Cop killer pardoned by Trump convicted in Florida for assaulting wife

ORLANDO — A man whose life sentence for the 1990 killing of a police officer was commuted by former President Donald Trump was convicted of domestic violence in Orange County earlier this year, which could send him back to federal prison.

In May, a county jury convicted Jaime Davidson, who was pardoned in the final days of Trump’s presidency, of assaulting his wife, Nayeli Chang. Court records show that Davidson, 55, appealed his case, for which he was sentenced to three months in prison.

Davidson’s conviction was first reported by Judd Legum of Popular Information, who obtained court transcripts detailing the case against him. According to an arrest affidavit and his court testimony, his wife said they argued in 2023 after she found messages on his phone indicating he planned to leave the marriage after five months together once he found a new place to live.

According to a transcript of her testimony, Chang said Davidson grabbed her by the neck after she asked her to leave, but eventually let go after she threatened to call the police. She later called the police despite his comments, the affidavit said.

Davidson was ultimately convicted of domestic violence, a misdemeanor. The jury acquitted him of a charge of third-degree assault and battery.

The case went unnoticed until Popular Information linked it to the controversial commutation of Davidson’s sentence while he was serving a life sentence for the murder of Syracuse, New York, police officer Wallie Howard Jr. Although Trump commuted his sentence for Howard’s murder, he was still on supervised release — the federal equivalent of probation.

Davidson’s most recent conviction could send him back to federal prison for violating his parole conditions — his freedom depending on the outcome of his appeal.

A Trump campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

In 1990, Howard, 31, was shot in the head at close range while sitting in his parked car in a grocery store parking lot. At the time, Howard was conducting a cocaine buy for the federal Drug Enforcement Task Force in central New York state when he was approached by two men.

The shooter, Robert Lawrence, 16, said Davidson gave him the gun used to kill Howard, testifying that Davidson orchestrated the theft of $42,000 the officer had to buy drugs. Like Davidson, Lawrence was sentenced to life in prison without parole, a sentence that was overturned in 2012 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional.

Lawrence was paroled in 2020. The Syracuse Police Department has since created the Wallie Howard Medal, an award in honor of Howard, who at the time was the first Syracuse officer killed in the line of duty since 1929.

Davidson was released from prison on January 20, 2021, the last day of Trump’s presidency, after his Trump-connected lawyers successfully lobbied the former president directly to commute his sentence.

The move follows two unsuccessful clemency requests in 2013 and 2017. Trump’s decision sparked outrage at the time, with prosecutor Jeff Duncan telling the New York Times that he had not been informed of the decision to commute Davidson’s sentence.

“If you ask me for a list of people who no one should grant a presidential commutation to, Davidson would probably be at the top of the list,” Duncan told the newspaper in 2021.

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