Score:   1
Docket Number:   WD-WA  2:18-cr-00131
Case Name:   USA v. Cheatham et al
  Press Releases:
          A 38-year-old Seattle man who persisted in trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, despite repeated run-ins with law enforcement, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 11 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.  MICHAEL LAVON DAVIS pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  DAVIS was arrested in June 2018 as part of a large drug trafficking conspiracy that spanned five western Washington counties.  DAVIS was identified as a co-leader of the group, recruiting others to transport heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine from California to Washington and Illinois.  At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said this was “a very large drug trafficking organization… you were a critical player in the organization… one of several key people who kept this organization afloat.”

            “This defendant persisted in bringing cocaine and heroin into our community and recruited others to his life of crime,” said U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.  “In this investigation more than 40 defendants were taken off the streets and are now paying the price for the poison they spread in our communities.  We owe a debt of gratitude to the relentless work of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers who brought an end to this criminal conspiracy.”

            The drug ring was targeted by DEA, FBI, and the Seattle Police Department as part of an effort to combat rising crime in South King and North Pierce County.  According to records filed in the case, conspirators trafficked cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, oxycodone, illegal marijuana, and fentanyl.  Associates of some of the traffickers were shot and some killed in various shooting incidents in both Seattle and South King County.  On the wiretap, law enforcement heard conspirators talk about various shootings after they occurred.  Following an 18-month wiretap investigation, law enforcement raided more than 50 locations, seizing 12 pounds of heroin, more than 2 kilos of cocaine, a pound of methamphetamine, 124 pounds of marijuana, 41 firearms, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

            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.  DOJ reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

          This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved.  This investigation was led by the Seattle Police Department Gang and Narcotics Units, the FBI Seattle Safe Streets Task Force, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  Other agencies providing investigative assistance include ATF, USMS, and the U.S Bureau of Prisons.

          The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vince Lombardi, Erin Becker, and Nicholas Manheim.

CourtListener:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7099775/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7088368/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/8359229/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7099773/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7092006/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7089807/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7086420/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15648909/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7089821/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7089816/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7089808/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7088371/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7086414/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7089813/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7099774/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7099770/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7086431/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7086426/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7099771/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7088373/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7088363/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7088360/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7088355/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7088350/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7092005/united-states-v-cheatham/
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7092009/united-states-v-cheatham/
Docket (0 Docs):   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ol_bQcG-e3AH6z6XWHj69AxxQfUxIKYtxakZpd8atDo
  Last Updated: 2024-03-22 05:11:23 UTC
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY

Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5

Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15

Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1

Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2

Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE3
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fourth highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE4
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE4
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fifth highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE5
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE5
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE5
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE5
Format: A3

Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5

Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8

Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10

Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2

Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Format: YYYY

Data imported from FJC Integrated Database
F U C K I N G P E D O S R E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E