1st degree murder charges dropped against Muhammad Davis, alleged double homicide accomplice
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The Lycoming County District Attorney's Office is no longer pursuing first degree murder charges against Muhammad Davis, an alleged accomplice of Troy Bailey in the Jan. 11 killings of Alisha Seese and Ronald Dailey Jr., it was announced in a ruling by District Judge Christian Frey on whether other charges against Davis would proceed to court late Thursday.
Finding that "the thefts/robberies occurred during the defendant's commission of a first degree felony (kidnapping), the defendant and his co-defendant threatened the victims by displaying a firearm and ultimately inflicting serious bodily injury upon the victims," Frey ruled that Davis will stand trial on charges of theft by unlawful taking, robbery and robbery of a motor vehicle.
"Specifically, the evidence at the preliminary hearing showed that multiple thefts occurred -- the defendants unlawfully took the victims' cell phones and wallets from them, and also exercised unlawful control over Dailey's vehicle," the ruling stated.
In addition to the theft charges, Davis will also stand trial on two counts of second degree murder.
"The mandatory sentence for second degree murder is life in prison, and the Commonwealth has additional evidence against Mr. Davis that is still being processed. We may elect to re-file first degree murder charges against him in the future," First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade said in an emailed statement to the Sun-Gazette.
Authorities allege that Davis, 49, of 1209 High St., helped Bailey abduct and kill Seese and Dailey as they left work at Lycoming Engines just after 10 p.m. on Jan. 11.
At a preliminary hearing last week, Defense Attorney Donald Martino conceded that the state had met its prima facie burden on the second degree murder counts, but argued that both first murder degree and all theft-related charges should be dropped.
All the evidence presented by the state indicated that Davis did not have knowledge of Bailey's plans to kill Seese and Dailey, Martino argued, stating "the case is tailored to the second degree charges."
Davis also had no knowledge of Bailey's intent to rob the victims, Martino argued, stressing that no direct evidence existed to establish that theft had been committed, seeking to have all robbery related charges dismissed.
"It is plausible that my client knew about any theft, but it is equally plausible that he did not," the attorney said.
Martino argued that no theft of Dailey's vehicle occurred, stressing that Dailey had been forced to drive his own vehicle himself, and that no intent existed to deprive Dailey of his property.
The video of the abduction spoke for itself, Wade told the judge.
Bailey and Davis waited together for a long period of time, from which shared criminal intent can be inferred, he said.
Due to the struggle displayed in the surveillance video, it was clear that it took two individuals to abduct the two victims, Wade said.
Davis continued as a willing participant throughout the entire encounter, even after Bailey revealed the firearm to the victims, including standing guard over Dailey for around 40 minutes while Bailey and Seese were inside a residence on Short Street, following the kidnapping.
Dailey would not have stayed on his own volition, Wade said, reasoning that he at least had the assumption that Davis was armed.
In terms of the robbery counts, Wade pointed out various objects belonging to Seese were found in locations outside of the immediate area of the crime scene.
No physical taking is required in reference to Dailey's vehicle, he said.
Only the fact that he was not in control of his own property was required for that charge to stand.
Davis had every opportunity to extricate himself from the crime, but stayed up to the end, Wade argued.
A trial date for Davis has not yet been scheduled.