Affidavit: CT fugitive captured after trying to kill Pa. trooper
A Connecticut fugitive who police say removed his GPS monitoring device while facing charges for robbing a Stamford man he met through an online escort service has now been accused of trying to kill a Pennsylvania state trooper while on the run.
Mark Davenport, 31, was arrested last week outside Harrisburg in southern Pennsylvania after a high-speed car chase ended with him stealing a state trooper’s gun and attempting to kill him with it, police said.
Police said the incident began when Davenport was clocked driving 90 mph on the Pennsylvania Turnpike last Thursday in Cumberland County.
According to his arrest affidavit, Davenport resisted police attempts to pull him over by trying to ram a state trooper cruiser and then pulling a Uturn and driving the wrong way on the turnpike.
Police said the car chase ended when Davenport crashed his car into a field on the side of the roadway.
In the ensuing struggle, police said Davenport tackled the state trooper, who had his gun drawn, and wrestled the weapon away from him, according to the affidavit. Davenport then pointed the gun at the trooper’s head, the
affidavit said.
The trooper managed to regain control of his weapon and Davenport was eventually arrested as he tried to flee in another vehicle that had pulled to the side of the road, the affidavit said.
Davenport was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, disarming a law enforcement officer, fleeing or attempting to elude police, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, and simple assault, along with multiple summary traffic offenses.
Davenport has been a Connecticut fugitive from justice since December when police said he cut off a GPS-monitoring bracelet and stopped appearing at scheduled court dates at state Superior Court in Stamford.
In Stamford, Davenport faces first-degree robbery charges for a 2019 incident when police said he robbed a Springdale man at his home after they met through an online escort service.
Stamford police said Davenport beat the man until he lost consciousness and stole about $2,000 worth of electronic items and credit cards.
Davenport was apprehended nearly a year later when he was arrested in Baltimore on unrelated charges.
The Philadelphia native eventually posted $500,000 bond and was reported to be living in an apartment in Hartford.
According to court records, Davenport was granted permission to leave his home for work, doctor visits, church and to see his attorney. But nearly a week after receiving that permission, Davenport’s GPS bracelet stopped picking up his movements, police said.
“Mark Davenport is a dangerous individual that has repeatedly shown a propensity for violence. I am proud of the case that was put together by the Stamford investigators. I also commend the Pennsylvania State Police on a job well done for making this apprehension,” Lt. Tom Scanlon, who oversaw the 2019 investigation, said Wednesday.
Scanlon said Davenport’s case in Pennsylvania will likely need to completed before he is extradited to Connecticut for the Stamford charges.