Man who killed mother, driver during Las Vegas carjacking rampage was ordered to forfeit weapons
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man who killed his mother and then went on a carjacking rampage, killing a father of seven before officers shot and killed him was ordered to forfeit his weapons a decade ago after police found rifles, body armor and scanners in his home, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Justin Jeffrey Davidson, 36, engaged police in two shootouts with two assault rifles Wednesday. Two Metro police officers and three state troopers shot at Davidson 63 times and found his body inside one of the two cars he stole during the mayhem.
Davidson, of Henderson, was firing a gun near his family home at Placid Street and Maulding Avenue in southeast Las Vegas, police said. He then shot and killed his mother before stealing a police cruiser and carjacking two more people.
Davidson has a string of drug arrests in Las Vegas dating back to March and September 2011, and at least one conviction in Las Vegas’ Eighth Judicial District Court, records show. He also has a drug arrest in Henderson in 2010 and a gun charge there in 2012. In his most serious offense before Wednesday, Davidson pleaded guilty in June 2007 to possession of a controlled substance.
In 2012, a federal grand jury charged Davidson for distributing oxycodone and for being a felon in possession of a firearm, records said. Davidson’s drug conviction prevented him from possessing a gun, prosecutors said at the time.
Davidson had sold 50 “Roxicodone” pills to an undercover Henderson informant, leading police to search his home, documents said.
However, in 2012, prosecutors Davidson had two handguns and three rifles, one of which was reported stolen, documents said. Davidson was not taken into custody on the charges until January 2013, documents said.
The guns Davidson used during the rampage were a Sig Sauer AR 308 rifle that was stolen in May from a Las Vegas gun show and an AK-47-style rifle with the serial number destroyed, Metro police said Friday.
During a court hearing, prosecutors “displayed photographs of a safe showing the firearms in question along with body armor, police scanners and other items,” Davidson’s attorney wrote in one document in 2013, adding Davidson did not live at the residence that was searched.
Police also found multiple high-capacity magazines, each which could hold up to 100 rounds, as well as “extended magazines that held in excess of 15 rounds of ammunition,” documents said.
Davidson pleaded guilty to the charges in 2013. Before sentencing, his father wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency, adding Davidson was the primary caregiver of his grandmother.
“Justin was in the process of working towards his diploma,” Davidson’s father said. “He had already obtained a GED. He has plans to attend a community college or a technical school when he receives a diploma. He has goals to be a productive individual. We humbly ask you to please give Justin an opportunity to set his life back on track and not let a bad decision after his life’s direction.”
A federal judge sentenced Davidson to 57 months in prison, records said. Davidson was then incarcerated at a California facility.
The judge also ordered Davidson to forfeit the five weapons.
Police who were searching the desert wash near Davidson’s home, where Wednesday’s rampage began, found loaded ammo magazines of various calibers. Investigators found a notebook that contained writing that included a diagram of a potential ambush, indicating that Davidson had been preparing for a confrontation with officers.
In addition, police found electronic devices, trail cameras, bulletproof vests, tactical helmets, firearms, and components that police believed could be used to create firearm suppressors at Davidson’s home in Las Vegas. At his Henderson home, law enforcement found more notebooks and electronics. Investigators noted that they also found military manuals and documents detailing police response to mass-casualty events.
Police said other items included prepping supplies, propane, and an ample butane supply. However, investigators stopped short of saying Davidson was attempting to build an improvised explosive device, saying that those questions remain unanswered as of Friday, as does the question of why Davidson started shooting in the first place.
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