Federal trial to decide if felon possessed firearm
Defendant is suspect in officer’s slaying
Last year, Albuquerque police officer Daniel Webster lay in an intensive care unit at a local hospital, hooked up to life support machines, fighting for his life after he’d been shot repeatedly with a. 40 caliber semiautomatic pistol during a traffic stop.
Today, Davon Lymon faces a bench trial on a federal charge that he illegally possessed the pistol used in the Albuquerque police officer’s shooting. Lymon is a convicted felon with a long criminal history and was not legally allowed to possess a firearm, according to the indictment.
Webster, a decorated Army veteran, died Oct. 29, 2015.
Lymon has not been indicted on state charges in connection to Webster’s death, although court documents show that police believe he fired the fatal shots.
He is, however, facing charges in federal court, one of which this trial seeks to resolve. As a convicted felon, he is not legally allowed to possess a firearm.
A bench trial eliminates the need to seek an impartial jury amid the heavy media attention surrounding the case and also minimizes the time spent in deliberation.
State prosecutors have said they plan to move forward with charges after Lymon’s federal cases are resolved.
State Attorney General Hector Balderas said Friday that he has been named special prosecutor in Webster’s death.
In May, Lymon pleaded guilty in federal court to a separate indictment charging him with selling heroin to federal undercover agents and unlawfully possessing a firearm Oct. 2, 2015, in Bernalillo County. He is awaiting sentencing on those charges.
According to police, Webster stopped Lymon outside a Walgreens at Eubank and Central because the motorcycle he was riding had been reported stolen. As Webster attempted to handcuff him, police said, Lymon fired multiple rounds at close range. Webster was struck in the chest and chin.
The bench trial before Chief District Judge M. Christina Armijo is scheduled to last up to a week.