Department of Justice

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander yesterday sentenced Frank Davis, age 52, of Baltimore, Maryland, to seven years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after Davis pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm. 

The guilty plea and sentence were announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, on March 12, 2020 a Baltimore Police officer on patrol near the intersection of West North Avenue and McCullough Street in Baltimore saw Davis reach his hands inside his sweatshirt and attempt to adjust something multiple times.  The officer believed that what Davis was adjusting was a firearm and contacted the City Watch Unit to see if the individual monitoring the City Watch camera in that area agreed with the officer’s assessment.  The camera operator confirmed that she did agree and the officer approached Davis to investigate further.  Davis ran away, but was quickly apprehended and the gun, a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition, was recovered from Davis’ waistband area.  Davis agreed that he knew or had reasonable cause to believe the firearm was stolen at the time he possessed it.

As detailed in his plea agreement, at the time of his arrest Davis had at least two previous felony convictions for either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the ATF and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Lenzner thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay DeFrancesco and Assistant U.S. Attorney LaRai Everett, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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