With a record littered with lewd behavior and aggravated battery convictions, it’s not surprising that Donald Davidson’s jail conduct wasn’t stellar.
But as he awaited trial on rape, murder and kidnapping charges, Donald Davidson amassed a 16-page discipline record rife with behavior both bizarre and troubling, including two additional arrests.
According to records obtained by First Coast News, Davidson's conduct became an issue on his first full day of detention.
After being arrested for the Dec. 1, 2014 kidnapping and rape of a 10-year-old Middleburg girl and the murder of her 35-year-old mother, Davidson was placed in confinement and on two-man move status “due to statements made during the booking process.”
The report does not indicate what the comments were.
Two days later, Davidson refused to take a shower, establishing a pattern for his four-and-a-half-year confinement. His behavior log shows at least 31 recorded shower refusals.
Davidson also allegedly sabotaged his cell toilet, twice ripping up magazines and flushing them, the report said.
According to the report, he tried to disable the surveillance camera in his cell, “cheeked” his medication and attempted to pass it to another inmate. He also asked that inmate to send death threats to people involved in his case.
More concerning, given his prior conviction and pending charges of sexually battering a minor, he was found cutting pictures of little girls out of the newspaper and collecting them.
Corrections officers report Davidson made repeated threats, including saying his meds needed to be changed “before he snaps and kills someone.” At one point, a corrections officer found him sharpening a toothbrush to a point.
When asked, “what his intentions were with the shank, Davidson replied that he wanted to get rid of me [the officer] because he believed I was tampering with his food.”
Davidson once complained his sandwich didn't have peanut butter and said if his food tray wasn’t to his liking, he was going to hurt or kill someone, adding, “he doesn’t care … he has the death penalty anyway.”
On two occasions in 2018, Davidson was arrested for allegedly using the jail phone system to place threatening calls to people on the outside. On one occasion, he allegedly told a victim he’d placed bombs in her car and it would explode when started.
Another time, he allegedly advised a victim he was “a pretty good guy,” but that he should be careful starting his car because it would “blow up” the next time he started, adding that he also planned to rape his wife.
Both threat cases are still pending, according to the Clay County Clerk of Court's website.
Davidson pleaded guilty on Wednesday in his death penalty case.
He waived his right to a jury trial, so his fate will be decided solely by Judge Don Lester.
Testimony resumes June 10 and will continue on June 27.