A Covington man convicted of breaking into a patrol car and stealing duty rifles will spend more than six years in jail.
Davoris Polk, 26, has been sentenced to 75 months for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced today.
According to information presented in court, on Feb. 26, 2018, law enforcement with the Covington Police Department responded to the burglary of a marked Tipton County Sheriff’s Office vehicle parked at a deputy’s residence in the 100 block of North Maple Street.
As a result of the burglary, the patrol vehicle sustained extensive damage to multiple windows and the interior of the vehicle.
During the burglary, a Bushmaster .223-5.56 caliber AR-15 patrol rifle and a Remington Model 870 12-gauge shotgun were stolen. The gun locker which secured the weapons had been destroyed along with the other parts of the unit’s interior.
In addition to the vehicle being locked and the weapons being properly secured inside a gun locker, the patrol vehicle was also being actively monitored by a video surveillance system which captured the burglary and theft.
The Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun was later recovered during a week-long canvass and search of the area.
The Tipton County Sheriff’s Office identified Polk as the suspect responsible for the auto burglary and theft, and on March 1, 2018, officers located Polk at the Budget Inn on Highway 51 North in Covington, where he was placed under arrest and taken into custody.
Polk confessed to the crimes and arranged for the stolen patrol rifle to be returned. Prior to the offense, Polk had been convicted of the felony offenses of Aggravated Burglary and Burglary of a Vehicle, as well as multiple misdemeanor offenses.
On March 21, 2019, the defendant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a stolen firearm. On July 30, 2019, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker sentenced Polk to 75 months imprisonment followed by three years supervised release.
“Any person who is audacious and brazen enough to target a law enforcement vehicle to commit theft of police firearms is a dangerous offender who has no regard for the law or public safety, and has no respect for law enforcement," Dunavant said. "Mr. Polk has dedicated his short adult life to felony crimes of burglary, theft, and dishonesty, and will now pay the price for this disturbing crime. Any attack against law enforcement is an attack against the very fabric of our society, and we will not tolerate this lawlessness that endangers our citizens.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Covington Police Department, and the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Neal Oldham prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
