Jury to start deliberations in NEK case

An earlier versions of this news story was published in the Caledonian-Record

A federal court jury will begin deliberations Friday morning in the case of a Los Angeles scientist accused of being the mastermind of a murder for hire plot that killed a Vermonter seven years ago.

Serhat D. Gumrukcu, 42, is facing a three-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to be part of a murder and a major wire fraud. He has denied the charges.

All of Thursday was filled with closing arguments by both sides and with Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss outlining the law and legal principles that the jurors should follow in their deliberations.

The jury retired to the deliberation room shortly after 5 p.m. The trial exhibits were wheeled into the room and a couple of minutes later a note came out from the foreman. The jurors wanted to go home for the night and start fresh in the morning.

Reiss, after conferring with lawyers from both sides, agreed it was a good plan. She called the jurors into the fifth-floor courtroom and sent them on their way. She reminded them not to research the case or talk to anybody about the case.

Reiss also had excused three alternate jurors, but said they could be called back if something were to happen to any of the seat 12 jurors. The judge said they can deliberate as late on Friday night as they wish and can come back on Monday and Tuesday if needed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Van de Graaf spent much of his 75-minute closing statement explaining why the jurors could rely on a solid investigation and not believe Gumrukcu’s self-serving testimony.

Van de Graaf focused on some of the defendant’s testimony from this week when the prosecution painted him as a liar and fraudster.

Gumrukcu, who was born in Turkey, had falsely claimed he had various medical and PhD degrees.

Vermont State Police, which handled the homicide case, was told by the victim’s widow the night the body was found that her husband had been in an investment beef with Serhat Gumrukcu.

Co-defense lawyer Ethan Balogh of San Francisco maintained much of the government’s case was undisputed. He said the biggest exception was Gumrukcu never became involved in either conspiracy — to murder Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville or to be part of a wire fraud.

Balogh spent two hours outlining how the co-conspirators were involved, but Gumrukcu never was part of any agreement to kill Davis or defraud him.

He was critical of a portion of the FBI investigation and said Gumrukcu, as a scientist, was into saving lives — not taking them.

He blamed Gumrukcu’s close friend and co-conspirator, Berk Eratay, 37, of Las Vegas, Nev., with help setting up the homicide. Balogh said Eratay reached out to a friend, Aron Ethridge, 44, of Henderson, Nev. to secure the hitman. Ethridge eventually offered the hit to Jerry Banks, 37, of Garland, Col., who made the cross-country drive in January 2018.

The hit was set up by using two middlemen so Gumrukcu and Banks would have no direct contact and would not know who was behind the case, officials said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig said in his 40-minute rebuttal the criminal case came down to three M words: “Money, manipulation, murder.”

It was the same catchy phrase Stendig used in his opening statement when the trial began five weeks ago.

Banks testified he impersonated a deputy U.S. marshal and abducted Davis from his Hawkins Road home on Saturday night Jan. 6, 2018 by claiming there was a federal arrest warrant for the Vermonter. HIs wife, Melissa, who was pregnant with their seventh child, and other family members watched helplessly as he was taken out of the home in handcuffs.

Banks testified he had three firearms, including a rifle, and that he had bought police gear, including emergency flashing lights for his vehicle, and U.S. Marshals Service gear, patches, handcuffs and other needed items.

He drove with a handcuffed Davis in the back seat to nearby Barnet and turned into a pull-off area. Testimony showed he took Davis out of the car and fired at least 14 shots. He hit Davis at least 8 times from behind. Banks said he left Davis near a snowbank and tried to cover him with snow. He drove back to the west coast.

Gumrukcu was afraid that Davis, a married father of six children, was going to blow the whistle on a fraudulent international oil investment plan.

The Davis family had been in Vermont about 3 years, and he worked in Barre at Safety-Kleen, a national environmental consulting firm. The family had lived in Bristol before moving to Caledonia County.

A company cell phone was found inside his jacket at the homicide scene. The couple had homeschooled their children, neighbors reported at the time. The family attended the Concord Community Church on Main Street.

Gumrukcu has pleaded not guilty to a three-count federal indictment, including intentionally conspiring between May 2017 and February 2018 with several people, including Banks, Eratay and Ethridge to have Davis killed.

Gumrukcu also has denied the wire fraud charge, and a conspiracy count for causing Banks to travel across state lines between Jan. 1, 2018 and Jan. 6, 2018 to carry out the homicide for pay.

Banks, Eratay and Ethridge have all pleaded guilty to felony charges and agreed to testify during the trial in the hopes of getting lighter sentences.