The
Indictment.
On
March 12, 2019, the Grand Jury returned a five-count
Indictment against Davis, charging him with: (1) Conspiracy
to Possess Marijuana With the Intent to Distribute in
violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. §
2; (2) Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug
Trafficking Crime and Crime of Violence in violation of 18
U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i); (3) Interference With Commerce
by Robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951; (4)
Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun in violation of 26
U.S.C. §§ 5845(a), 5861(d) and 5871[1]; and (4) Felon in
Possession of a Firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §
922(g)(1). (Case Number 1:19 CR 50 SNLJ; DCD 1)
(“Criminal Case”)
After
Davis made his initial appearance, the Court appointed
attorney Steven Wilson to represent Davis. (Criminal Case;
DCD 12) On March 22, 2019, attorney Robert Elovitz filed his
Entry of Appearance for Davis. (Criminal Case; DCD 26, 27)
Wilson withdrew as attorney for the defendant. (Criminal
Case; DCD 31, 32)
Pretrial
Motions.
On June
3, 2019, Davis' attorney filed a Motion to Suppress
Evidence and a Memorandum in Support, seeking to suppress
certain evidence and statements made by Davis. (Criminal
Case; DCD 40, 41) On August 19, 2019, Davis and his attorney
appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Abbie
Crites-Leoni and waived his right to file pretrial motions.
That waiver was accepted by the Court. (Criminal Case; DCD
57)
Plea.
Davis
and his attorney appeared before this Court, on October 9
2019, for his plea hearing. Davis entered a guilty plea to
Counts 1, 2, 3 and 5 of his Superseding Information. Davis
also signed a written plea agreement setting out the terms of
his guilty plea agreement with the Government. (Criminal
Case; DCD 67) Davis admitted the following offense conduct
both by oral colloquy and by the written plea agreement:
On November 6, 2018, Travis W. Davis knew that he had been
convicted of the following crimes, each punishable by a term
of imprisonment exceeding one year:
(1) On March 30, 2001, in the Circuit Court of St. Charles
County, Missouri, in Case Number CR100-2845F, for the
felony of Possession of Pseudoephedrine With the Intent to
Manufacture Methamphetamine;
(2) On August 4, 2004, in the Circuit Court of Lincoln
County, Missouri, in Case Number 04L6-CR00988-01, for the
felony of Attempted Manufacture of a Controlled Substance;
(3) On August 2, 2010, in the Circuit Court of Pike County,
Missouri, in Case Number 09L6-CR01255-02, for the felony of
Manufacture of a Controlled Substance;
(4) On January 18, 2011, in the Circuit Court of Lincoln
County, Missouri, in Case Number 10L6-CR01285-01, for the
felony of Attempt to Manufacture a Controlled Substance.
In November, 2018, Ashley Purdom was living with John C.
Lovell in Ripley County, Missouri. Purdom called Illinois
resident Travis W. Davis on his phone and asked Davis to come
to Missouri to transport Purdom back to Illinois. Purdom
informed Davis that Lovell was in possession of approximately
eight pounds of marijuana and some firearms that were located
in Lovell's gun safe and that Davis could take the
marijuana and firearms by robbery. Davis agreed to the plan.
Davis asked his associate James W. Judd to come along with
Davis on the trip to take the marijuana. Judd agreed to
accompany Davis for this purpose. Davis took a short-barreled
shotgun to accost Lovell to take the marijuana and firearms.
Davis and Judd drove to the Lovell/Purdom home in Ripley
County, using Judd's vehicle. They arrived late on the
evening of November 6, 2108. Both men left Judd's vehicle
and began walking to the front door of the Lovell/Purdom
home. Davis was openly carrying a Mossberg, 12 gauge,
short-barreled shotgun as he walked to the front door. Davis
attempted to open the front door, but it was locked. Davis
shot the door three times, damaging the locks so that he and
Judd could gain entry. Then Davis kicked the door open.
Purdom had seen Davis and Judd arrive for the purpose of
taking her back to Illinois and to take Lovell's firearms
and marijuana. Purdom had walked to the front door to unlock
it and allow Davis and Judd to enter. However, when Davis
fired the shotgun, numerous pellets from the shotgun struck
Purdom. She fell to the floor and began bleeding.
Davis and Judd entered the home and accosted Lovell with the
shotgun. They secured Lovell with zip ties and threatened him
with the shotgun in order to unlock Lovell's gun safe.
Lovell gave Davis and Judd the code to unlock the gun safe.
Davis and Judd unlocked the gun safe and took several pounds
of marijuana and some firearms back to Judd's vehicle.
Some of those firearms are described as follows:
A Smith & Wesson, .22 caliber pistol, bearing serial
number HHL3510; A Stevens, 12 gauge shotgun, bearing serial
number 141474C;An H & K, .45 caliber pistol, bearing
serial number 24-090814DE;
Those firearms were all manufactured in locations other than
the State of Missouri and affected interstate commerce prior
to their ownership and possession by Lovell in Missouri. All
of the weapons are “firearms” as that term is
defined by Title 18, United States Code, Section
921(a)(3)(A), in that all the firearms were designed to expel
a projectile by the action of an explosive.
Davis and Judd helped the injured Purdom into their vehicle.
That group left Ripley County and drove back to Collinsville,
Illinois. On the trip, one of the group removed the cell
phone battery for Purdom's cell phone. Lovell called law
enforcement officers and reported the home invasion and the
fact that Purdom had been taken by unknown persons. Officers
investigated the crime as a robbery of Lovell and a forcible
kidnapping of Purdom. The officers submitted an emergency
request to Purdom's cell phone carrier to locate her cell
phone in an attempt to locate her. The next day, on November
7, 2018, Purdom was in Davis' home in Collinsville,
Illinois, trying to recover from her wounds. She re-installed
her cell phone battery to check her messages. When she
activated her cell phone, it alerted her cell phone provider.
That provider was able to determine the location of her cell
phone in a specific address in Collinsville, Missouri. That
address was the residence of Travis W. Davis. The cell phone
provider then notified law enforcement officers of the
location of Purdom's cell phone.
Missouri officers contacted the Illinois State Police and
informed them of their information concerning the
disappearance of Purdom. The Missouri officers requested that
the Illinois officers take steps to locate and assist the
wounded Purdom. The Illinois officers went to the Davis
residence in Collinsville, Illinois, entered it, and located
Purdom. They took her to a local hospital for treatment of
her wounds. Davis' wife, Mary Davis, was present at the
home, along with several other individuals. Mary Davis gave
consent for the officers to search her home. The officers
conducted that search, finding the firearms stolen from
Lovell's home as described above, and a Mossberg, 12
gauge, short-barreled shotgun, bearing serial number L473110.
The shotgun was a short- barreled shotgun in that its barrel
length was less than 18 inches in length, as set out in Title
26, United States Code, Section 5845(a)(1). This Mossberg
shotgun was the firearm used by Davis and Judd in the Lovell
robbery.
The location of the robbery of Lovell by Davis and Judd was
in Ripley County, Missouri, in the Eastern District of
Missouri in the Southeastern Division.
(Criminal Case; DCD 67; pp. 5-8; also DCD 98; Plea Hrg.
Transcript.; pp. 16-21)
Davis'
plea agreement was a “binding” plea agreement
under Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
11(c)(1)(C). (Criminal Case; DCD 67; pp. 1, 2) In that
agreement, the parties agreed to jointly recommend a total
sentence for all counts of 300 months' imprisonment.
Id. The Court was not bound by this agreement, and,
if the Court rejected the parties' recommendations, the
Court would allow either party to withdraw from the
agreement.
The
Presentence Investigation Report.
A
Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”) was
prepared to assist the parties with Davis' sentencing
hearing. That report recommended that Davis be sentenced as
both an Armed Career Criminal pursuant to 18 U.S.C
§ 924(e) and as a career offender pursuant to
U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. (Criminal Case; DCD 86; pp.
9, 10) The PSR further recommended that Davis' sentencing
range be set at 288 to 330 months since he was a career
offender who had pled guilty to an offense charged under
18 U.S.C. § 924(c). (Id. at p. 11) As
a career offender, Davis' Criminal History Category was
set at VI, pursuant to U.S.S.G. §4B1.4(c).
(Id. at p. 23) Because Davis was an Armed Career
Criminal, he was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of
15 years for his conviction for Count V, Felon in Possession
of a Firearm. (Id. at p. 30) The minimum term of
imprisonment for Davis'...
