Baltimore Felon Exiled To Over 24 Years In Prison On Gun And Drug Charges Related To A Robbery Conspiracy

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Antonio Davis, age 33, of Baltimore, today to 295 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for: a robbery and drug distribution conspiracy; conspiring to possess and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and a crime of violence; and for being a felon in possession of a gun.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.

“The Drug Enforcement Administration, working in partnership with the Baltimore Police Department, continues to actively target extreme violent offenders like Davis in order to combat the drug violence in our city,” stated Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle, of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Baltimore District Office. “This investigation emphasizes the proactive work that Special Agents undertake every day in an effort to remove violent offenders from the streets of Baltimore,” added ASAC Tuggle.

According to evidence presented at his four day trial, in the Fall of 2012, the DEA and Baltimore Police Department (BPD) received information that Davis, and his co-defendants Rodney Proctor, and Sean Thornton were armed drug traffickers and members of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) gang. According to the individual providing the information, the defendants earned money by conducting robberies and kidnappings and were active in the Penrose neighborhood of Baltimore City.

On December 12, 2012, at the direction of law enforcement, a DEA confidential source was introduced to Davis, Proctor, Thornton, and Michael Johnson. The source claimed to be a drug dealer and discussed with Davis and his co-defendants robbing his source of supply of cocaine and dividing the stolen cocaine among the robbers. On December 20, 2012, Davis, Proctor, Thornton and Johnson picked up a fifth co-defendant, Jazmen Trusty, to carry out the robbery. As Davis drove the conspirators to the location of the purported robbery, law enforcement stopped their vehicle and arrested the defendants. They seized a latex glove, two black gloves and a black mask from Davis; a stocking cap and a loaded semiautomatic handgun from Proctor, as well as masks and caps from the other co-defendants.

According to trial testimony, at the time of his arrest, Davis had only recently been released on parole, after serving a 16 year sentenced for murder. In addition, Davis had proposed kidnapping the four-year-old child of a known drug trafficker and holding the child for ransom – a plan that was still in motion until the DEA source proposed a more lucrative alternative – the drug robbery. Finally, witnesses testified that Davis discussed the robbery and murder of the DEA source and proposed dumping the body in Harford County. In fact, Davis was picked up on recording equipment, that had been installed in the car he was driving to the robbery, discussing the robbery and murder of the DEA source.

Michael Johnson, age 33, Jazmen Trusty, age 20, Rodney Proctor and Sean Thornton, both age 21, all of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy. Proctor was sentenced to 11 years in prison and Johnson was sentenced to 90 months in prison. Jazmen Trusty is scheduled to be sentencing on November 12, 2013.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney=s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Clinton J. Fuchs and James T. Wallner, who prosecuted the case.