Source: United States Department of Justice News
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander today sentenced Turrell Davis, age 25, of Baltimore, Maryland for possessing a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. Davis has served more than 14 months and as part of his sentence Judge Hollander ordered that Davis be on federal supervised release for three years and participate in the Roca, Inc. – Baltimore’s community violence intervention and response services.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, on November 9, 2020, Davis was arrested after police, using CCTV to monitor suspected drug activity in the 300 block of South Catherine Street, one block north of Frederick Elementary School, saw Davis, who appeared to be armed. Officers in a marked car were sent to the location to investigate. When Davis noticed the officers, he ran. As he ran, Davis threw a .45-caliber handgun, loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition. Body-worn camera, CCTV, and Foxtrot helicopter footage captured the firearm sliding across the street, stopping near the curb. Davis also tossed a clear bag, later found to contain fentanyl, under a parked car and surrendered to police. A search of Davis recovered additional fentanyl, a digital scale, and $623 in cash. The quantity and packaging of the drugs indicated that Davis intended to distribute the fentanyl.
Davis admitted that he knowingly possessed the firearm and that he had reason to believe he was within 1,000 feet of a school zone, specifically, Frederick Elementary School.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Logan Hayes and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Moore, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psn and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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