Calm day in drug trafficking trial of defendant from June courtroom brawl

ELYRIA — A second day of testimony in the drug trafficking trial of Andrew Davison ended Wednesday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court without any major issues. Davison, 43, has pleaded not guilty to six felonies including three counts of trafficking in cocaine, two counts of possession of cocaine and one count of possession of criminal tools for allegedly selling crack cocaine to a confidential Lorain Police Department informant in October 2022. Davison is acting as his own attorney before a jury and visiting Judge Willliam McGinty, retired from the Cuyahoga County bench. McGinty was assigned the case after Lorain County judges recused themselves to avoid any conflict of interest following a brawl involving Davison in Judge Christopher Rothgery's courtroom in June. Detectives testified they caught Davison on video and audio selling crack cocaine to the informant on Oct. 10 and 13, 2022. Davison denies this, alleging police and the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office manufactured evidence against him. On Wednesday, when Assistant Prosecutor Daniellela Leigh showed Detective Cielo Rodriguez printouts of Davison's alleged Facebook and Cash App, Davison objected. He said he doesn't have social media. Authorities falsely "generated" the images somehow, Davison alleged. McGinty overruled nearly all of Davison's many objections. He was patient with Davison, who is not a licensed attorney, and had to remind him several times that there are still rules to be followed. Security was heightened for this trial three months after Davison brawled with police when Rothgery sentenced him to 10 to 15 years in prison for attempted murder. Davison had represented himself on charges he stabbed and slashed another man in the head in June 2024. The jury convicted him, and Rothgery ordered Davison into custody. Davison instead fought deputies and was tackled, punched and stunned with a Taser. Davison and two police officers were injured. He is facing separate felony charges in that case. Out of sight of the jury in the current trial, Davison is wearing a Band-It prisoner restraint system. If he becomes violent, a deputy can trigger a 50,000-volt shock to incapacitate Davison, who according to jail records is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs more than 300 pounds. Testimony resumes today. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com