Sex offenders must report to authorities

By Linda Cicoira

After a local man was convicted in Accomack Circuit Court in 2014 of carnal knowledge of a 14-year-old girl during the previous year, he was ordered to register periodically as a sex offender.

Eight years later, 30-year-old Markeece O’Bryan Davis, who previously had addresses in Painter and Bloxom and more recently in Portsmouth, was found guilty of four counts of failing to register. His lawyer said he avoided authorities because he was afraid of going to jail during COVID.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan said Davis absconded for years. The defendant had removed his ankle monitor so officers wouldn’t be able to find him. Davis apologized to the court Thursday, but Judge W. Revell Lewis III wasn’t having it.

“It appears that you don’t get it,” Lewis told Davis. “You just do what you want to do.”

Between probation revocations and new sentences, Lewis gave Davis a total of five years in prison.

Davis is a Tier III offender and has to register periodically for the rest of his life.