“It’s been a nightmare.” Preliminary Court Hearing Details Tense Confrontation Between a Local Kent County Family and Their Neighbor

 Author: Aly Bates 

Image Courtesy of Su Dav via facebook/ Suriya Davenport being held at gunpoint by Kent County Deputies

In a preliminary court hearing held this past Wednesday, April 10th, at the 63rd District Court, Suriya and Majer Davenport, a Black father and son, faced Judge Jeffery O’Hara on charges of assault and resisting arrest following a confrontation with their neighbor, Brett Butler. 

The beginning of the conflict dates back to Sunday, March 10th, 2024,  when Brett Butler, a man who owns the property located behind the Davenport’s, contacted the Kent County Sheriff’s office seeking supervision as he planned to remove landscaping rocks from the Davenport’s driveway so he could retrieve a broken down vehicle that belonged to one of his sons. Butler, has an easement on the Davenport’s property that allows him to access the two track driveway that leads to his property. Despite being advised to wait until police arrived for assistance, Butler proceeded to the property, allegedly predicting a confrontation with Suriya Davenport telling dispatch that things were going to get exciting and that “He’s going to flip his lid when they show up.”

Kent County Deputies outside 63rd district courtroom 

Image courtesy of Su Dav via facebook

During the hearing, all Deputies who were present during the March 10th incident were in the courtroom however, only about three witnesses took the stand: Brett Butler, his son James Butler, and just one of the Kent County Deputy De’Jeeiare Davis. Recounting his version of events, Brett Butler claimed he scoped out the Davenport’s property for two weeks prior, alleging that the rocks obstructed his access to the road making it difficult to drive his personal vehicle and trailer across. However, Suriya Davenport II, also known as SuSu, stated that the rocks were placed there to prevent Butler and his sons from driving off the road onto their property. Something that's been a recurring issue as the Butlers would allegedly intentionally antagonize the family. It has also been alleged that during the March 10th incident Butler made no attempt to drive his vehicle or trailer across the road before proceeding to use his car to block the driveway with his sons ready to record the ordeal.

Video evidence presented during the hearing depicted Suriya confronting the Butler’s as they removed rocks from the Davenport’s driveway using a tractor causing property damage. The situation escalated when Brett Butler ran over Mr. Davenport’s foot, leading to a physical altercation in which Suriya punched Brett in the face in self defense. Intervening out of fear for his father’s safety, Majer Davenport can be seen approaching with a handgun pointed at Brett and James Butler. Subsequent body camera footage showed Kent County deputies arriving at the scene with semi-automatic rifles drawn, ordering the Davenports to get on the ground. After receiving a frantic call from his younger brother, SuSu  Davenport, the oldest of the Davenport sons drove up to the property about 2 minutes into the police exchange. Deputies say SuSu spat at James Butler upon his arrival at the scene. An action that he (SuSu)  said came as a result of him being “Emotionally upset at the situation.” Suriya Davenport and his two sons were then arrested.

Image Courtesy of Su Dav via facebook

Suriya Davenport and his two sons, Majer and Suriya Davenport II

Tensions between the families, brewing since the Davenports purchased the property in 2021, reached a peak on that Sunday. Suriya Davenport II described the ordeal as a racially motivated “nightmare” for his family, further stating that “Brett wants us to pack our stuff and move – he uses the law to help his plans, he is landlocked if we move he'll have all access to the entire property. He has called police 40+ different times on us since we moved there.”

With the Father and two sons facing charges stemming from the March 10th incident, SuSu  Davenport, will be sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act after pleading guilty to attempted resisting arrest / assault and battery on May 6th at the 63rd District court at 9:45AM. Meanwhile, Suriya and Majer Davenport’s cases have been transferred to the 61st district court where they will eventually face trial with a date yet to be confirmed.