Fourteen Time Convicted Felon Sentenced to More than 11 Years for Gun and Narcotics Offenses

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Wilmington man was sentenced today to 138 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute a quantity of fentanyl and heroin, possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On April 26, 2023, Jarrod Eugene Davis, age 42, pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Wilmington Police Department officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation on April 13, 2022, where they located the defendant and attempted to speak to him. The defendant initially fled on foot from law enforcement, but he was quickly apprehended by officers. A search of the defendant revealed $982 in United States Currency. Officers backtracked the defendant’s path of flight and found a “fanny pack” containing 321 bags of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin and a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun underneath the “fanny pack.” Additionally, officers located a spent 9mm shell casing in the area where the initial contact was made with the defendant. Forensic testing revealed the defendant’s fingerprint on the magazine of the handgun and determined the spent shell casing found on the scene was fired from the 9mm Taurus handgun. At the time of this offense, the defendant was on post release supervision after being released from prison on December 4, 2021, after serving a 76 to 104 month prison sentence for possessing a firearm by a convicted felon and being a habitual felon. 

The defendant has over thirty criminal convictions, fourteen of which are for felony offenses. In November of 2003, the defendant was sentenced to 94 to 122 months in prison after he pled guilty to numerous felony offenses in New Hanover County Superior Court relating to an incident where he shot at two Wilmington Police Department Officers on February 22, 2003, and for an armed robbery that he committed five months prior.

“We are prioritizing the prosecution of shooters and violent repeat offenders like this defendant, who sow fear and push deadly narcotics into our communities.  I am grateful to local law enforcement and district attorneys for prioritizing these cases through our Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP),” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.   

“Repeat offenders are a burden to our law enforcement agencies and a danger to our communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “ATF and our law enforcement partners will continue to identify and apprehend those individuals who blatantly ignore the laws in place to keep neighborhoods safe.”

“Our priority remains going after armed repeat offenders and putting them in prison for years. This result would not be possible without the partnership between state and federal authorities made possible through New Hanover County” said District Attorney Ben David.

“Felons who possess firearms and traffic in illegal substances have no place in our community and we will continue to pursue them. Once again, our women and men have stepped up to the plate to get another violent offender off the streets. I am grateful for our continued partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies as well. Anyone who brings heroin, fentanyl, or any other illegal substance into our city will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” said Wilmington Police Department Chief Donny Williams. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Wilmington Police Department, the Wilmington Police Department Gun Crimes Task Force, and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Special Assistant United States Attorney William Van Trigt prosecuted the case.  Van Trigt is a prosecutor with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office assigned to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal violent crimes and other criminal matters.  This has been made possible by a grant funded by New Hanover County.

The conviction is a result of the ongoing Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) initiative which is a collaborative effort with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, working with the community, to identify and address the most significant drivers of violent crime. VCAP involves focused and strategic enforcement, and interagency coordination and intelligence-led policing.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:23-cr-00005D-001.

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