Davis v. United States

TRAVIS W. DAVIS, Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent.

No. 1:21 CV 11 SNLJ

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, Southeastern Division

August 5, 2021

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

STEPHEN N. LIMBAUGH, JR. SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on a motion under 28. U.S.C § 2255 to vacate, set aside or correct sentence by Travis Davis, a person in federal custody. On October 9 2019, Davis pled guilty to the offense of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute (Count 1), Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime and Crime of Violence (Count II), Interference with Commerce by Robbery (Count III), and Felon in Possession of a Firearm (Count V). See United States v. Davis 1:19CR50SNLJ. On March 2, 2020, this Court sentenced Davis to an aggregate term of 300 months imprisonment.

FACTS

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'...