By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
A 22-year-old Wausau man who spent three years behind bars after participating in the armed robbery of a teenager is being sought by police after allegedly ignoring sex offender registration letters and absconding from his approved residence.
Davin Smith was 19 when he was sentenced to prison on charges of second-degree reckless endangerment in connection with a 2019 armed robbery. Police say Smith was one of two Wausau-area men who robbed a 15-year-old acquaintance at gunpoint and threatened to kill his family. A second suspect, Devlin Benes, was convicted of robbery with the use of force in November 2020 but was given a withheld sentence.
Smith, who was also convicted of a separate battery charge, was ordered in 2018 to register as a sex offender. The registration is connected to a Wood County juvenile case involving a charge of first-degree sexual assault of a child that was adjudicated in 2013, when Smith was just 12 years old. No details about the circumstances of the case have been made public.
Court records show Marathon County District Attorney Theresa Wetzsteon was issued a non-compliance report in November from an agent who said Smith failed to respond to a verification registration letter mailed to his Jefferson Street home, where he was under electronic monitoring since is Sept. 6 release from prison.
Less than one month later, Smith’s agent received an electronic monitoring alert that Smith left the home. Court records show Smith allegedly made comments about going to the Green Bay area, but he has not been located.
On Thursday, prosecutors filed a felony charge of failing to maintain sex offender registry requirements against Smith and a judge authorized a warrant for his arrest. Additional charges could be forthcoming.
