Sentencing to take place in 3-4 months, attorney says

ASHEVILLE — Former Tryon Fire Chief and Town Manager Joey Davis entered a guilty plea in federal court Tuesday morning in connection with using town credit cards to pay former Tryon Commissioner Roy Miller’s personal bills in 2016.

Davis pleaded guilty to misprision, which is defined as having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States and conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority.

Davis and Miller were federally charged in April 2017. Davis was originally charged with conspiracy to commit federal program fraud and Miller was originally charged with conspiracy to commit federal program fraud, federal program fraud, extortion under color of official right and witness tampering.

Miller pleaded guilty in April this year and was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison earlier this month.

Davis’ sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

Davis’ attorney Stephen Lindsay reached out to the Bulletin Tuesday and said that the sentencing hearing will likely take place in three to four months. The attorney said he is asking for probation for his client.

Lindsay said the offense of misprision is an infrequently used federal statute, and he and the federal government tried to find a misdemeanor charge for Davis, but one just did not exist.

Lindsay also said that if Davis had told a judge or federal officer after he used the town funding to pay for Miller’s bills, it would not have been a crime.

“This has resulted from a whole lot of hard work to bring this about and recognition to Joey’s involvement in this matter has been minimal in comparison to Roy Miller’s,” Lindsay said. “[Davis’] cooperation has been essential.”

Lindsay also said although Davis is paying a price of a conviction on his record, he will not — and should not — go to prison.

“The charge is probably the least felony,” Lindsay said. “We tried, even the government tried, to find a misdemeanor. This was the best we could do under the circumstances without going to trial. It was too big of a risk.”

Lindsay said Davis, at the request of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, wore a wire and had meetings with Miller, and as a result, put himself on the line.

“When you have an individual like Miller, who had been taking advantage of a lot of people for a long time, at least Joey stepped up to the plate and took it on,” Lindsay said. “It was a problem for all citizens and the county.”

Lindsay claims that Miller was threatening Davis with his job, and Davis paid Miller out of his own pocket until he ran out of money.

Davis was fired as the town’s fire chief in January 2017 after the town discovered he used town credit cards to pay for approximately $1,827 worth of Miller’s bills from April 1, 2016, to Aug. 9, 2016. Part of the time, Davis used the town’s credit cards when he also served as town manager.

Miller resigned as commissioner in June 2017.

“After all has been said and  done, justice has been served,” said Tryon Mayor Alan Peoples about the case.

Click here to see the factual basis on Davis’ case from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina Asheville Division.