Fugitive Captured by U.S. Marshals Pleads Guilty to Firearms Charge

NORFOLK, Va. – A fugitive captured by the U.S. Marshals at a Suffolk hotel on January 6 pleaded guilty today to being a fugitive from justice in possession of firearms and ammunition.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, the U.S. Marshals captured convicted felon David Webb, 40, of Georgia, at a hotel in Suffolk after being on the run for multiple outstanding arrest warrants issued in Dekalb and Chatham County, Georgia. During his time as a fugitive, Webb evaded or eluded police on at least three occasions, including one instance when he fled from police by jumping out of the back window of a hotel and hiding in an alligator-infested swamp.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, prior to his capture, Webb was able to evade law enforcement through his use of various aliases and false identity documents. When U.S. Marshals arrested the defendant, he was in possession of more than a dozen driver’s licenses bearing his image but associated with different names. These identification documents included driver’s licenses purportedly issued by the states of Texas, Nebraska, Illinois, Connecticut, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and the District of Columbia. Webb was also in possession of five social security cards bearing names other than his own, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs identification card, and a U.S. Military Common Access Card bearing Webb’s picture and claiming the rank of Sergeant in the Army. At the time of his arrest, U.S. Marshals also recovered methamphetamine, $7,300 in cash, a digital scale, drug packaging materials, ammunition, and three firearms, one of which had an obliterated serial number.

Webb faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison sentenced on July 5. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Michael B. Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; Robert Mathieson, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Thomas E. Bennett, Chief of Suffolk Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Comstock are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-15.