Man who robbed Denny's, Circle K to serve between 15 and 40 years in prison
The 42-year-old man found guilty of robbing two Ann Arbor businesses of a total of $101 in April will spend between 15 and 40 years in prison.
Jason Davis
A jury convicted Jason Davis on two counts of armed robbery in September and on Tuesday, Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Donald Shelton sentenced him to between 15 years and 40 years. Shelton pointed to Davis’ long criminal history and the unlikely chance he’ll be rehabilitated as reasons for the long sentence.
“I see little, if any, hope Mr. Davis will be rehabilitated enough to be on the street while he has the vitality to commit these crimes,” Shelton said.
In addition, Davis was a parole absconder for a bank robbery conviction at the time of the robberies on April 14 and April 15. His sentence will be consecutive to any extended sentence he will get for violating parole.
Davis was convicted on charges he robbed the Denny’s on Washtenaw Avenue and the Circle K gas station on Stadium Boulevard on April 14 and April 15, respectively. The Denny’s robbery happened at 11:10 p.m. April 14 and the Circle K robbery occurred at 3:15 a.m. April 15.
Davis showed a BB gun and demanded cash from clerks at the two businesses. He maintains his innocence, according to Erika Julien, his lawyer.
In court Tuesday, Davis expressed his concern for the victims in the crime and said he regretted being involved at all.
“I deeply regret that I had any involvement with these proceedings,” he said. “I totally submit myself to your mercy, Your Honor.”
Despite Davis’ expression of regret during his statement, Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor Blaine Longsworth said Davis plans to appeal his conviction and shows no remorse for the crime.
Longsworth read off Davis’ criminal history for Shelton before Davis was sentenced. State records show convictions for bank robbery in 2007, two counts of larceny in a building for a 2003 incident, escaping from prison in 1999 and two counts of armed robbery in 1990.
“We’re dealing with a defendant who has at least five armed robbery convictions,” Longsworth said, adding later, “He shows no remorse … he plans to appeal the conviction.”
Julien said it’s not surprising Davis shows no remorse for the crime because he feels he was wrongly convicted. She reiterated the point he plans to appeal the conviction.
She said Davis was not doing well on parole; indeed, he had been listed on state records as an absconder before his arrest. Now that he faces the maximum punishment for the bank robbery conviction — which is life in prison — Davis faces a long, possibly unending, wait to get out of prison, she said.
“Mr. Davis has a long wait in front of him before he ever comes out of prison,” she said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Tom Todd
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 9:28 p.m.
sounds like he's getting a pension(room,board,healthcare,heat ,t.v.)and some complain about teachers.
RJA
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 7:48 p.m.
I don't see any help for this guy....sad.
Tru2Blu76
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 5:18 p.m.
bobslowson's premise can be summed up as follows: WE FEW are determined to use psychotropic substances (like pot), so that substance should be decriminalized because it's too expensive to punish us. In truth: people who use that argument are the very ones needing correction because: (predictably) they've screwed up their brains to the point where they have lost the ability to reason, whether or not they're "high." AT THE TIME, it seemed reasonable to use the criminalization of pot tactic: but that assumed that people would DECIDE not to risk arrest and prosecution. In fact, times have changed: there are MORE people deciding to risk arrest and prosecution due to their dependence on marijuana. That's the sole factor which makes the cumulative cost of prohibition too great. These people are still a minority - but they're hoping to become a large minority "too big to prosecute." That's the motive behind the "pot decriminalization" campaign. Social condemnation and proper child upbringing can and will eliminate marijuana use /abuse. It's much cheaper and easier to do compared to detection, arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of the errant minority. Evidence: the current "social condemnation"directed at cigarette smokers. In reality: smoking (free basing) nicotine delivery products (cigarettes) is uncool and is dangerous to health. No one has been arrested, prosecuted or jailed for cigarette smoking - but the number of those addicts is dropping because of social / legal condemnation. Notice Michigan's 2-pronged attack on cigarette smokers: (1) is the application of a heavy tax & (2) is social ostracizing via the law (no smoking in social gathering places like restaurants). The same tactic should be applied to (non-medical) marijuana users.
Cathy
Thu, Oct 25, 2012 : 9:57 a.m.
So true! Look how well Prohibition worked with alcohol.
bobslowson
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 3:59 p.m.
Decriminalize pot and let all the non violent offenders who only want to peacefully smoke a PLANT out of jail! We would save a boatload of money across the nation!
justcurious
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 2:44 p.m.
And drunk drivers who actually kill someone, not take their money, get??????
mady
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 2:38 p.m.
15 to 40 years in prison? for $101.00? no wonder his picture looks the way it does.....
Cathy
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 11:39 p.m.
No, for armed robbery. The point is that he used a weapon to threaten someone with serious injury or death in order to steal from them. That seems like a pretty serious crime to me, especially for someone on parole.
tom swift jr.
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 2:10 p.m.
The cost of incarceration in Michigan, according to a recent study, is about $28,000 per inmate per year. If this individual serves the minimum 15 years, the cost to us will be $420,000, if he serves the full 40 years the cost will be $1,120,000. (and, likely higher since these numbers do not adjust for increased costs which are inevitable) I'm not really sure what my point is regarding this, it just seems that somewhere the system is broken, although I'm sure the burgeoning prison industry is more than happy to see this kind of sentencing.
Enso
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 7:12 p.m.
@Tru Wow, that's probably the most significant piece of rhetorical mumble I've read on here. If you haven't gone into law, you may have a successful future in it. However, one of your premises is false, that marijuana was made illegal because it was screwing up people's brains. More than half the American public has admitted to smoking pot. Millions smoke pot regularly and millions more smoke it occasionally. To follow your logic, all these people should be acting wacky. But they don't. We are led to then conclude that pot is not the thing that is causing people to commit crimes. There's some logic back atcha! :D
jcj
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 5:50 p.m.
Tom I would argue that if it is ever YOU that faces an armed robber your tune will change!
Tru2Blu76
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 4:58 p.m.
The other way to look at what Enso says is to realize: the errant behaviors of 1000s of individuals is costing us way too much money. :-) So the obvious rational solution is preventive: finding ways to prevent misguided, misinformed and ill-trained people from "deciding" to screw up their own brains with psychotropic substances in the first place. :-) Enso correctly points to the problem: it's become too expensive to punish drug users with imprisonment. But then he makes a self-serviing assumption (make it legal for people to screw up their brains with a psychotropic substance). This is a logical contradiction: the criminalization of a substance was done in the first place because: people were screwing up their brains with this psychotropic substance ("pot"). AT THE TIME, it seemed reasonable to use that tactic: but that assumed that people would DECIDE not to risk arrest and prosecution. Enso's premise can be summed up as follows: WE FEW are determined to use psychotropic substances (like pot), so that substance should be decriminalized because it's too expensive to punish us. In truth: people who use that argument are the very ones needing correction because: (predictably!) they've screwed up their brains to the point where they have lost the ability to reason, whether or not they're "high." :-)
Enso
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 2:49 p.m.
I say take the nonviolent drug offenders (pot smokers, etc) out of the prison system and reserve those costs to put behind bars violent offenders. This country's drug policy is costing taxpayers way too much $$.
Grey Man
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.
Davis is lucky to be put back into prison. His next BB gun caper may have been his last had a legally licensed concealed carry permit holder intervened. Thugs like Davis cost us way too much money for so called "rehabilitation".