Muhammed Davis, charged as an accomplice in a January 2024 double homicide, was sentenced to 24 months to seven years in state prison for providing four hydrocodone pills to a confidential informant in exchange for $40 in February 2024, Monday afternoon.

Lycoming County Judge Eric Linhardt handed down the sentence after Davis was found guilty of possession with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communication facility, following a jury trial on Nov. 7.

In reaching the decision, Linhardt noted that the conviction marked Davis’ 17th in a lengthy wrap sheet that began in 1995 when he was found guilty of retail theft and possession with intent to deliver.

Ten of those convictions were drug related, with most of them being for possession of a controlled substance.

Since being incarcerated in February 2024, Davis has had several write-ups, including for instigating a fight, covering lights and theft, instances that Linhardt also considered

Defense attorney Donald Martino argued for a sentence at the bottom of the standard range, stressing that Davis was convicted of delivering a relatively small amount of pills.

Davis’ record, while extensive, paints a picture of a drug abuser, not a dealer, he said.

“The easiest pathway to addiction is through prescription drugs,” First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade countered.

“People are dying. This is a significant danger in this community, and this sentence should reflect that,” he urged the judge..

Davis, 50, is scheduled to stand trial for his alleged role in the Jan. 11, 2024 abduction and murder of Ronald Dailey Jr. and Alisha Seese, both 37, on Feb. 17, in what is expected to be a four-day trial.

In a hearing just prior to Davis’ sentencing, President Judge Nancy Butts agreed to a defense motion to cease her involvement in the case against accused main shooter Tory Bailey Sr.

With her term coming to an end in early January, defense attorney William Miele and First Assistant Public Defender Jeana Longo argued that further decisions by Butts may create issues as pretrial proceedings continue.

The move may further delay the start of trial in the nearly two-year-old crime, Butts said.