GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The father and son criminally charged for their roles in a property fight with their neighbors returned to Kent County Court on Monday.
In 17th Circuit Court, Majer Davenport, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of resisting arrest. His father, Suriya Davenport, had his trial postponed. Similarly, Suriya is charged with two counts of assault and one count of resisting arrest.
If Majer Davenport successfully completes 18 months of probation, he will face no jail time and the three convictions will be removed from his record through the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, a Michigan law that allows for the dismissal of criminal offenses committed by those aged 17 to 20.
Suriya Davenport’s criminal trial will begin on December 2, 2024.
READ MORE: 'Thank goodness no one was killed': Fight over easement lands neighbors in Kent County Court
The charges stem from a physical confrontation between the Davenports and the Butlers, a family that possesses the right to use a two-track easement on the Davenport’s rural property in Byron Township. The easement leads to a separate property of their own.
On March 10, 2023, Brett Butler began to remove large landscaping stones placed along the easement by the Davenports, who claim to have put them there to protect their property from further damage and “reckless driving” by the Butlers.
Notably, when Butler asked Kent County deputies for supervision while he removed the stones with a tractor, they told him to wait for a better day.
When Suriya Davenport saw Butler on the tractor, he allegedly ran up to and punched him, telling him to “get the [expletive] off my property.”
Shortly after, Majer Davenport allegedly pointed a handgun at Butler and his son.
Then, five Kent County deputies drove up to the property, carrying semi-automatic rifles. Body camera and cell phone footage from the scene show them arresting the Davenports after several minutes of shouting back and forth.
Brett Butler was not charged in the incident.
“Just a lot of unfairness going on,” Kishara Davenport, Suriya’s daughter, said in a previous interview with FOX 17, describing how the feud between the two families reached a “boiling point” in March.
Prior to Monday’s court hearing, FOX 17 filed Freedom of Information Act requests for incident reports and dispatch calls related to the Davenport property.
In a three-year period from Spring 2021 to Spring 2024, Kent County deputies filed 12 incident reports related to the Davenport residence, according to documents obtained by FOX 17 through a Freedom of Information Act request.
April 2021
When the Davenport family began moving personal items onto their newly purchased Kent County property, the Butlers called police, saying they did “not want any trouble” but did not “understand” why the Davenports were “already” moving in.
The Butlers, notably, were the previous property owners and had recently sold the property to a realtor, who gave them 60 days to move out of the residence, beginning March 30. The Davenports had bought the property from the realtor.
“It appeared this was a miscommunication by the realtor,” the police report reads. “Both parties were informed that they legally had a right to be on the property.”
May 2021
The Butlers called police after finding cinderblocks and wood “on their property” allegedly being used by the Davenports as a backstop for target practice.
The Butlers were “again advised that this is a civil matter between [them] and the new owner of the property.”
July 2021
The Davenports called police to report a Chevy Trailblazer driving down the easement at a “high rate of speed.”
When police contacted the driver of the truck, a member of the Butler family, he said he had heard gunshots fired from the Davenport property that “made him feel uneasy" and was told by family to make short trips to the easement-connected property to avoid confrontation.
The following day, the Davenports again called police, complaining of people “driving recklessly on the easement.”
While Suriya Davenport stated the following claim to be “hearsay,” a member of the Butler family said Suriya “randomly” shot “what appeared to be an assault rifle” at a distance “close enough to be intimidating” while he and others were on the easement and connected property.
The incident led to Davenport being charged with reckless use of a firearm, an offense that was later dropped.
September 2021
Police were twice called to the Davenport property for a noise complaint, including for a report of “booms like cannonballs,” but “didn’t see anything unusual.”
A September 30 report also notes the Davenports felt “accused” and “asked if [deputies] had a warrant to be on [their] property.”
December 2021
The Butlers called police, asking for deputies to supervise while they drove on the easement to pick up building materials from their property.
January 2022
The Butlers again called police, asking for police supervision while they traversed the easement. The Davenports, however, did not want the Butlers to drive on the two-track due to poor weather conditions and were “upset about how police have been called and responded for [REDACTED] and not for [them].”
September 2022
The Davenports called police, claiming to have caught on camera a semi-truck parked on the easement and another truck damaging their property, leaving tire tracks in the grass.
A day later, the family additionally reported property damages, claiming the Butlers took dirt from their land. Police told the Butlers they had a right to grate the easement.
March 2022
The Butlers called police, claiming the Davenports were shooting firearms without a proper backstop.
