The seven-decade prison term given to a Shreveport man who pleaded guilty in Caddo District Court in 2019 has been affirmed by the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal.
Davin Demon Dale, 32, was charged with seven felonies: one count of domestic abuse aggravated assault, five counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced on September 11, 2019, to a total of 75 years in prison by District Judge John D. Mosely Jr.
The sole difference is that the sentence for domestic abuse aggravated assault was amended from ten years to five years in accordance with the law. The other sentences remained the same. Dale’s sentences, consecutively, total 70 years.
In June 2018, Dale pulled alongside his estranged wife’s vehicle, which was carrying his wife, his wife’s friend, Dale’s 4-year-old son and three of his wife’s friend’s children, aged 4, 9 and 11. Dale threatened his estranged wife with a firearm, pursued her in his vehicle and fired the weapon multiple times, with four rounds striking the vehicle. The women and children managed to escape uninjured to a nearby gas station.
The sole issue on appeal was the excessive nature of the sentences. A three-judge appellate panel, consisting of Judges Jeff Cox, James Stephens and Jeff Thompson, affirmed Dale’s convictions and sentences in a judgment rendered on January 13, 2021. Judge Stephens authored the opinion, which noted that the “pattern of Dale’s abuse against [his wife] has now escalated to Dale’s endangering the lives of others, including his own child.”
The appellate court further stated “while there were no physical injuries, it is nothing short of miraculous that [Dale’s wife] was able to regain control of her vehicle after it stalled and escape Dale’s continued attack before anyone was harmed. Furthermore, the trauma inflicted upon the victims, most notably the four minor children, must be given the utmost consideration. Dale’s acts of shooting repeatedly into a vehicle at innocent and underage victims are beyond reprehensible and exhibit the type of depraved and criminally reckless behavior that warrants extensive incarceration.”
The appellate counsel was Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Porubsky. The original case was prosecuted by Caddo Parish Special Victims Unit Prosecutors Sam Crichton and Britney Green. Dale was defended by Edward Mouton.