William Daniel Davis
Introduction
William Daniel Davis is a former alderman of Guntown, Mississippi, who was arrested on October 13, 2026, along with his cousin Robert Lee Davis, a former city public works operator, on charges of fraud or embezzlement in public office. The Mississippi Office of the State Auditor alleges the two conspired to have the city of Guntown billed for the installation of a residential sewer line at Daniel Davis’s private home, costing the city $9,950. Both men face up to ten years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted; the allegations have not been tested in court.
Background Information
Davis served on Guntown’s Board of Aldermen in the small Lee County town in north Mississippi. The conduct alleged against him took place between October and November 2024, while he was in office — nearly two years before the arrests. His cousin and co-defendant Robert Lee Davis worked for the city as a public works operator during the same period. The case was investigated by the state auditor’s office, which announced both arrests on a Tuesday afternoon.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Arrested, presumed innocent. The two men are accused of fraud or embezzlement in public office; no conviction has been entered, and the public announcement does not specify the individual counts filed against either defendant.
State Auditor Shad White’s office alleges the two men conspired to defraud the City of Guntown by billing the city for the installation of a residential sewage line at a private home belonging to Daniel Davis — putting a personal residential improvement on the municipal tab. The auditor’s office characterizes the $9,950 installation cost as a loss to the city, rather than a cash payout identified as going directly to either defendant. The public announcement does not identify the contractor who performed the work or describe who submitted or approved the bill.
The charging framework is Mississippi Code Section 97-11-31, under which an officer or someone employed in a public office who commits fraud or embezzlement there can face up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. The auditor’s announcement does not specify the individual filed counts against either defendant, and both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The case arrived in Guntown as a small-town governance scandal with a vivid image: a city billed for a sewer line that allegedly served an alderman’s own house. The auditor’s office has made municipal-fraud arrests a standing feature of Mississippi politics, and the pattern in such cases — loss of office, criminal exposure measured in years, restitution demands — was visible here in the charging statute alone. For the town, the allegations touch both the elected side of city government and its public works operation at once, since the two charged men sat on opposite ends of the billing relationship: one a board member with approval authority, the other an operator inside the works department.
Current Status
Both men were arrested on October 13, 2026, and face charges of fraud or embezzlement in public office. No conviction has been entered, no trial date appears in the available record, and the state auditor’s announcement did not detail the individual counts. The alleged scheme — a $9,950 residential sewer installation billed to the city between October and November 2024 — remains an accusation in an active criminal case.
Impact on Their Career/Life
Davis’s service on the Board of Aldermen is over, and the criminal case now defines his public record: a former elected official charged with converting his municipal position into a personal construction project, alongside the cousin who worked for the city he served. If convicted, he faces up to a decade in prison and a fine; even absent conviction, the arrest by the state auditor’s office permanently attaches the fraud allegation to both men’s names in the public record of Lee County government.