By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First 

RUTLAND — One of the two remaining defendants in a cross-country murder for hire case in the Northeast Kingdom six years ago has agreed to plead guilty in federal court to three felony charges.

Berk Eratay, 36, of Las Vegas, one of the chief organizers, is due appear in U.S. District Court in Rutland on Wednesday to admit to committing murder for hire and two conspiracy counts, court records show.  One conspiracy count is for the actual murder for hire crime and the other is conspiracy to lauder monetary funds, court records.

Eratay will face a maximum 25-year federal prison sentence according to the 11-page plea agreement.

He would normally face between 292 and 365 months in prison under the federal sentencing guidelines, which are advisory.  However, the two sides struck a deal that caps the maximum prison term at 300 months or 25 years.

Burlington lawyer Mark Oettinger, who is part of the Eratay’s defense team, said Tuesday the plea agreement speaks for itself.  He said more may be offered during the hearing at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Rutland.  Oettinger and Newport lawyer Allan J. Sullivan are defending Eratay. 

Serhat D. Gumrukcu, 39, of Los Angeles, the man who police say ordered the hit, was due to go on trial with Eratay in federal court in Rutland in September.

It was unclear what impact, if any, resolving Eratay’s criminal case would have on Gumrukcu’s trial besides shortening the prosecution.

With both men due to go on trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Van de Graaf had estimated at an earlier court hearing it would take the prosecution 3 weeks or less to put on its case.  The defense did not offer any estimate for its side. 

Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W.  Crawford is due to accept the plea agreement on Wednesday and is expected to order a presentence investigation report.

The federal charges maintain Jerry Banks, 35, of Fort Garland, Col. kidnapped Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville from his home at 884 Hawkins Road about 8:45 p.m. Jan. 6, 2018 and killed him that night in Barnet, about 15 miles away.

In 2017 Davis was threatening Gumrukcu and his older brother Murat, about going to the FBI with evidence the two Turkish brothers “were defrauding him in a multimillion-dollar oil deal,” court records maintain.  The records show the Gumrukcus had entered into the oil deal with Davis in early 2015.

The prosecution maintains the hit was ordered to silence Davis.

Eratay had worked as an assistant for Serhat Gumrukcu from January 2015 to January 2018 and it was part of his job to provide false information to Davis about business dealings, the plea agreement notes.  Eratay sent and received emails at Gumrukcu direction and used some of his Google accounts to falsely pose as Gumrukcu, it said.

Gumrukcu asked Eratay before the summer of 2017 to help find a hitman, the plea agreement said. Gumrukcu wired about $300,000 to two bank accounts controlled by Eratay between June 2017 and September 2017, the plea deal said.

Eratay made a series of withdrawals of $9,000 or less to help fund the plan and to avoid any suspicion by the banks, records show.  

The defense and prosecution have said there is a considerable amount of evidence and information from the elaborate investigation.  They noted there are an estimated 55 search warrants in the case, many of them approved by now-retired Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy.

Another 8 to 10 search warrants were issued out of state, including for the homes of both Eratay and Banks when they were arrested, according to Van de Graaf, the lead prosecutor.

The decision by Banks to plead guilty last June also changed the scope of the trial, he said.

Banks, the triggerman, pleaded guilty to three felony charges:  murder for hire, conspiracy to kidnap with death resulting and engaging in a monetary transaction with illegal proceeds.

Eratay and Banks are among four co-defendants charged in the elaborate murder for hire plot that centered on when Davis threatened to report a shady investment deal to federal authorities, according to court records.  Three have now admitted their guilt.

Co-defendant, Aron Ethridge, 42, of Henderson, Nev., reached a plea agreement almost two years ago.  Ethridge pleaded guilty on July 22, 2022 in Vermont to two felony counts in the case:  for conspiring with the other three defendants and with getting Banks to travel across state lines to commit the crime.

Ethridge received $100,000 from Eratay to cover the killing and any expenses, the plea agreement said

The money laundering charge maintains Banks, who said he has worked as a mechanic, exchanged $25,200 as part of the proceeds to buy a 2001 Chevrolet Corvette from a dealership in Longmont, Col. on Feb. 27, 2018.

Vermont State Police reported Davis was found dead about 4:30 p.m. in a pull-off area on Peacham Road in Barnet one day after the abduction. Davis died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and torso.  He was still handcuffed and partially covered by snow, state police said, and .22-caliber casings were found nearby.

State Police and the FBI said Banks impersonated a deputy U.S. Marshal by wearing marshal service apparel and a mask while displaying police gear.  Banks, acting as a federal officer, claimed there was an arrest warrant for Davis for racketeering in Virginia 

Gumrukcu has retained defense lawyers Susan K. Marcus of New York City and Ethan A. Balogh of San Francisco.  They have added one of the top Vermont criminal defense lawyers, Lisa Shelkrot of Burlington to assist.

Davis was a father of six children and, his wife of 14 years, Melissa, was pregnant, authorities said.

The family had been in Vermont about 3 years, and he worked in Barre at Safety-Kleen, a national environmental consulting firm. A company cellphone was found inside his jacket at the scene.  The couple had home schooled their children neighbors reported at the time.  The family attended the Concord Community Church on Main Street.

As part of the federal plea agreement, Caledonia County State’s Attorney Jessica E. Zaleski agreed not to file state charges for kidnapping and murder against Banks if he pleaded guilty to the three federal felonies.

Gumrukcu immigrated to the United States about 2013 and not long after arriving, he married William Anderson Wittekind in 2013, court records show. Court papers said he became a permanent resident in 2014 and Gumrukcu had said in court he is a citizen of Turkey.

The FBI and Vermont State Police arrested Banks while working at Yellowstone National Park on April 6, 2022.

Prosecutors in Vermont said after the arrest of Banks that he needed to remain behind bars because he is a danger to the community.  They noted searches at his Colorado residence and his temporary quarters in Wyoming resulted in the confiscation of firearms, including a 9-mm handgun and a so-called “ghost gun.”

Ghost guns, which have no serial number and are untraceable, can be bought online and assembled at home.  They are often obtained by prohibited buyers, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers — without a background check.

Ethridge had initially denied involvement in the case, but court records show he had cut a deal to cooperate shortly after he was confronted by investigators.

Ethridge, in admitting his guilt in July 2022, said before the fall of 2017, Eratay contacted him to aid in the killing of Davis, records show. Eratay told Ethridge that he was acting on behalf of Gumrukcu, who was supplying the funds, court records show.

In November 2017, Banks travelled from Colorado to Vermont to conduct surveillance on the Davis residence, but Banks said the homicide plan would have to be adjusted, records show.  Banks maintained he believed Davis would need to be abducted from the property prior to being killed, records show.

Ethridge told Eratay about the change.  Ethridge said Banks indicated he  planned to impersonate law enforcement as part of the abduction, court records show.

In January 2018, Banks travelled from Colorado to Vermont to kidnap and kill Davis. Banks knocked on the door of Gregory Davis’s home on Jan. 6, 2018 dressed in a manner imitating a deputy U.S. Marshal and claimed to have an arrest warrant for Davis, records show

Banks called Ethridge the next day to report Davis had been successfully kidnapped and killed and shortly thereafter, Ethridge contacted Eratay to relay the message from Banks, records show.

No known public charges have been filed against Murat Gumrukcu, who is mentioned throughout court documents and is believed to be back living in Turkey.

Gumrukcu, who is a self-proclaimed medical doctor, had “tens of millions of dollars” and had a significant motive to try to fund Eratay’s flight and stop him from becoming a witness against him, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont said in fighting for detention.

Serhat Gumrukcu is listed as a co-founder and inventor at Enochian BioSciences Inc.  He claimed on the company website he holds a medical degree and doctorate from Russian universities, but authorities said they have serious doubts about his claims.

The government also has evidence that Eratay’s citizenship for the United States was obtained through marriage fraud, Van de Graff has said.  He said the woman was interviewed and admitted the marriage from 2014 to 2019 was designed to help Eratay to get his citizenship here.

Melissa Davis, the widow, has filed on behalf of estate of Gregory Davis, a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against Gumrukcu. 

Mrs. Davis, who was named administrator of her husband’s estate, also maintains a loss of consortium and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the lawsuit said.