Black True Crime Podcast · iHeartPodcasts

David Middleton: The Cable Guy (Episode 220)

·49 min·3 clips

Kathy Powell was tracked through David’s storage-unit visits, a stolen credit card spree, and a dumpster recovery.

1. Black True Crime Podcast episode 220 centers on David Stephen Middleton, a Boston-born former police cadet and Miami-Dade detective. 2. Hosts Kayla and Nikki present Middleton as a former cop whose job gave him access, authority, and a badge. 3. The episode asks how one man moved from policing to repeated violence across Florida and Nevada. 4. Middleton was born on June 25, 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts, and joined the Boston Police Department as a cadet in January 1980. 5. He resigned from Boston in January 1982 and joined the Miami Metro-Dade Police Department five days later. 6. The hosts say he earned commendations and a detective promotion in his first year in Miami. 7. In 1984, Middleton arrested Gerilyn Smith for drug possession and later had an affair with her. 8. He also wrote letters to a judge and a prosecutor’s office to help Gerilyn Smith and Jabir Muhammad. 9. Internal Affairs investigated him, and he was moved to station duty in March 1988. 10. The hosts say he was temporarily suspended and then returned to detective work anyway. 11. In 1989, Middleton coerced a Miami-Dade police employee by claiming he was a Santerian priest. 12. The episode says he first had consensual sex and then raped and sodomized her at his home. 13. He was arrested on November 19, 1989 for snapping and sexual assault. 14. The hosts say he received bail and returned to work while the case continued. 15. On September 29, 1990, Middleton raped a 16-year-old girl in Miami while wearing his uniform. 16. He was later convicted of false imprisonment and battery, but the jury could not agree on rape. 17. The episode says he served part of two five-year sentences before being released after about three years. 18. In 1993, Middleton moved to Montrose, Colorado, then to Sparks, Nevada, where he worked as a cable installer. 19. The hosts describe the disappearances of Buffy Jean Rice Donahue, Thelma Davila, and Kathy Powell, plus the storage unit, bleach, and surveillance footage tied to Kathy’s case. 20. Listeners who follow police-corruption cases and serial-violence investigations will get the most from this episode, while listeners avoiding graphic assault details may skip it.

As heard by us

A disappearance case driven by rowdy banter and sharp family anger.

This episode traces a disappearance case that quickly becomes a fight over what happened in Yvonne's apartment. Buffy stays at the center as the story moves through Yvonne, David, and a family that clearly knows something is wrong, which keeps the pressure building from the…

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A missing-person case with family worry, drug tension, and no patience for neat answers.

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