One accomplice in Danville homicide ordered to serve over 9 years

BURLINGTON – An internationally known scientist based in Los Angeles, who paid for a “Murder for Hire” plan in Vermont in 2017, will have to wait two more months before getting his life sentence in prison.

Serhat D. Gumrukcu, 42, was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, but his defense lawyer, Susan K. Marcus of New York City said she was not ready to proceed.

Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss appeared unhappy, but said she would take up some of the sentencing issues, including hearing from the victim’s wife, who had traveled from New Jersey for the scheduled half-day hearing planned for the morning.

Meanwhile one of the other three co-defendants, Berk Eratay, 39, of Las Vegas was sentenced to just over 9 years in federal prison for his part in the Murder for Hire and money laundering case. Reiss said he will get credit for pre-trial detention, which is about three years.

Prosecutor Paul Van de Graaf, assisted by Zachary Stendig, had asked for a 10-year sentence.

Defense lawyers Allan J. Sullivan and Mark D. Oettinger had proposed a 5-year sentence for Gumrukcu, who was dressed in a red prison uniform and said little.

Reiss said she thought long and hard and thought the government was right, but she would also cut a year off for Eratay. She said she found Eratay was a strong witness during the trial, although he was slow coming around to help in the case.

The judge said she struggled to understand how Gumrukcu could manipulate Eratay, who had several strong talents.

Reiss said once he is out of prison, Eratay will be on supervised release for 3 years.

Eratay was one of two middlemen to help set up the homicide by connecting Gumrukcu with the eventual triggerman, Jerry Banks, 37, of Garland, Col.

Banks and the other middleman, Aron Lee Ethridge, 44, of Henderson, Nev. are each scheduled for half-day sentencings on Friday before Reiss.

Trial testimony showed Gumrukcu reached out to his close friend and co-conspirator, Eratay, to try to arrange for a hitman. Eratay eventually connected with a colleague, Ethridge to try to secure the hitman. Ethridge eventually offered the hit contract to Banks, who made the cross-country drive in January 2018.

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

Gumrukcu wanted Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville dead because there was a fear he might go to authorities about a bogus oil investment deal. Gumrukcu was worried that any new claims of fraud against him in late 2017 would sour an upcoming proposed $100 million deal that the defendant was about to sign. The big deal went through about a week after the homicide.

Melissa Davis, the victim’s widow, stood before Judge Reiss on Thursday to read individual victim impact statements for each defendant. Davis, who was accompanied by her father, was clear that she did not forgive Gumrukcu for the homicide and his ongoing behavior over the past 7 years, while she told the court she has forgiven Eratay.

“I have already written to you once to convey these three powerful words: I forgive you,” Davis told Eratay, who was dressed in an orange prison uniform.

Davis, a deeply religious woman, said she had two more letters for Eratay, along with a Bible with his name inscribed on the leather cover.

“My hope is that when you receive them, you will not see the greatness of me, but the greatness of my Savior.”

For Gumrukcu she made clear her disdain for him, noting that his plot had left her with six children and a seventh on the way. She said the past seven-plus years have been tough, but she and the family have persevered due to her faith.

“You are a liar, a fraud,” she said to Gumrukcu, who never looked at Davis. “My children’s lives are scared.

At the time of the abduction and killing of Gregory Davis, the couple had six children: sons ages 12, 8, 6, and 1 and daughters 10 and 3. Melissa Davis also was pregnant with a seventh child, eventually another daughter, Jubilee.

Marcus, the defense lawyer, had petitioned earlier for a delay, but Reiss had denied the request.

Marcus said she did not have time to go over the pre-sentence report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office with her client, who said he thought it had some factual errors.

“I’m not prepared,” Marcus told the court. Reiss noted the report was sent out Aug. 8

The hearing continued for about a half hour, but Reiss eventually set the new sentencing date for Nov. 24 and will include a restitution. Reiss apologized to the Davis family for the delay.

The restitution order will include the lost wages due to the premature death of Gregory Davis.

Prosecutors Van de Graaf and Stendig have said they will not seek a fine, but rather want any funds from Gumrukcu to go to the Davis family.

The family has filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit in federal court in Vermont against Gumrukcu.

His husband, William Anderson Wittekind, has filed to intervene in the civil lawsuit in the hopes of recovering some of Gumrukcu’s money.

Wittekind, who sat through the 5-week trial in April, did not attend the sentencing on Thursday.

Much of the prosecution’s case centered on the lies and deceit that Gumrukcu had spread across his lifetime. Gumrukcu, who was born in Turkey, had falsely claimed he had various medical and PhD degrees.

The shooter, Banks had worked for a Colorado Sheriff’s Department. A private detective was hired to find where Davis lived, and Banks eventually did surveillance on the house. He reported back that he might need to kill the whole family, but that was soon scrubbed.

Banks created a new plan to impersonate a deputy U.S. Marshal and abduct Davis from his Danville residence. He eventually drove across the country and arrived at the Hawkins Road home about 9 p.m. Jan. 6, 2018. Banks, with a badge, gear and patches from the USMS, and three firearms claimed he had a federal arrest warrant from Virginia.

He handcuffed Davis, put him into his vehicle, which he had equipped with flashing blue and red lights, and drove about 15 miles to Barnet. He turned into a pull-off area and took Davis out of the back seat because of complaints by Davis about tight handcuffs.

Instead of adjusting the handcuffs, Banks fired 14 shots with a .22-caliber pistol with a home-made silencer, striking Davis at least eight times from behind, including twice in the head. He partially covered Davis with snow and headed home. The body was found the next day and Vermont State Police began the homicide investigation.

Mrs. Davis told state police that the only person with a possible grudge against her husband, who worked in Barre, was Gumrukcu due to the oil investment deal that went sour.