Turtle Creek Felon Sentenced to 4+ Years in Prison on Firearms Charges

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to four years and three months (51 months) of imprisonment and three years of supervised release in federal court for two charges of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Iklas Richard Davis, 38, was sentenced by United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.

In November of last years, Davis pleaded guilty after three days of trial and after the government rested its case. In connection with the trial and guilty pleas, the court was advised that, on or about July 27, 2016 and October 12, 2017, Davis, who has a prior felony conviction in Pennsylvania, knowingly possessed several firearms and ammunition. Law enforcement officers discovered the firearms and ammunition during the execution of a search warrant of Davis’s home and vehicle in 2016. One of the firearms was an AR-15 assault rifle engraved with the phrase "Let it Rain" and included graphics of skulls. Some of the ammunition were forty rounds contained in an extended magazine compatible with the AR-15. Davis shared that home with Quinyahta Rochelle, who has pleaded guilty to celebrity hacking, identity theft and firearms offenses.

After the 2016 search warrant, Davis was charged by Wilkins Township Police Department and released on bond. However, United States Secret Service agents, working with the Allegheny County Police, subsequently developed evidence that Rochelle and Davis were engaged in various identity-theft related activities. Thus, Rochelle and Davis were both federally indicted for firearms-related offenses based on the 2016 search warrant, and law enforcement executed both the arrest warrants, which were for firearms-related offenses based on the 2016 search warrant, and new search warrants seeking evidence of identity-theft related offenses, on October 12, 2017. During that search, agents recovered another loaded firearm in the master bedroom closet, along with numerous rounds of ammunition and a bulletproof vest. Davis admitted to possessing that firearm, and he was federally indicted a second time for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The two firearm cases – one based on the 2016 search warrant and the other based on the 2017 search warrant – were consolidated for trial, which began on November 5, 2018.

Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Nicole Vasquez Schmitt are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Allegheny County Police Department, and the Wilkins Township Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Davis.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.