges would be a huge thing to ask the public servants, he said.

In lieu of one big trial, there will be multiple trials with 20 counts in each, he said. Each trial should last between three and four days.

Rudduck left it up to the state to decide what the first set of charges will be.

At Davis’ final pre-trial hearing Aug. 18, the state presented the first 20 counts for which Davis will stand trial, which include 19 counts of trafficking cocaine in the fifth degree and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity in the first degree.

At the pre-trial hearing, the state offered Davis a 12-year prison term in lieu of trial for the first 20 counts, but Davis rejected the offer.

The trial will start Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Reach Dylanne Petros at 937-382-2574, ext. 2514, or on Twitter @DylannePetros.

Phillip T. Davis
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2015/09/web1_davis.jpgPhillip T. Davis
Faces 20 of 529 charges in first trial

By Dylanne Petros

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