Shooter in Murder-For-Hire Exiled to 30 Years in Federal Prison

Baltimore, Maryland –Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Davon Sanford, a/k/a “Chronic,” age 33, of Baltimore, to 30 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after Sanford pleaded guilty today to discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, resulting in death.    

The plea and sentence were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Kevin Davis of the Baltimore Police Department; and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

According to his guilty plea, in March of 2012 a physical altercation took place in the vicinity of West Patterson Park Avenue and Chase Street in Baltimore, Maryland.  One of the participants to this altercation was Gregory Parker.  In the days following the altercation, an individual arranged with Tavon Slowe to kill Gregory Parker.  The agreed price for the murder was $5,000.

On March 16, 2012, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Slowe drove his silver Honda Accord to meet the individual.  Davon Sanford was seated in the front passenger seat.  The individual told Slowe where Parker could be found and described Parker as wearing a blue floppy (“Gilligan-style”) hat.  Less than 90 minutes later, Gregory Parker was shot multiple times by Davon Sanford with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol in the 2300 block of East Chase Street in Baltimore City.  Fourteen shell casings were found at the scene.  Parker was wearing a blue floppy “Gilligan” hat when he was shot and killed. 

According to witnesses, the “shooter” fled northbound on Bradford Street and got into a silver vehicle.  Video surveillance shows Sanford, wearing a green hooded sweatshirt with white lettering across the front, running from the murder scene and getting into the silver Honda Accord driven by Slowe.  Law enforcement recovered photographs from the cell phone of an associate that show Davon Sanford wearing the same green hooded sweatshirt with white lettering across the front, as he wore during the murder. 

Tavon Slowe, age 24, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to charges related to two murder for hire contracts. If the Court accepts the plea agreement, Slow will be sentenced to between 23 and 27 years in prison. Chief Judge Blake has scheduled Slowe’s sentencing for October 4, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Baltimore Police Department, Safe Streets Task Force and Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys James G. Warwick and Joshua T. Ferrentino, who are prosecuting the case.